🤔 How do Office Hours work?

• Members of the iii community may schedule a meeting with any alum.

• Review the alum profiles below. If listed, you can visit their LinkedIn to learn more. 

• When you find a good fit, click "Schedule A 1:1 Meeting"; you'll be redirected to that alum's Calendly page. 

• Check their availability and choose a meeting time.

• FYI: Calendly Meeting Topics align with those listed under "Let's chat about."

• Prepare for your meeting (i.e. why did you choose this alum, what questions do you have for them...?).

• And, of course, attend the meeting and have a great conversation!

✍️ Please Take Note:

• Meetings are for guidance and advice - NOT to ask for internships or jobs.
• "No Shows" are unacceptable and unprofessional. If you cannot make a meeting, cancel it. If you "no show" more than once, your ability to participate in Office Hours will be restricted.
• A "thank you" message is always appreciated. When applicable, share outcomes too! For example,  if an alum helped you prep for an internship interview, let them know how your interview went.
• "🤝 Formal Mentorship" - If this topic is listed on an alum's profile, they are open to mentoring you. Mentorship typically involves goal setting and regular meetings over an extended time period. This Google Doc can help with structure.
• Feedback is welcome; contact Mary Kilcoyne to share.

Brie Chua (MIIPS 2023)
Product Development Manager
Malao GmbH
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Brie

I came from a real estate business background before pivoting into product; starting that journey with CMU in 2022. That journey then opened my world to experiential design :) I then took a year to fulfill my travel bug (and "figure things out") post-CMU and am now in a product development role at a film tech company based in Germany. Life's a roller coaster and I try to have fun while on the ride!

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career/Career Journey, Building One's Network, Transitioning to the US, and Life in general

Tan Gao (MSSM 2012)
Staff Technical Program Manager
Cerebras Systems
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Tan

I started my career as a software developer and transitioned to technical program management. I spent 15 years at Google and currently work for an AI hardware startup. I live in Austin, Texas and work from home.

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career/Career Journey ,Resume Review/Feedback, and Transitioning to the US
• 🤝 Formal Mentorship

Ian Miller (MPD 2010)
Sr. Project Manager
Philips Respironics
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Ian

19 years experience in medical device product development: Both as an engineer and a project/program manager. My day to day involves partnering with Engineering, Product Management, and many other functions. I live in Western Pennsylvania and do my best to enjoy all 4 seasons!

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career/Career Journey, Interview Prep & Practice, Resume Review/Feedback, and Medical Device Project Management
• 🤝 Formal Mentorship

Anirudh Seshasayee (MSTV 2020)
Program Management

LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Anirudh

Multi-disciplinary enthusiast with over 2.5yrs experience in startups across engineering, e-commerce, marketing & project/program management. I am currently working hobbyist electronics, and discovered the magic of breadboards & PID controls (as well as reminding me how to work with Integration and Differentiation again lmao!!).

Let’s chat about:

• Interview Prep & Practice, Resume Review/Feedback, and Startup Life & Entrepreneurship

Ashutosh Das (SEPM 2007)
Distributed App Developer
Apple Inc.
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Ashutosh

Been around the block for some time. Done Software development, Engineering Management, Product Management, ... Finally, decided to settle down in a software development role. :)

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career/Career Journey, Interview Prep & Practice, and Resume Review/Feedback NA
• 🤝 Formal Mentorship

Lili He (MSSM 2019)
Tech Lead - Lemon8
TikTok
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Lili

My career at TikTok benefits a lot from what I learned from MSSM, product vision, roadmap, project management, etc. I'm a huge cat lover with 2 fat cats.

Let’s chat about:

• Interview Prep & Practice and Resume Review/Feedback
• 🤝 Formal Mentorship

Rahul Iyengar (MSSM 2010)
Engineering
Calendly
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Rahul

I have worked in the valley for about 25 years and am currently at Calendly where I manage the core scheduling team including mobile, platform services and QA. Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to build from the ground up, augment and lead globally spread out engineering organizations through rapid growth and innovation. I live in Union City with my family.

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career/Career Journey and Resume Review/Feedback
• 🤝 Formal Mentorship

Xinyong Lyu (MSSM 2020)
Software Engineer
Oracle
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Xinyong

I have 4 years of software engineer experience till now. I grew up in Hangzhou, China and now live in the SF Bay Area.

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career/Career Journey
• 🤝 Formal Mentorship

Alwal Putta (MSSM 2013)
Principal Technologist
Hitachi America, Ltd. R&D
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Alwal

I have around 30 years of experience spanning many facets of software engineering from developer, tech lead, architect, project and program manager, engineering manager covering various layers front end, middle layer, back end, devops and lately AI/ML across many domains such as sales, finance, legal, developer operations, release engineering, people technology.

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career/Career Journey, Building One's Network, and Transitioning to the US 
• 🤝 Formal Mentorship

Ashwin Ramesh (MIIPS 2016)
Director of Engineering
Place Exchange
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Ashwin

I have 10+ years working in product development. I've worn multiple hats over the years - UX+UI designer, usability tester, frontend engineer, product design+management, engineering manager. I work as a Director of Engineering in an Ad-tech company, Place Exchange. My industry experience has been in multiple verticals - healthcare, design agency, social network, SaaS CRM, Wellbeing, Ad-tech. I live in Chennai, India.

Let’s chat about:

• Resume Review/Feedback and Portfolio Review/Feedback

Lakshmanan Suryanarayanan (MSSM 2010)
Senior Engineering Manager
Google
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Lakshmanan

I have worked at both large companies and startups in varying areas from Data Platforms, Cloud Platforms, Ad Platforms and user/enterprise products like Web Classification, Video Ads, and Google Drive. I graduated from the MSSM program at CMU-SV in 2010. I live in Southern California with my wife.

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career / Career Journey and Resume Review/Feedback

Dhairyya Agarwal (MSSM 2020)
Product Manager II
Microsoft
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Dhairyya

I am a generalist product manager working at Microsoft on a new 0 to 1 product from scratch.

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career/Career Journey, Resume Review/Feedback, and Transitioning to the US

Ren Bitonio (MSSM 2007)
Principal
Kaimana Strategy
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Ren

I moved from engineering into product management and have spent over 20 years leading teams at Samsung, Yahoo, and Netgear while now advising organizations through my consulting practice. Outside of work, I love learning languages and have kept a nearly 1,500-day Duolingo streak, staying in the Diamond League for almost 4 years.

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career/Career Journey, Interview Prep & Practice, Resume Review/Feedback, and Hardware vs Software Services
• 🤝 Formal Mentorship

Kevin Killeen (MIIPS 2023)
Global Product Line Manager - Flame Detection
MSA Safety Inc.
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Kevin

I came from an engineering and sales background for 4 years before pivoting to product management. I worked in the process measurement industry before joining the MIIPS program and transferring my skills to the industrial safety industry. I'm a born and raised Pittsburgher, and when I'm not working I'm probably walking my dog Scratch

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career/Career Journey, Interview Prep & Practice, Resume Review/Feedback, Portfolio Review/Feedback, and Building One's Network

Andy Lee (MPD 2004)
Sr Product Manager- AI Platform
Indeed
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Andy

I’m a product leader who thrives in ambiguity—shaping strategy, uncovering customer needs, and rallying teams to take products from 0 to 1. My background spans startups, enterprises, and partnerships across industries, and I get the most energy from turning fresh ideas into real products. Currently, I’m building AI platform tools to power the next generation of AI agents.

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career/Career Journey, Interview Prep & Practice, Resume Review/Feedback, and Startup Life & Entrepreneurship
• 🤝 Formal Mentorship

Priyanshi Mittal (MSSM 2018)
Senior Product Manager
Microsoft
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Priyanshi

As a Senior Product Manager at Microsoft, I bring over 10 years of experience in driving product strategy and delivering enterprise-scale solutions across cloud platforms and emerging AI technologies. I currently lead Azure benefit programs, including Reservations, Hybrid Benefit, and Pre-purchase plans, which is a $xxB business and have contributed to 50%+ year-over-year growth in commitment revenue. In my spare time, you will see me spending time in arts and crafts and travel, and photography. I also maintain a travel photography blog and a DIY blog.

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career/Career Journey and Interview Prep & Practice
• 🤝 Formal Mentorship

David Oh (MSSM 2012)
Senior Worldwide GenAI Specialist
Amazon Web Services
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ David

As a Sr Worldwide GenAI Specialist at AWS, my focus lies in empowering enterprise customers to operationalize generative AI technologies through SageMaker AI. By collaborating with ISV partners, our team enables GenAIOps, MLOps, and LLMOps, driving scalable and efficient AI integration tailored to customer needs. This work supports organizations in achieving transformative business outcomes through innovative AI adoption strategies.

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career/Career Journey and Interview Prep & Practice
• 🤝 Formal Mentorship

Amol Patil (MSSM 2018)
Staff Product Manager
Shopify
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Amol

Engineer turned PM turned entrepreneur turned PM again - I’m a builder at heart, titles are mostly vanity. I’ve worked at tiny startups and big tech and everything in between. I can offer perspectives on navigating the role transitions, relocation transitions (I’ve lived in 4 different states in the U.S and 6 different cities before ultimately moving to Canada which I now proudly call home). Fintech, Commerce and Logistics is my jam.

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career / Career Journey, Interview Prep & Practice, Resume Review/Feedback, Startup Life & Entrepreneurship, Building One's Network, and Transitioning to the US
• 🤝 Formal Mentorship

Nitul Shah (MSSM 2019)
Staff Product Manager
Walmart eCommerce
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Nitul

I’m a Staff Product Manager with over a decade of experience spanning Retail, Ad Tech, EdTech, FinTech, and Information Security. Beyond my professional role, I enjoy working on side projects to stay hands-on with technology. Originally from near Mumbai, India, I moved to California eight years ago and have been building my career here since.

Let’s chat about:

• Interview Prep & Practice
• 🤝 Formal Mentorship

Junqi Wang (MIIPS 2022)
Product Manager
Geisinger
LinkedIn

Schedule a 1:1 Meeting w/ Junqi

I'm based in Pittsburgh and currently a product manager at a health system. In addition to product management, I also previously worked in software engineer and UX design.

Let’s chat about:

• Navigating One's Career / Career Journey, Interview Prep & Practice, Resume Review/Feedback, Portfolio Review/Feedback, and Transitioning to the US
• 🤝 Formal Mentorship