- A lion.
- Me. Fiercely protective of the people who use what I build.
Open to new roles
Engineer by trade. Owner by habit.
For 13 years I was the driving force behind mobile at Dialpad. I wrote the first versions of the Android app, set the direction for iOS and Android, built and led the mobile team, and most recently went back to writing code full time as a Principal Engineer.
I’m looking for what’s next: a team to join, a company to advise, or something new to co‑found.
How I work
The engineer in the business meeting. The user’s advocate in the engineering one.
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I own the outcome
At Dialpad I wasn’t only the person writing the code or running the team. I was the one deciding what the apps should become, getting people behind it, and seeing it all the way to release.
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I fight for the user
Every roadmap, design, and release is a chance to make things better for the people who use them, wherever and however they do. I make sure someone in the room speaks for them, and it’s usually me.
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I know the business
I know why a feature matters to customers and to the company, and what it really takes to build. I turn business goals into engineering plans, and explain technical tradeoffs in terms the business cares about.
Experience
Thirteen years at Dialpad
I joined before the Dialpad app existed, wrote its first versions, and grew with it through every stage since.
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2026
Principal Engineer
- Moved back to the individual contributor track to spend my days writing code again.
- Built new features and dug into the stability and performance of the apps.
- Picked up iOS alongside Android, using AI tools to move faster across both.
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2021 – 2026
Senior Engineering Manager, Android
- Moved from managing both iOS and Android to managing Android only. It was a narrower role, but it let me focus on the work I enjoy most, and another engineering manager still reported to me as the team kept growing.
- Partnered closely with the iOS managers, product managers, and designers through years of change at the company, and kept advocating for mobile at the company level.
- Built a much stronger relationship with the calling library team, which led to much better call quality for our users.
- Managed the deskphone hardware team for a year: learned a completely different technology and turned the team around from very low morale.
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2017 – 2021
Engineering Manager, Mobile
- One of the first managers at Dialpad to push for hiring engineers outside the San Francisco and Vancouver offices.
- Grew the iOS and Android team from about 5 to 16 people across three continents.
- Built a high-performing team that worked together productively, with very high retention and satisfaction.
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2016 – 2017
Mobile Tech Lead
- Still writing code most days, but became the owner of mobile across the company: the person people came to with their ideas and issues.
- Set the technical direction for the Dialpad and UberConference apps on iOS and Android.
- Worked with backend engineers to shape and build APIs that worked well for mobile.
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2013 – 2016
Lead Android Engineer
- Joined as the company’s first Android engineer.
- Rebuilt the UberConference Android app, originally written by a co-founder, on a proper Android foundation.
- Wrote the first version of the Dialpad app, launched at the time as Switch.
On the side
Lvenok Studios
My independent studio for small, focused apps that respect people’s time and data.
Going back to coding full time brought back the itch to build things of my own. Every app here is designed, built, and shipped by me, end to end.
lvenok.app →-
SyncBusy
Mirrors your personal Google or iCloud calendar onto your work calendar as private busy blocks.
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Connections
An Android and iOS app for meeting up with friends nearby, with no feed and no strangers.
Beyond work
What I care about
- Family
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Dad to a seven-year-old girl, and married to my wife for twelve years.
- Investing
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I make angel and seed investments, mostly through Republic, because I like giving new businesses and inventions a chance to exist. A few of them:
- Phoenix Tailings Rare earth metal refining in the US
- Desolenator Solar-powered water desalination
- Machina Labs Robotic, software-defined metal manufacturing
- Proper Good Fully cooked, ready-to-eat meals
- Education
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University of California, Berkeley, class of 2010. Bachelor’s degree with a double major in mathematics and computer science.
Let’s talk.
If you’re building something and need someone to own it end to end, from the code to the team to the business case, I’d love to be part of it.
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Join your team
As an engineer or an engineering leader, hands on the code or leading the people writing it.
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Advise
A sounding board for product, engineering, and team questions, or just someone to bounce ideas off.
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Co-found
Build something new together, from the first idea to the first customers.