Alumni in Residence

Alumni in Residence (AIR) offers office hours to MEng students with alumni who have expertise in specific topics and industries. During the session, students can receive assistance in clarifying career goals, building job-hunting skills, learning hiring trends, and other career-related advice. To sign up, click on the calendar icon below the participating alumni's name.

Note:

For alumni without a calendar icon, we are updating their schedules and they will be available soon!
Please complete the AIR Student Survey after every appointment.

Participating Alumni

Aerospace

Bioengineering

Holly Stein

'18 ME

Alumni Background:

After Cal, I spent a few years at SpaceX working on the electrical system layout and harnessing for Dragon and Starship. After that, I moved up to Seattle to work at a clean energy startup converting mining vehicles to hydrogen-electric powertrains. Now I'm in-between jobs, but exploring the grid modernization space.

Topics:

Space & energy industries, Transitions, Applying design mindsets, Women in tech

Mechanics:

30 minute sessions booked back-to-back, so please be on time and have questions/discussion topics in mind! Feel free to invite a friend or two - we can do a 60min session if there are multiple people together, just have another person book the second session. If you are unable to make the appointment, please cancel so another student can book the slot.

Aaron Blotnick

'17 BIOE

Alumni Background:

Aaron began his career co-authoring multiple publications at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease and UC Berkeley. He then transitioned to venture capital, where he managed operations for the second cohort of the Longevity Fund's accelerator program, Age1. At Grail, Aaron built the process monitoring data science infrastructure from scratch and helped successfully launch the first approved early-detection multi-cancer test, Galleri. At Zymergen, he developed a financial model for the enzyme-based mRNA synthesis market before their acquisition by Ginkgo Bioworks. At Synthego, Aaron analyzed and implemented a successful strategy for the divestiture of its cell engineering business unit into a new company, EditCo.

Topics:

Career Transitions/Pivots
Networking Etiquette and Biotech Communities in the Bay
Resume Review

Mechanics:

Reach out over Email aaronblotnick@gmail.com or on Linkedin and we can schedule a meeting.

Meina Piao

'21 BIOE

Alumni Background/Description:

Meina manages projects at biotech and AI startup companies and would like to help students interested in project management and entrepreneurship.

Topics:

Project Management and Entrepreneurship

Mechanics:

Sessions are 30 minutes each, Google Meet video conference info is added after booking. Please come prepared with your questions.

Product Design

Software Engineering

Darshan Mehta

'18 ME

Alumni Background/Description:

Please go through my LinkedIn profile, I have transitioned my career a few times from Mechanical to UX Research to Product. I can help students looking to pivot to newer fields or trying to build a specific profile for a job. I can also help with interview preparations, resume reviews etc.

Topics:

Broader technology space and jobs, Interview preparation, building your niche and brand, career guidance and resume reviews.

Mechanics:

Sessions are 45 minutes each. If you have a resume review - send me your resume at least 24 hours prior so I can review it.

Justin Yang

'16 IEOR

Alumni Background/Description:

Working in a global top game publishing company (NetEase Games) as a member of the pioneering publishing producer team in the US, establishing fully-owned US 3A game studios, assisting the business from 0 to 1, and governing/approving the game development full cycle.
Working on a side startup project developing a UGC game social platform.
Worked in corporate strategy/product strategy/consulting roles in top Investment Banking, Mutual Fund Management, and Autonomous Driving firms, working for executives on corporate/product strategy.

Topics:

Startups, Game Development, Consulting, Job Searching, International Student

Mechanics:

Come with specific questions/topics to maximize the time. If you cannot make it, try canceling ASAP.

Aman Lunia

'20 EECS

Alumni Background/Description:

I have a fair amount of experience building production ML systems - serving really large volume traffic (1B+ users/events). More recently I've also had experience building language models and agents that serve many LinkedIn jobs' related experiences. Beyond software engineering, I'm also a part of a couple of angel networks and have invested in a few startups.

Mechanics:

30-minute appointments; Google Meet video conference info added after booking

Data Science

Yuxuan Li

'20 ME

Alumni Background/Description:

I am a Senior Data Scientist at Electronic Arts, focusing primarily on Apex Legends. With more than 4 years of experience in the data field across various companies, I am passionate about helping students understand the different roles in data (Data/BI Analyst, DataScientist, Data Engineer), sharing insights about the data industry, offering job hunting and interview tips, and guide those looking to transition into a data-career path.

Topics:

Data Career Paths (Roles, Industry insights, Job Hunting, Career Transitions)

Mechanics:

Sessions are 30 minutes each. Please confirm your appointment by sending Yuxuan a Zoom meeting link.

Anurag Ramachandra

'14 IEOR

Alumni Background/Description:

Data Science and Analytics professional with diverse experience in the application of Decision Sciences in enterprise environments; led teams to derive insights driven by statistical analyses on big data and manage client expectations by providing recommendations to senior leaderships in multiple sectors.

Topics:

Pros and cons of being an individual contributor (IC) or a manager
How to focus on impact, both during interviews and in the workforce
Deciding if it's better to stay in your current job or if it's time to find a different one

Mechanics:

30-minute appointments; Google Meet video conference info added after booking

Meeting Policies

Booking an Appointment

To book individual one-on-one sessions with an alumni please click on the calendar icon below the alumni's name. Please note that each alumni has their preferred logistics for the meeting (Ex: Google Meet/Zoom).

When reserving an appointment, we encourage you to schedule at least 12 hours in advance of the appointment.

Cancellations and Rescheduling

We understand that sometimes schedule adjustments are necessary. If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, we ask that you do so with at least 24-hour notice. This will open the appointment time to other students.

To CANCEL an appointment:

Find the original calendar invitation email (sent to you at the time of booking) or open the calendar entry on your bCal. Click Cancel appointment button in the invitation email or on the calendar entry. On the booking page that opens, click Cancel your appointment.

To RESCHEDULE an appointment:

Follow the process above to cancel your original appointment. Check the alumni's appointment booking pages to find another open time. Please book at least 12 hours in advance.

Late Arrivals

If students arrive late for appointments, this may shorten the appointment time if it runs into the next student’s scheduled appointment or the alumni’s work projects. Alumni will use their discretion if they are able to meet you for the full 30-minute appointment.

Reserving Multiple Appointment Slots

Please book only one appointment at a time. After you have met with the alumni on the scheduled date and time and if you require another appointment, you may schedule additional appointments as needed. Please refrain from reserving multiple appointment slots at the same time, as this impacts our availability for other students.

Calendar Settings

Please make sure you set your calendar for Pacific Time (PT) and use your Berkeley email to book appointments. When students use their personal email to schedule an appointment the time reflected is based on another time zone, usually their “home” settings. Using the calendar connected to your student email is preferred and can avoid this problem.

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