Ania Halliop

Work Experience

• Senior Director of Engineering

  GitHub

  June 2022 - Present

  • I lead the Planning & Tracking organization which is responsible for GitHub Issues and GitHub Projects. The organization spans 9 teams with 8 engineering managers and 70+ engineers across NA and EMEA..

• Head of Software

  Waabi

  Mar 2021 - Apr 2022

  • Led the engineering organization developing the next generation of self-driving technology. In addition to my role as Head of Software, I helped lead efforts across Finance, HR, IT, Recruitment, and Facilities, from the first day of the company.

• Senior Engineering Manager

  Uber ATG

  Oct 2020 - Feb 2021 (Uber ATG is sold in Dec 2020)

  • Led teams to productize and optimize machine learning at Uber ATG. My teams brought cutting-edge deep-learning models from research into production for self-driving vehicles. Uber ATG R&D lab closure was announced 6 weeks after I joined.

• Senior Director of Engineering

  FreshBooks

  May 2014 - Oct 2020

  • Reporting to CFO, lead Data Engineering and Infrastructure. Acted as a data advocate to develop the long-term roadmap for FreshBooks to become a data driven organization through data governance, steady operational costs and proper infrastructure investment.

  • Achievements

    • Led data disclosure across the company by identifying challenge areas, creating transparency on projects, and bringing alignment to the future of data at FreshBooks
    • Identified and drove the re-architecture and re-platforming of data infrastructure, as well as led cost and development saving through full migration from AWS to GCP
    • Ensured Data organization budget kept on track (identified 20% savings in 2020)
    • Equipped Data organization with processes for stakeholder engagement & project delivery
    • Worked with external vendors on pricing, support, and future roadmap
    • Led the company-wide Diversity, Inclusivity, and Belonging initiative

  • Previous roles of Director of Engineering, Engineering Manager and Team Lead

    • Managed up to 7 product software teams at a time, consisting of approx 30+ people, and more than a dozen direct reports. Experienced in identifying and building new leaders.
    • Led Engineering Operational Costs with 10% operational cost savings YoY
    • Led initiatives such as creating technical and management engineering career ladders, and creating consistent promotion and calibration processes
    • Built new engineering teams, e.g Growth Enablement, Build & Developer Experience, Hybrid Mobile
    • Led FreshBooks transition to robust double entry accounting platform
    • Led the original team which re-platformed FreshBooks to new tech stack and product
    • Led the co-op program and built a team of volunteers to scale the program and increase diversity
    • Senior software developer building core product features

• Co-founder

  ExploreTech Toronto

  Mar 2015 - Oct 2020

  • Co-founded a monthly meetup to increase diversity in the tech community. Provided mentorship for new technical speakers and ensured at least 50% of all speakers were women at every event. Closed Oct 2020 due to Covid-19.

• Software Developer and Team Lead

  June 2000 - May 2014

  • 1BlockUP: Lead developer on core product features
  • Blackberry/Certicom: Led the VPN (IPsec) Security & Protocols software team and provided technical guidance for QNX mobile devices. Recognition award for BB10 extensible security architecture virtual team. VPN power optimization for BB10
  • BorderWare: Developed security software. Led software team of 2-5 people
  • Siemens/Chantry: Developed application & security software for wireless LAN
  • Hyperchip: Developed MPLS software, based on IETF standards
  • Nortel: Developed BGP and MPLS software, based on IETF standards