Software Engineer · New York

Jake Podell

Full Stack Technologist | High Performance Web Applications

Who I am

I'm a software engineer based in New York, most recently focused on building high-performance frontend systems for financial markets. I graduated from Cornell University where I studied computer science and built autonomous aerial vehicles.

I've spent the last several years shipping production software at scale — first at Meta, and then at Citadel Securities. I care about fast, reliable interfaces and the kind of engineering craft that makes complex systems feel simple to use.

I'm interested in a wide array of technologies, including hardware and AI systems, and I'm always looking for opportunities to learn and grow. When I'm not coding, you can find me snowboarding, at the gym, or spending too much money on keyboards.

Where I've worked

Aug 2021 – Present
Citadel Securities
Frontend Software Engineer
  • Build and maintain real-time trading dashboards used by equity and options desks globally
  • Architect high-throughput data pipelines connecting C++ / Kdb+ back-ends to React UIs with sub-100ms latency
  • Lead frontend platform initiatives: design system, component library, and build tooling modernization
Jul 2019 – Aug 2021
Meta
Software Engineer
  • Reimagined Facebook's internal integration with the Ax open-source library for sequential field experiments, resulting in a 52% year-over-year increase in product usage
  • Redesigned experiment result visualizations for consistency across UI, Python notebooks, and mobile surfaces
  • Shipped features across Facebook and Instagram reaching hundreds of millions of users
Early Career
May – Aug 2018
Facebook
Software Engineer Intern · Jobs Team
  • Built an application tracking system for businesses to organize and track job applicants
  • Developed a mobile view for users to see upcoming and completed interviews in the jobs browser
May – Aug 2017
Shopkeep
Software Engineer Intern
  • Built a JSON API in Ruby on Rails for verifying merchant applications with a third-party payment processor
  • Developed the React front end where users create and manage their merchant accounts
May – Aug 2016
SALT
iOS Engineer Intern
  • Designed and built a "connect to friends" feature using the device address book — first major social graph feature for the angel-backed iOS startup
  • Eliminated the entire Objective-C codebase dependency by migrating files to Swift
May – Aug 2015
Nickelfish
Software Engineer Intern
  • Led development of a promotional web app for Michael Kors' site — users upload photos and overlay them with Kors apparel
  • Redesigned Prudential's QMA website for mobile formats; built sites for Coldwell Banker and ADP

Tech I work with

React TypeScript C++ Python Kdb+ / q SQL HTML / CSS Node.js GraphQL Git Java Swift Arduino

Cornell University

B.S. Computer Science
Magna Cum Laude
GPA 3.75
Coursework Distributed Systems · Artificial Intelligence · Embedded Systems · Analysis of Algorithms · Theory of Computing · Functional Programming · Discrete Mathematics
Dean's Honor List — Spring 2016 through Fall 2018
CUAir — Electrical Team Member
Cornell's competitive autonomous drone team · 2015–2018
2nd Overall 2018 2nd Overall 2017 2nd in Mission 2016

Competed in the national Student Unmanned Air Systems (SUAS) competition, placing second three years running. Responsible for PCB design, RF communications, power systems, on-aircraft computing, and custom electronics for the in-flight air drop system. Wrote a Bash script to autonomously connect the aircraft to wireless networks and execute two-way file transfers mid-flight.

Let's connect

Whether you have a question, an opportunity, or just want to say hi — my inbox is open.