Nick Karnik

Engineer · Builder · Dad of three

Lead Software Engineer

Leading a product team building data and search infrastructure for the financial intelligence platform used by investment professionals worldwide.

Engineering Manager (Gemini Code Assist)

Led engineering for Gemini Code Assist, Google’s AI coding assistant for VS Code and IntelliJ. Drove technical leadership across engineering, product, research, and UX teams to scale AI-assisted development workflows. Delivered cross-cutting features that improved LLM completion acceptance and product adoption, while integrating model advancements and developer feedback into production systems.

Senior Engineering Manager

Continued leadership of connector platform following Tableau acquisition. Delivered REST and native Salesforce connectors; owned Web Data Connector platform. Managed large engineering teams across multiple areas and vendor partnerships; drove hiring, mentoring, and technical strategy. Expanded Connector SDK adoption across Salesforce ecosystem.

Senior Engineering Manager

Led the Data Connectivity Platform, overseeing ODBC, JDBC, and Web Data Connectors. Drove the creation of Web Data Connectors 3 (TACO Toolkit), including the TACO CLI and the Connector SDK that became core standards across the Tableau ecosystem. Built a CI pipeline that allowed more than 100 partners to test and validate their connectors across the entire Tableau stack. Managed engineering teams across multiple areas, guided vendor partnerships, and shaped hiring, mentoring, and technical strategy.

Director of Engineering (via Streamline Digital)

Hired a diverse team of 25 engineers in six weeks; managed four product teams totaling 35+ engineers across T-Mobile Retail Mobility. Delivered custom desktop & mobile applications for the T-Mobile / Sprint merger. Architected and implemented a portable Test Automation Framework that runs in-app.

Principal / Founder

Consulted on MVPs and scale-up projects for clients including Hims/Hers, Sensei Ag (founded by Larry Ellison), and CopBot. Trained 100+ developers in React, Node, and GraphQL via Codementor, YouTube, and dev.to. Built and delivered mobile applications using React Native for early stage clients.

CTO

Built a fin-tech analytics product integrating with banks via Plaid and custom APIs. Accepted into Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Program; led engineering and technical vision.

CTO

Migrated monolith to microservices; rebuilt CI/CD, monitoring, and deployment pipelines. Led platform modernization and org scaling during growth phase.

Senior Software Engineer

Built simulation and visualization tools for malaria, HIV, TB, polio, and more. Developed software and spatial models featured in Bill Gates' TED Talk "The next outbreak? We're not ready." Collaborated with organizations like WHO, ministries of health, NGOs, and universities.

Software Development Engineer

Led multiple Bing teams including Bing Together, Task Framework, Ecosystem, Core Answers, Seasonal Answers, Structured Data, Commerce Relevance, and Commerce Data Pipeline. Architected Big Data Validation Framework (Engineering Excellence Award Nominee). Built JS memory profiling tools for Outlook Web Access; developed Naive Bayes sentiment classifiers for Bing Shopping. Co-inventor on US Patent 8,918,354: Intelligent intent detection from social network messages.

Lead Software Engineer

Architected and developed next-generation Access Control Security System using C++ and C#. Optimized real-time alarm processing for distributed systems. Led team expansion and mentored junior developers in TCP/IP networking and security protocols.

Software Engineer

Developed CRM system in VB.NET, C#, and ASP.NET using SQL 2000. Focused on UI ergonomics and data access design patterns. Built service to monitor orders and dynamically generate PDF files for warehouse printing. Integrated with Cisco Phone Switch for call tracking.

Software Engineer

Developed CRM system in C# using SQL Server 2000. Gathered requirements from end users and designed ergonomic UI for business and contact data access. Integrated task and appointment scheduler with Microsoft Outlook. Built error reporting system with XML web service integration.

Web Application Developer

Converted VB 6 applications to ASP applications. Gained early experience in web development and application modernization. Worked on database design and user interface improvements for medical publishing platform.

Web Developer

Designed, implemented and tested a faculty expertise management tool in ASP using Access 2000. Maintained Engineering Research Center's website during undergraduate studies. Gained foundational experience in web technologies and database design.

Gemini Code Assist

Led technical direction and hands-on engineering for Google's AI coding assistant, integrated into VSCode and IntelliJ IDEs. Implemented a symbol table generator across multiple languages, increasing context for LLM, reducing tokens, and significantly improving code completion acceptance rates.

TACO Toolkit & Connector SDK

Built the next generation connectivity platform called Web Data Connectors 3 (TACO Toolkit), a CI/CD pipeline enabling 100+ partners to test connectors across the Tableau stack. Created a Connector SDK that was widely adopted across the Tableau ecosystem, simplifying web data connector development.

Disease Modeling Tools

Developed advanced simulation and visualization tools for malaria, HIV, TB, and polio research. Created software and spatial models featured in Bill Gates' TED Talk "The next outbreak? We're not ready." Collaborated with WHO, ministries of health, NGOs, and universities worldwide.

Videoly Platform

Co-founded video mail platform allowing users to send video messages via webcam or upload existing videos through email accounts. Reached final stages of YCombinator 2007 application process. Experimented with ad-based and paid revenue models for consumer space and B2B platform services.

RoomToday Platform

Co-founded and built a real-time, last-minute hotel booking platform. Raised $1.6M and led the acquisition by Simasindo and Northcliff Ventures. Developed mobile apps and real-time property management systems used by hotel partners across Asia and Europe.

Intelligent intent detection from social network messages