Valentin Kulichenko

Valentin Kulichenko has a diverse work experience spanning across various roles and companies. Valentin is currently working as the Database Product Lead at DataStax since April 2023. Prior to this, they were a Senior Product Manager at Yugabyte from February 2022 to February 2023, where they successfully managed projects, gathered requirements, and coordinated across multiple teams.

Valentin also has extensive experience with The Apache Software Foundation, starting in October 2014. Valentin held the role of Apache Ignite Committer & PMC Member, where they actively contributed to the Apache Ignite community by coding, participating in architectural discussions, and assisting users with technical issues.

Before joining Yugabyte, Valentin worked at GridGain Systems from 2010 to 2022, during which they held multiple roles. As the Director of Product Management from July 2020 to January 2022, they led the development of the next-generation GridGain In-Memory Computing Platform, focusing on usability, developer experience, and market expansion.

During their time at GridGain, Valentin also served as a Senior Solutions Architect, where they built architectures for customer-facing applications based on Apache Ignite and GridGain, managed pre-sales proof-of-concept projects, and advised clients on operationalizing Apache Ignite and GridGain. Valentin was also a Lead Architect, responsible for customer success and retention in North America, and a Senior Java Software Engineer, involved in the development of GridGain's Enterprise distributed in-memory computing and data storage platform.

Earlier in their career, Valentin worked as a Software Developer at FORS in 2009 and as a Java Web Developer at Jensen Technology Co from 2006 to 2009. At Jensen Technology Co, they designed and implemented a website builder as part of a content management platform and developed a real-time reporting tool.

Overall, Valentin Kulichenko has a strong background in product management, architecture, software development, and community contribution in the field of distributed databases and related technologies.

Valentin Kulichenko obtained a Master's degree in Computer Science from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, where they studied from 2002 to 2009. Additionally, they have earned several certifications in various areas, including Software Product Management, Product Management - Build, Becoming a Product Manager, Product Management - Foundations, Introduction to Marketing, Introduction to Public Speaking, and Machine Learning. These certifications were obtained from institutions such as Coursera, Pragmatic Institute, and LinkedIn, with the most recent certification obtained in December 2020.