James Zhang

James Zhang has a long and varied work experience. James began their career in 2003 as a Co-op Pre-professional Programmer at IBM. In 2005, they worked as a Software Engineer Intern at Indeed.com, where they used machine learning to improve job search results. In 2007, they co-founded and became the General Partner of CLZ Concepts, where two Top-10 apps were developed on the Facebook Platform with 500k DAU in 60 days. This company was acquired by Zynga in 2008, where James worked as a Product Manager. In 2008, they co-founded Aftershock Innovations, Inc. and served as the Chief Software Architect, building and scaling two Top 10 iphone games and managing a company of 9 employees. In 2011, they co-founded Joyride, Inc. and served as the CTO, delivering audio to users and being featured in Google I/O 2015 during the official Android Auto launch event. In 2015, they joined Google as a Senior Software Engineer. In 2017, they joined YouTube in the same role. In 2019, they co-owned Golden State Barbell Club and created The Bright App, allowing their wife to manage their family fitness business.

James Zhang began their educational journey at The University of Texas at Austin, where they earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Computer Science in 2005 and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Biology, General in the same year. James then attended the University of California, Berkeley, where they earned a Master of Science (MS) in Computer Science in 2007.