Nick Karnik

I am a full-stack engineer and engineering leader with over 25 years of experience across big tech, startups, and research organizations. I have worked at Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, Tableau, T-Mobile, and Bill Gates’ think tank, the Institute for Disease Modeling at IV Labs, which later merged into the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Most recently, I led engineering for Gemini Code Assist at Google, helping take an AI coding assistant from early development to adoption by millions of developers using VS Code and IntelliJ. My work focused on backend systems, developer tooling, platform architecture, and AI-assisted development, with an emphasis on performance, scalability, and real-world developer workflows.

I have also founded startups, served as a CTO, raised venture funding, and taken products from prototype to production and through acquisition. I enjoy working across the stack, wearing multiple hats, and solving ambiguous problems.

I mentor engineers at all stages, from complete beginners to senior candidates preparing for technical interviews. My approach is practical and structured, focusing on strong fundamentals, clear thinking, and building confidence. My primary technical focus today is JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js, platform engineering, and AI-driven developer tools, with experience across many other languages as needed.