Alan M.
Engineering Manager
Growing up, I knew that I wanted to be an engineer because I’ve always been fascinated with building things. But I struggled with the fact people like myself were not represented in the field. Now, I look for ways to help other under-represented people find opportunities to be in roles like mine.
On my first day at Meta, I was amazed that I had access to the entire repository of code. I spotted a bug in a major feature and messaged another engineer about it, who said I could write the fix if I were up to it. I coded the fix, had it reviewed, and pushed it live to hundreds of millions of people, all on my first day. It was unbelievable.
I now lead engineering for Instagram Live, which lets people connect in real-time using our Live Streaming and Video Calling products. I’ve always admired Instagram because I come from a mixed background, having studied film in addition to computer science and math. Instagram’s focus on building beautiful, emotionally rich, and well-crafted products was a huge draw for me, and I’m thrilled to be at a company working at the intersection of art and engineering.
As a manager, I get fulfillment from coaching and developing other people. I love helping people work through difficult situations and finding opportunities for them to showcase their talent. Growing up, I knew that I wanted to be an engineer because I’ve always been fascinated with building things. But I struggled with the fact people like myself were not represented in the field. Now, I look for ways to help other under-represented people find opportunities to be in roles like mine. I’ve participated in our Black Mobile Engineering dinner series, our Grace Hopper presence, our internal Diversity and Inclusiveness program, and the Meta University program, which helps students from under-represented backgrounds to get to know Meta’s people and services.
Having held several other jobs, I’ve truly found that Meta is the one place where I could come in from day one and have a huge impact while being my authentic self. And I want others to know that this can also be a place for you too, where you can bring your authentic self to work, and help bring others closer to the people and things they love.