Software engineer and avid reader; team manager and book collector; overseeing over two hundred people at work and two kids at home. Currently a senior director of software engineering in Google, Inc.
(2007–date) | Google, Inc. I’m a senior director of software engineering in Google’s search group, leading a team of about 200 engineers in Google’s Haifa, Tel Aviv, Washington DC, Bangalore, and NYC offices. Early in my Google career, I’ve worked in the AdWords and AdSense product groups. Since late 2009, I am working in Search, helping shape the future of the Google search results page and enriching Google’s Knowledge Engine. The team I manage is focused mostly on structured data in search results, including information in domains like sports, health, languages, job search, automobiles, and more; in the past, my team has also built features related to weather, financial information, currency and unit conversions, and other knowledge domains. |
(1999–2007) | Freelance web developer During my years in graduate school, I have developed several websites, including a CMS program that powered the original homepage of the Israeli Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy (sf-f.org.il) and the first version of movie reviews site FishEye (fisheye.co.il). |
(1997–2003) | IBM Haifa Research Laboratory (IBM HRL) Worked as an intern and later in a part-time position in IBM’s Haifa Research Laboratory, first Programming Languages and Optimization department and later in the Systems and Software department. I took part in several research projects, including: 3D graph visualization, large-framework accessibility, static analysis of software and automated Enterprise Java validation tools (for IBM’s WebSphere Studio product). |
(1995–1998) | Shells Interactive, Ltd. Worked as a lead programmer, project manager and later on as a consultant for this startup company, which created multimedia authoring tools and Macromedia Director plug-ins. |
(1992–2000) | GalSoft, Ltd. Beginning in 1992, I took a leading part in several projects by this Israeli company. These projects included the development of multimedia CD-ROMs for teaching driving theory, preparing students to psychometric exams, and more. Years later, I have also orchestrated the porting of some of these projects into modern web-sites, and developed additional (unrelated) web-sites for this company. |
(1991–1993) | FastVGA As a high-school student, I developed (with Ido Razon) FastVGA, a shareware multimedia toolkit for Borland Pascal programmers. FastVGA was an engine for arcade and action games under DOS, including a high-speed graphics engine with graphic primitives, precision timing functions, etc. |
Over the years, I also did quite a few different freelance projects and provided consultancy services to numerous companies, including banks, insurance companies, and software engineering firms.
(1998–date) | Technion (Israeli Institution of Technology in Haifa, Israel) I occasionally teach courses in the Faculty of Computer Science. To date, I have taught the following courses: Programming Languages (234319), Introduction to the Theory of Compilation (236360), Object-Oriented Programming (236703), Introduction to Operating Systems (234119), Operating Systems/Linux (234120), and Advanced Topics in CS: Enterprise programming (236606). |
(2007–2016) | Haifa University I led several courses in the Department of Computer Science, including a seminar in Programming Languages, a course in Web development, and a project in modern application development technologies. |
(1998–2003) | IBM (Israel) Learning Services I taught various professional training courses in IBM (Israel) Learning Services. My field of expertise was software engineering, advanced topics in Java, Enterprise Java, Web Services, and the IBM WebSphere Application Server. I have also developed custom course materials for several of IBM’s clients. |
(1999) | The Open University of Israel I taught software engineering courses in the Israeli Open University’s “Project: Thought”, designed to introduce people with academic degrees to computer-related professions. |
E-mail: tal@forum2.org
Homepage: http://tal.forum2.org/