Hi, I'm Kao.

"K-O," like knock-out

I like making things people actually use, enjoy, and occasionally laugh at (on purpose). I'm a product leader with 10 years of industry experience. Less talk, more walk. Sometimes a run. And occassionally, a face-plant.

My toxic trait is thinking I can do anything if I watch enough YouTube videos.

Play Kao's Kitchen Cut to the chase🥱

My Career Journey

  1. 2024 - Now

    Principal Product Manager

    Capital One | Discover Network: B2B Network Risk Platform

    I'm leading a 0→1 platform product for the network risk system of record. I've been learning a boatload about fraud that occurs all over the world with credit card transactions every single day.

  2. 2022 - 2023

    Technical Product Manager

    Ibotta: B2B API Rewards as a Service (Walmart)

    I set the product vision & shipped an API in .NET/TypeScript that automated product galleries. As a mid-sized start-up (800 employees), I loved wearing multiple hats and truly being agile.

  3. 2019 - 2022

    Front-End Software Engineer → Technical Product Manager

    Hawaiian Airlines: D2C app for airport kiosks & distribution pricing APIs

    I was a front-end engineer building ADA-compliant airport kiosks that printed boarding passes & bag tags. I pushed to move into product management to led our 3rd party pricing engine for distribution systems such as Google Flights, Kayak, and travel agencies. I'll never forget the fascinating facts I learned about aircraft maintenance, airline operations, and Hawaiian culture.

  4. 2016 - 2019

    Full Stack Software Engineer

    General Motors: Enterprise dealership web apps

    I was a full stack dev specializing in TypeScript & .NET building B2B platform products. I also learned the difference between an inline and V engine.

Fun Projects

  1. 2020 - Now

    Founder & Solo Game Dev (For Funsies)

    Bandit Visual Games: Indie Video Game Studio

    I successfully Kickstarted a video game project during COVID. Designed, wrote, coded, and launched an indie game (on time!)

Have an interesting problem or alien theory?
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