Albert C. Lai
About Albert C. Lai
Albert C. Lai is a Senior Software Engineer with extensive educational background, holding multiple master's degrees and a Ph.D. candidacy in Biomedical Engineering. He has contributed significantly to Credit Karma's software architecture and has held various roles in academia and industry.
Current Role at Credit Karma
Albert C. Lai serves as a Senior Software Engineer at Credit Karma, a position he has held since 2017. In this role, he has contributed to significant projects, including the transition from a monolithic codebase to a microservice-based architecture. He has also architected a microservice-based Recommendation System, known as RecSys, which replaced the previous KRS system. His responsibilities include serving as the primary interfacing engineer for troubleshooting both the current RecSys and the legacy KRS recommendation systems.
Education and Expertise
Albert C. Lai has an extensive educational background, having studied at the University of Southern California. He achieved a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from 2002 to 2005, followed by a Master of Science in Computer Science from 2004 to 2006. He also obtained a Master of Public Administration from 2008 to 2011 and a Master of Arts in International Relations during the same period. Additionally, he is a Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Engineering, with studies spanning from 2003 to 2009. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from UCLA, completed from 1998 to 2002.
Previous Work Experience
Before his current role at Credit Karma, Albert C. Lai held various positions in the Greater Los Angeles Area and beyond. He worked as a Technical Consultant at ImmersiveTech.org from 2010 to 2012. He also served in several capacities at the University of Southern California, including Finance Chair and President of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate, as well as a Research Assistant in the Laboratory for Neural Computation. He co-founded ShoutAbout, Inc, where he was the Technical Team Lead from 2011 to 2014.
Leadership Roles
Albert C. Lai has demonstrated leadership in academic settings, particularly at the University of Southern California. He served as the President of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate from 2006 to 2008, where he contributed to student governance and representation. Additionally, he held the position of Finance Chair for the same senate during the 2005 to 2006 academic year. His involvement in these roles reflects his commitment to enhancing the student experience and advocating for graduate and professional students.
Technical Contributions
In his technical career, Albert C. Lai has made significant contributions to software engineering, particularly in the development of recommendation systems. At Credit Karma, he played a critical role in architecting the RecSys, which improved upon the previous KRS system. His expertise in transitioning to a microservice-based architecture has been pivotal in enhancing the company's technological framework. His role as the primary interfacing engineer for troubleshooting further underscores his technical proficiency and problem-solving skills.