Eric J. Kao
About Eric J. Kao
Eric J. Kao is the Technical Education Lead at Styra, with extensive experience in both academia and industry, including roles at VMware and Stanford University.
Title at Styra
Eric J. Kao is the Technical Education Lead at Styra. He joined Styra in November 2021 and has since been contributing to the development and education around Open Policy Agent. His role involves creating educational content and participating in webinars and events related to policy-as-code and access control.
Previous Roles at VMware
Eric J. Kao worked at VMware, where he first served as a Sr Member of Technical Staff from 2015 to 2019. He was then promoted to Engineering Manager, a position he held from 2019 to 2021. During his tenure, he gained significant experience in the industry, contributing to various technical projects and initiatives.
Academic Background
Eric J. Kao earned his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) and Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Stanford University. Before that, he graduated with a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo. His academic background imbues him with a robust foundation in both theoretical and applied aspects of computer science and mathematics.
Experience in Academia and Industry
Eric J. Kao’s career spans over 15 years in both academia and industry. He spent seven years at Stanford University serving as a Research & Teaching Assistant. In addition to his academic experience, he has held technical and financial roles, including positions as an Equity Research Intern at Bailard, Inc. and a Summer Analyst at TD Securities.
Publications and Contributions
Eric J. Kao has authored several notable works, including the 2023 State of Policy as Code Report. He writes blog posts focusing on continuous monitoring in microservices and security breaches, dynamic authorization for zero trust security, and cloud-native security. His contributions help advance the field of policy-as-code and overall cloud security.