Hey, I'm Tan.
Engineering Leader · Builder · AI Enthusiast
I'm an engineering leader who likes being close to the work.
Before Upwork, I built enterprise systems at IBM and PwC — working with Walmart, American Airlines, CIGNA, HSBC, and CIBC. I hold 2 US patents in customer analytics.
I spent 11 years at Upwork — started as the first engineer on monetization, grew to lead 45+ engineers, then recently moved back to hands-on architecture work. Why? AI is reshaping everything, and I wanted to be building in it, not just managing around it.
What I've Built
Ads Platform
$0 → $100MBuilt and scaled ads business in 3 years at Upwork
Pricing Infrastructure
CoreCentralized fee calculation across all marketplace products
Team Building
3 → 45+Scaled monetization teams across Ads, Subscriptions, Pricing
Subscriptions
76% YoYGrowth to 100K+ active subscribers
Virtual Currency
ConnectsToken ledger, ASC 606 accounting, prepaid & drawdown models
Promotions Platform
CurrentCredit system and pricing orchestration for monetization
Enterprise Systems
2 PatentsFortune 500 consulting at IBM/PwC: Walmart, American Airlines, CIGNA, HSBC, CIBC