Tobias Mao
Director Of Engineering at Fivetran
California, United States
Summary
🤩
Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolTobias Mao is an engineering leader and founder with 11 years of experience building data, experimentation, and recommendation systems and currently serving as Director of Engineering at Fivetran. As co-founder and CTO of Tobiko Data (acquired by Fivetran), he built SQLMesh and created SQLGlot, a widely used open-source SQL parser and transpiler that demonstrates his focus on bringing software engineering rigor to data tooling. His background spans senior technical roles at Airbnb and Netflix where he architected experimentation infrastructure and large-scale data platforms, and earlier work includes recommendation engines handling tens of millions of items. Tobias blends hands-on backend development with product-facing system design, contributing directly to projects like an online 18xx gaming platform and improving SQL compatibility across dialects. A former Rubik’s Cube world record holder, he applies the same penchant for problem decomposition to complex systems and now enjoys board games and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Based in California with a BA in Mathematics from Northwestern, he combines entrepreneurial drive with deep practical expertise in data engineering and open-source.
11 years of coding experience
12 years of employment as a software developer
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Mathematics, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Mathematics at Northwestern UniversityCrystal Springs Uplands
Stackoverflow
484reputation
28kreached
22answers
2questions
Github Skills (20)
gameplay10
python10
videogames10
ruby10
sql10
snowflake9
bigquery9
aws-redshift9
amazon-redshift9
text-parsing8
transpiler8
parsing8
transcode8
git7
relational-databases6
Programming languages (11)
Github contributions (5)
tobymao/sqlglot
Mar 2021 - Jan 2023
Python SQL Parser and Transpiler
Role in this project:
Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:3380 reviews, 1121 commits, 1194 PRs in 1 year 10 months
Contributions summary:Tobias's commits primarily focused on enhancing the Python SQL parser and transpiler. They fixed bugs, added new functionality, and improved the codebase. Their contributions included adding support for BigQuery's ANY TYPE, Redshift's JSON extract functionality, and nested joins. Further commits involved the removal of table hints and the inclusion of better support for interval spans.
pythontranslationtsqlparserredshift
tobymao/18xx
Dec 2022 - Jan 2023
A platform for playing 18xx games online!
Role in this project:Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:3367 reviews, 42 commits, 3161 PRs in 1 month
Contributions summary:Tobias primarily contributed to the backend of the 18xx game platform. Their work included code modifications, likely aimed at improving the game's logic and functionality, as shown in the modification of map-related code. The user also addressed issues by reverting changes related to user settings and fixing minor issues like typos in the welcome message. These changes suggest a focus on improving game play or fixing bugs.
18xxgamegamesonline-gamesboardgame
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