Dave Rensin

Areas of Expertise

Deep technical scars, a history of building companies from scratch, and a very low tolerance for over-engineered nonsense.

AI & Machine Learning

Strategic investment in large-scale AI systems, and leading Google's cultural shift towards hyperproductive AI adoption.

Cloud Computing & Architecture

Deep experience across major cloud platforms (Google Cloud, AWS) and distributed systems design.

Site Reliability Engineering (SRE)

Pioneered Google's Customer Reliability Engineering (CRE) function, expert in large-scale production engineering.

Startups & Entrepreneurship

Multi-time founder with successful exits, now actively advising the next generation of tech startups.

Mobile & Wireless Tech

Early innovator in mobile video streaming and wireless internet services.

Innovation & Patents

Holder of 16 US patents across various technology domains.

Career Journey

BS, Management Science and Statistics

University of Maryland, College Park | Aug 1990 - May 1994

BS, Management Science and Statistics

University of Maryland, College Park | Aug 1990 - May 1994

CTO / Co-Founder

Riverbed Technologies | Sep 1998 - Feb 2000

CTO / Co-Founder

Riverbed Technologies | Sep 1998 - Feb 2000

CTO / CPO / Chief Strategist

Omnisky Corp. | Mar 2000 - Jul 2001

CTO / CPO / Chief Strategist

Omnisky Corp. | Mar 2000 - Jul 2001

Founding CEO / Chief Scientist

Reality Mobile LLC | Oct 2003 - Jan 2013

Founding CEO / Chief Scientist

Reality Mobile LLC | Oct 2003 - Jan 2013

Principal Solutions Architect

Amazon Web Services (AWS) | Jan 2013 - Nov 2013

Principal Solutions Architect

AWS | Jan 2013 - Nov 2013

Senior Vice President, Products

Novitas | Nov 2013 - Nov 2014

Senior Vice President, Products

Novitas | Nov 2013 - Nov 2014

Director, Global Cloud Customer Operations

Google | Nov 2014 - Oct 2016

Director, Global Cloud Customer Operations

Google | Nov 2014 - Oct 2016

Director, Customer Reliability Engineering (CRE)

Google | Oct 2016 - May 2018

Director, Customer Reliability Engineering (CRE)

Google | Oct 2016 - May 2018

Director, CRE & Network Capacity

Google | May 2018 - May 2019

Director, CRE & Network Capacity

Google | May 2018 - May 2019

Senior Director Of Engineering,
Technical Advisor to the CFO

Google | May 2019 - Mar 2021

Senior Director Of Engineering

Google | May 2019 - Mar 2021

SVP of Engineering

Pendo.io | Mar 2021 - Sep 2022

SVP of Engineering

Pendo.io | Mar 2021 - Sep 2022

Distinguished Engineer,
Technical Advisor to the CFO

Google | Sep 2022 - Jan 2026

Distinguished Engineer

Google | Sep 2022 - Jan 2026

Distinguished Engineer,
Technical Advisor to the CFO

Google | Jan 2026 - Present

Distinguished Engineer

Google | Jan 2026 - Present

Entrepreneurial Ventures

Riverbed Technologies

Co-founder & CTO

Acquired ($1B+)

Omnisky Corp.

CTO / CPO / Chief Strategist

IPO (NASDAQ: OMNY)Acquired

Reality Mobile LLC

Founding CEO / Chief Scientist

FounderAcquired

Board Memberships & Advisory Roles

Sharing expertise across academia, public policy, and the startup ecosystem to guide the responsible scaling of transformative technologies.

International Trade Advisory Council

U.S. Department of Commerce | Jan 2004 - Jan 2007

George Mason University - Computer Game Design

Advisory Role | Jan 2011 - Jan 2014

Beachhead Solutions

Board Member | Jan 2003 - Present

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Govini

Board of Advisors | Jan 2017 - Feb 2020

Aalyria

Advisor | Aug 2021 - Present

Wisy Platforms, Inc.

Advisor | Jan 2025 - Present

LaserData

Advisor | Jan 2025 - Present

Books

The Site Reliability Workbook: Practical Ways to Implement SRE

Learn More →

Implementing Service Level Objectives Cover

Implementing Service Level Objectives: A Practical Guide to SLIS, SLOS, and Error...

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97 Things Every SRE Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the Experts

Learn More →

Building a Windows IT Infrastructure in the Cloud Cover

Building a Windows IT Infrastructure in the Cloud: Distributed Hosted Environments...

Learn More →

Kubernetes- Scheduling the Future at Cloud Scale

Learn More →

Microsoft SQL Server 7 Secrets

Learn More →

Asp: Active Server Pages

Learn More →

SQL Server 6.5 Secrets

Learn More →

Amazon author page

Research and Patents

Google Scholar Profile

View citations, h-index, and list of publications indexed by Google Scholar.

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Google Research Profile

Explore official research contributions, projects, and activities at Google Research.

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Patents

30 years of innovation in mobile, wireless, security, and cloud.

View List →

Public Speaking

Engineering Management – The Missing Manual

Published: Dec 2023

Insights on engineering leadership and management frameworks.

Watch Video →

Human Beings: The Missing Instruction Manual

Hypergrowth Engineering Summit - Jul 2022

Understanding the human brain to optimize how engineering leaders organize and manage teams.

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Engineering Management: Interviews & Hiring

Exponent Interview - Jun 2021

Insights on hiring engineering managers and what makes a great EM.

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Ruin Your Systems By Making Them Perfect

Agile India - Nov 2020

Understanding why chasing perfection can destroy systems and how imperfection helps.

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Chaos Engineering for People Systems

Chaos Conf - Oct 2019

A thoughtful, humorous, cutting-edge talk applying Chaos Engineering principles to organizations.

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Do This or Fail (Seriously!)

Cerner Tech Talk - Jul 2017

Learn the one thing you must do to succeed in your cloud journey and how Google SRE partners with you.

Watch Video →

Find more talks and interviews here.

About Me

Areas of Expertise

AI & Machine Learning

Cloud Computing & Architecture

Site Reliability Engineering (SRE)

Startups & Entrepreneurship

Mobile & Wireless Tech

Innovation & Patents

Career Journey

BS, Management Science and Statistics

BS, Management Science and Statistics

CTO / Co-Founder

CTO / Co-Founder

CTO / CPO / Chief Strategist

CTO / CPO / Chief Strategist

Founding CEO / Chief Scientist

Founding CEO / Chief Scientist

Principal Solutions Architect

Principal Solutions Architect

Senior Vice President, Products

Senior Vice President, Products

Director, Global Cloud Customer Operations

Director, Global Cloud Customer Operations

Director, Customer Reliability Engineering (CRE)

Director, Customer Reliability Engineering (CRE)

Director, CRE & Network Capacity

Director, CRE & Network Capacity

Senior Director Of Engineering,Technical Advisor to the CFO

Senior Director Of Engineering

SVP of Engineering

SVP of Engineering

Distinguished Engineer,Technical Advisor to the CFO

Distinguished Engineer

Distinguished Engineer,Technical Advisor to the CFO

Distinguished Engineer

Entrepreneurial Ventures

Riverbed Technologies

Omnisky Corp.

Reality Mobile LLC

Board Memberships & Advisory Roles

International Trade Advisory Council

George Mason University - Computer Game Design

Beachhead Solutions

Govini

Aalyria

Wisy Platforms, Inc.

LaserData

Books

The Site Reliability Workbook: Practical Ways to Implement SRE

Implementing Service Level Objectives: A Practical Guide to SLIS, SLOS, and Error...

97 Things Every SRE Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the Experts

Building a Windows IT Infrastructure in the Cloud: Distributed Hosted Environments...

Kubernetes- Scheduling the Future at Cloud Scale

Microsoft SQL Server 7 Secrets

Asp: Active Server Pages

SQL Server 6.5 Secrets

Popular Articles

Elephants, Goldfish and the New Golden Age of Software Engineering

When Remote Work Didn’t

Meetings are Bugs, Not Features — Here’s How You Squish Them!

Lessons I Learned at Google

Research and Patents

Google Scholar Profile

Google Research Profile

Patents

Public Speaking

Engineering Management – The Missing Manual

Human Beings: The Missing Instruction Manual

Engineering Management: Interviews & Hiring

Ruin Your Systems By Making Them Perfect

Chaos Engineering for People Systems

Do This or Fail (Seriously!)

Contact

Senior Director Of Engineering,
Technical Advisor to the CFO

Distinguished Engineer,
Technical Advisor to the CFO

Distinguished Engineer,
Technical Advisor to the CFO