Chris Latko

“Chris was one my earliest hires when I was trying to build out my engineering team. Chris has a lot of experience building software systems and put that experience to good use when making decisions about the architecture for a brand new platform. Chris not only has the ability to get his hands dirty and build out the most complex systems, but also has the ability to think about the big picture and architect the right system. I have had the opportunity to work very closely alongside Chris and I have enjoyed my interactions with him. He has consistently made sound decisions not only for software design but also for the team that he managed.”

“Chris is an incredibly talented and passionate engineer and software architect. He inherently understands complex problems, has the ability to break those complex problems down into simpler components, and is then able to distill this information in a meaningful way to the other engineers working on the problem. This ability is one of the top traits I look for in a software architect. ”

“Chris was an exception colleague of mine. Throughout his career, he had started successful companies, worked on mind-blown projects, and dealt with all sort of complex engineering designs. When we were at Banjo architecting the next generation of high-throughput signals pipelines, he brought in his vision and experience to make the enormous scale possible. Chris is the kind of asset that is applicable to all aspects of an engineering entity, and it was a pleasure that we had worked together.”

“I've been fortunate enough to work with Chris for just about two years now. From our first conversations, it was clear that he has a wealth of experience as an architect of large scale data platforms. He has both breadth and depth of knowledge in backend development tools and techniques, libraries, frameworks, data stores, messages busses, build tools, and engineering processes, to name just a few. He is a true "student of the game" when it comes to software development; his aesthetics with respect to good and bad software design set the bar extremely high. At Banjo we are given a lot of flexibility to use the right tool for the job, and it was often Chris who evaluated and provided the initial implementations of new tools, including Flink, gRPC, Gradle, Bazel, Helm, Drone, and Spinnaker. Chris has a unique ability to see the big picture while being able to roll up his sleeves and get stuff done. He is an asset to our team, and is one of the most experienced colleagues I have ever worked with.”

“I've been fortunate to work with Chris for a little over a year, so far, collaborating on a number of different projects, and learning from his immense knowledge in many different areas of technology. Chris is an extremely talented software architect and engineer, and a brilliant mind. He has an especially keen intellect when it comes to systems design and architecture, and has been instrumental in the design and implementation of some major software development projects at Banjo over the past year. Whether helping the team to improve algorithms, or helping the team to refine architecture and coding standards, or to better understand the pros and cons of various available build tools, or to find a solution to a very difficult problem, Chris is incredibly reliable in providing invaluable contributions to the team and the company at large. His unique personality and sense of humor along with his very approachable manner make it a pleasure to work with him.”

“Chris is a rare brilliant mind who is easily approachable as a colleague and extremely knowledgeable and thoughtful when working through complex problems. I've personally learned quite a bit from his approach and style. His knowledge of languages and data structures is first class. He is someone I look forward to collaborating with on any type of project. ”

“I worked with Chris on some pretty complex problems, and I'd like to mention a few things about him for those who are interested. For one, he's a fantastic listener. I want to mention that first, because it's a skill that I think is critical to success in solving complex problems, and also often overlooked. Chris is also a creative thinker who's not afraid to try out a new approach or think about something from a different perspective. He's very thoughtful, and when he tells you something you can be sure that he's really thought about it first. If you have some difficult problems to solve, then I'd recommend Chris to help you with them.”

“Chris and I worked together at Paxata in Redwood City. Apart from being a great engineer with sharp eye for details, Chris is a great collaborator and was always full of ideas on how to extend our projects we were working on together. Chris has deep knowledge in microservices, build systems and infrastructure and he is able to translate it into problem solving and project execution which he does great. I would recommend anyone to work with Chris and I'm sure he will be an asset to every organization he joins. ”

“I worked with Chris for over 2 years and he is in my opinion an immensely talented engineer and architect. Chris has the a vast experience in all things CS as well as the ability to very quickly pick-up new technologies and put them to work. All these invaluable skills paired with his dedication make him incredibly easy to recommend to companies big and small. ”

“Chris is extremely considered and has offered stunning solutions to very difficult real world problems. Has has commanded deep respect from his peers and I would highly recommend him on advising start ups looking at scaling and facing complex technical challenges.”

“The level of detail that Chris looks into a solution gives him the advantage of looking ten steps ahead to build a foundation that is path agnostic and gives flexibility for new options. His knowledge and foresight not only applies to technology and engineering, but business development as well. Chris is driven to find elegant solutions. He also is as invested in his team as he is a to a problem. He is dedicated to learning and will lead people with the tools to solve a problem for themselves. His ability to explain a problem both on a technical aspect and non technical is keen, and he can fluently translate the framework of any issue.”

“Chris is a fantastic technical architect. He is always striving to use best practice and add value where he can. He was an evangelist within the team and helped everyone understand the principles behind decisions and how these were executed within the stack. He was always open to new ideas and fostered vibrant discussion. It was a pleasure to work with Chris.”

“Chris' ocean of technology knowledge is by far the greatest I have ever been in touch with. At this point in time, almost every challenging technological issue has the right tool to solve it, and Chris is intimately familiar with a huge number of tools that can help a company to get problems, that are blocking their business to succeed, out of the way. For over a year I have witnessed his great wits being applied to all major data-related challenges we had in IT using this wide range of tools, concepts, architecture and complex solutions.”

“Among other things, Chris architected and built our microservices platform from scratch, consistently making the right calls when it came to choosing supporting design patterns and technologies and at a time when the whole concept of microservices relatively unknown and less supported. This comes from his fundamental understanding of technology and his thoughtfulness, which would make him a great advisor for new platforms and projects. He also brings the knowledge, confidence and foresight to identify and highlight weaknesses in existing or developing projects, which is the kind of advice many entrepreneurs need the most.”

“Chris Latko is one of the best software architects I’ve ever worked with. He’s knowledgeable, incredibly dedicated and has an outstanding capacity to find solutions for difficult technical problems. I worked closely with Chris on a few projects and he’s one of those rare engineers who you can trust the execution of products blindly. Not only he writes code beautifully but also is very careful framing problems, anticipating requirements and thinking long-term. If you want a thought out, stable and robust product, Chris is your go to person. I would recommend Chris with no hesitations.”

“Chris is a very knowledgable engineer and a fantastic software architect. We worked on two major products together, and he demonstrated to be a hard worker, took initiative, and always delivered on his tasks on time. More importantly he has a tremendous capability to think outside the box! I would love to work with him again and would recommend him highly!”

“I had the pleasure of working with Chris when I was requested I do some Java work on contract down in Palo Alto. As a Java engineer I was in heaven - he designed and implemented an amazing and - dare I say ... fun - stack that was a absolute pleasure to develop within. His detail and thoughtfulness when designing is beyond reproach and no stone is left unturned ... I left PA with a new found love for Java after working just a week together. I'd recommend this guy in a heartbeat - a fun guy with an amazing eye for technology and the ability to get things done.”

“Chris is a very talented Software Engineer, I worked with him in a start up for a time and helped develop the infrastructure for a very robust micro services architecture on docker, A highly available and scalable API and many other projects and designed and implemented by Chris. This is a guy who if future looking and always endeavouring to use best practice, I would recommend Chris highly, he is genuine and hardworking not to mention knowledgeable and a fantastic developer.”

“Chris was a great contributor for our engineering team at Playdom / Disney Interactive. He brought an extensive background in software and systems that helped push forward our product. He was always very willing to help others and taught the team how to use and build upon the new features and tools he created for us. Chris could be counted on to provide thoughtful input on project decisions and always took responsibility in owning the technical solutions he designed. He is a dedicated engineer and was a highly entertaining member of our group.”

“Chis is a seasoned an knowledgeable software engineer. From knowing the minimum version of php that supports namespaces to being aware of the day a new version of backbone.js is released, he has his finger on the pulse of the tech world. It was always interesting discussing possible frameworks to leverage for a application with him.”

“Chris brings an almost unmatched breadth of knowledge about current and past technologies to every discussion, providing fodder for the discourse necessary to rule out dead-ends and explore new options. His willingness to entertain several options and then research and implement the solution that best fits the problem space is a great asset when the team is unsure of 'the right way.' In my time with Chris at Disney Social I found his ability to leave pride at the door and work with, rather than against us, refreshing. Of additional note is that Chris is fun to work with and cares about the products he makes, which is a rare commodity!”

“I feel lucky to have met and worked with Chris. He exceeded expectations in every way. He proved to be an immediate help to the organization and I received continuously positive feedback about his work. He's a smart engineer, who shows up every day with the attitude to make things better and to push the limits of technology. His creativity and work ethic would make him a valued employee, in any organization.”

“Chris is a great engineer to work with. He constantly strives to do things right, and is very focused on the goal at hand. He has a vast knowledge of principle and theory and makes himself available to converse with peers when needed. His proactive and self-driven nature was always inspiring, I'd choose to work with him anytime.”

“Chris has the unique ability to pay close attention to detail, while delivering fast, clean, re-usable code on a deadline. He takes pride in his work and is also fun to be around.”

“Chris is an extremely gifted software engineer. He's an excellent teammate I've had the pleasure to work beside, and get to know, over the last five months. He can accomplish any project assigned to him no matter the circumstance always striving to deliver the best possible product to end-users. Chris is a highly knowledgeable and resourceful technologist who understands the latest technology trends and is uber-connected in the social media world. He has a unique personality, which makes the experience of working with him fun and positive. When he joined Lockerz, he brought a high-level of energy and expertise to the team. Chris knows how to adapt and fit into a team in which he works and is a great asset for any company fortunate enough to have him as part of their team.”

“Chris is truly one of the most technologically savvy people I have ever had the pleasure of working with. His knowledge of IT is second to none and his constant presence on a variety of social media sites serves to ensure that his knowledge in this area remains as up-to-date as possible in a world that changes so quickly.”

“En français, le terme «nerd» est devenu plutôt péjoratif. Comparé à un «geek», un nerd est plus asocial et polarisé sur les centres d'intérêts auxquels il se consacre. Ce qui n'est absolument pas le cas pour Chris Latko, que l'on peut qualifier de champion des médias sociaux, avec plus de 240,000 abonnés sur Twitter, et trouvant toujours le temps pour discuter et sympatiser avec les gens sur les médias sociaux. Chris trouve réponse à tout. Par ailleurs, il démontre un goût analytique fort poussé pour toutes les pages d'erreurs qu'il rencontre!”

“クリスはアシュリーアソシエイツにてCMS開発、設計及びプログラマーチームのリーダーとしてインフラ管理設計グループの私と共に働いておりました。当時としては日本では数少ないコンテンツ管理システムを日本最大の金融機関への納入なども果たし大変大きな成果を上げました。プログラマーとして問題解決の柔軟性は非常に高く、スピード及び精度には申し分ございません。設計などにつきましてはCMS分野は日本では手探りでありながら非常に高い結果を残しました。CMS以外でもweb技術を駆使し汎用的なツールの開発設計を行い50名程度の会社でありながら大企業の要望に答えられる高い評価を受けました。”

“As Webmaster, Chris established sandiegometro.com in 1996 as one of the first news-based Websites in California, grown into the deepest business info source in San Diego available at no charge. Sandiegometro.com recently changed hands, so don't judge it by its cover. Click on Archive, then on Old Website, and everything you see from 1996 through June 2009 was his hard work, with some help from an outstanding editorial crew. He's also personable, always on time, trustworthy and creative. So there.”

“Chris is a talented coder who does very high-quality work with an eye on doing it right for the long term. Extremely hard-working and dilligent, and follows through strongly on his commitments. Definitely an extremely valuable asset to the success of a project.”

“I worked directly with Chris on several site design and CMS implementation projects. Chris is a true expert in web development who enjoys solving challenging technology problems. On top of that, his stable, calm leadership style makes Chris a real pleasure to work with. Very solid technology manager -- I hope I get a chance to work with him again.”

“I worked with Chris on the design and development of the Ashley Associates in-house content management system as well as several client web-page solutions a few years back. I could not have done without his guidance when I joined the company and he quickly managed to bring me up to speed on web-programming and technology. Chris sits firmly at the top of his field. His in depth knowledge of the technology, coupled with excellent people skills makes him an invaluable asset to his clients and employers. Moreover, his eye for "intelligent designs" and genuine curiosity lifts him above his peers, who may share his mastery of the technology, but lack the creative edge and sense for how to safely navigate a project to completion.”

“Chris has the great ability to marry a strong technical background and knowledge with the ever-changing business needs and requirements. With his expericence in web development and user friendly interfaces, he is superb in leading the development efforts for any organization.”

“Chris was a very capable leader, knew the technology he was working with, and had excellent practices in place to ensure quality deliverables. He also dealt very well with the challenges of working in a foreign country, and with an international team.”

“Not only is Chris the ideal manager, he is a virtual plethora of technical information. In additional to being a very supportive manager, he can balance the role being between being a manager and a team player very well.”

“Chris Latko always has made the success of our business his business. He takes what Metro San Diego Communications does personally and invests his time into helping us come up with the best solution, not just the easiest solution. To top everything off he is a nice guy and a pleasure to work with.”

“Few people *gets* technology the way Chris does and he has a great understanding of how to apply technologies to solve real world business problems. He was an effective manager, a patient mentor, and a great person to work with.”

“Chris is a dedicated and talented developer who breaths technology and is always striving to deliver only the best quality solutions in his code.”

“Chris was a highly effective manager and great person to work with. He was constantly evaluating the latest technologies and he responded quickly to client requests and feedback. He was always available to provide guidance and help to his staff, even in highly stressful situations.”