Michael Balso
FPGA DeveloperBuilder
Databricks
AI is analyzing your overall score…
Identifying your key strengths…
Evaluating your skill match against the job requirements…
Assessing your cultural and operational fit
Builder
AI is analyzing your overall score…
Identifying your key strengths…
Evaluating your skill match against the job requirements…
Assessing your cultural and operational fit
University of Toronto
Bachelor of Applied Science, Electrical & Computer Engineering
N/A – Present
Databricks
Director of Product Management
January 1, 2026 – Present
San Francisco, California, United States
Tecton
Co-Founder & CEO
January 1, 2019 – March 1, 2026
Uber
Senior Product Manager of Machine Learning
November 1, 2015 – January 1, 2018
San Francisco Bay Area
Product Manager
September 1, 2012 – November 1, 2015
Mountain View, California
Altera
Design Engineer
January 1, 2010 – January 1, 2010
Toronto, Ontario
Twitter Sentiment Influenced Stock Market Trading Algorithm
September 1, 2011 – April 1, 2012
UofT Capston Project. We created a software system to recognize macro trends Twitter sentiment and apply machine learning algorithms to find correlations with stock stock market data. We're currently seeing promising preliminary results. This project was built with the Twitter API, Python, and MongoDB.
Cultural Fit Analysis
The candidate's background is primarily in product leadership and entrepreneurship within the Machine Learning and software space. While there is an early career stint as a Design Engineer at Altera, the vast majority of their experience is not directly in FPGA development. This suggests a potential mismatch for a hands-on FPGA Developer role, though their leadership and strategic skills could be valuable in a more senior, architectural, or management-focused FPGA role.
Soft Skills & Operational Fit
The candidate demonstrates strong leadership, strategic thinking, and the ability to build and scale technical teams and products, particularly in the Machine Learning domain. Experience as a Co-Founder & CEO indicates strong entrepreneurial drive and operational acumen. However, the most recent roles are heavily focused on product management and leadership rather than hands-on FPGA development.