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Varouj Chitilian
Intermission | former CTO at Instacart | ex-Google, Oracle
Varouj Chitilian is a highly accomplished technology executive currently serving as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Instacart.2 He assumed this role in July 2022, succeeding Mark Schaaf.2
Professional Background
Chitilian has an impressive career in the tech industry, with extensive experience at leading companies:
Google:: Prior to joining Instacart, Chitilian spent over 12 years at Google.2 During his tenure there, he held several senior positions, including:
- Senior Director of Engineering for Consumer Payments
- Senior Staff Software Engineer for Search Ads Quality
- Senior Staff Software Engineer for Ads Frontend
Oracle:: Before his time at Google, Chitilian worked as a Software Development Manager at Oracle.
Education
Chitilian holds advanced degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT):
- Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
- Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Skills and Achievements
Throughout his career, Chitilian has demonstrated expertise in:
- Engineering leadership
- Technology strategy
- Software development
He has received several honors and awards during his time at Google, including:
- OC Award for AdWords 3.0 (2009)
- Top Engineering Accomplishment for A5 Universal Ads (Q4 2009)
- OC Award for Content Ad Formats (June 2010)
- OC Award for Ads Quality Q2 Launches (December 2010)
- Top Engineering Accomplishment for Scripty (Q1 2011)1
Languages
Chitilian is multilingual, with proficiency in:
- English (native or bilingual)
- Armenian (native or bilingual)
- French (limited working proficiency)1
With his extensive background in engineering, leadership roles at top tech companies, and current position as CTO at Instacart, Varouj Chitilian brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the e-commerce and technology sectors.
Highlights
Friends and colleagues, After almost 5.5 years, last week was my last one at Instacart! The most fitting word to describe my journey at Instacart is rewarding. It was rewarding to be a part of the journey of taking Instacart from a startup to a publicly-traded company 🎉. It was rewarding helping millions of people during the pandemic- the work we did likely saved many thousands of lives. But the most rewarding aspect was working alongside world-class talent. Thanks to Apoorva Mehta, Brandon Leonardo, and Max Mullen for founding Instacart, hiring me, and always being greatly supportive. Thanks to Fidji Simo who entrusted me with Instacart’s engineering organization and technical vision. Fidji, it was incredible working closely with you- the force and grace with which you operate is truly remarkable! Last but not least a big thanks to our stellar engineering team and engineering leaders. From scaling Instacart under immense growth pressure, to refactoring the Instacart monolith to support a growing team, to building out our next-gen data platform, to being on the bleeding edge of ML/AI advancements in e-commerce, I’m so proud of everything we built together and excited to see you take Instacart to new heights! So what’s next for me? I’ll be taking an extended break to recharge my batteries, spend quality time with family, and identify the next opportunity that sings to me. The curtains close on this chapter of my career, but it’s not the end just the first intermission!
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