Hi, I’m Julian.
I’m a software engineer and designer based in Brooklyn. Currently, I’m building Magical Sheet, the easiest way for kids to build games.
Occasionally, I write here. If you’re building in the consumer AI space and you want to come build with us or you’d like to have a coffee, please reach out.
I spent five and a half years as an engineer at Airbnb.
From 2018 to 2024, I worked as a Senior Software Engineer on Airbnb iOS app. During this time, I led efforts across nearly every aspect of the hosting experience including Listing Management, Listing Onboarding, and Reservation Management.
AI‑Powered Photo Tour & Photo Ranker 2023
In 2023, I was the Lead for Airbnb’s first public AI project, overseeing the two features designed to make photo management easier for Hosts. We introduced the AI-Powered Photo Tour, which intelligently categorizes a listing’s photos into rooms, and the Photo Ranker, which rearranges a listing’s photo order to boost conversion rates. To support these tools, we built a scalable media pipeline capable of processing hundreds of millions of photos through multiple vision models.
Listing Editor 2023
In 2023, our team delivered one of the largest redesigns in Airbnb’s history: a complete ground-up rewrite of the Listing Management Platform. I co-authored one of the initial proposals for this initiative, eventually presenting it to senior leadership. I also served as a Tech Lead for several key tracks of work. I helped architect a plugin system that enabled over 100 engineers and more than a dozen partner teams to work scalably while ensuring the platform felt like a single cohesive experience. I was the Lead for several core features, including the Amenities feature and Accessibility features. Additionally, I was a Lead for all motion and animation designs, one of which was showcased by Google at their I/O conference.
Airbnb Setup 2021
We spent two years redesigning the entire host onboarding experience as part of a campaign to reinvigorate travel after the Pandemic. I served as the lead iOS engineer throughout these redesigns. To reduce sign-up friction, we streamlined the sign-up process from 30 steps down to 10, making it easier than ever to become a host. We also introduced a feature called Host Ambassadors which would connect new hosts with experienced hosts who could assist with onboarding over Zoom.
Verified Wifi 2021
During the pandemic, we launched a system that allowed Guests to search for and filter homes with reliable high-speed wifi, making remote work more accessible. We built a speed test in the Airbnb app that Hosts can use to verify and publish their internet speeds.
Prior, I worked on Amazon Devices.
I spent three years working at Amazon, starting in AWS and later joining the launch team for Echo Look, an AI‑powered fashion camera.
Echo Look 2017
I was the DRI for the search and filter feature that enabled users to find outfits based on color and pattern. Additionally, I worked as the iOS engineer for a tool that allowed users to upload photos of two outfits and receive both machine and human feedback on which looked best.