13+ Years at Google and Facebook: A Comparison

What I preferred, where and why. Mostly an engineer's perspective.

In August 2023, I finished my 4 year gig at Facebook (Meta, though I always worked on the Facebook product), running a team of close to 200 software engineers and research scientists. A tough decision, given how close to a dream job this was, if ever there was one. Being a part-time filmmaker, editor, and cinematographer, running Facebook’s Reels and Video recommendation algorithms was relevant both professionally and personally. Before that, I spent close to a decade at Google, working on search, ads, and the knowledge graph. Thus ended my 13+ year journey at Google and FB. It’s a privilege to work at these places, especially with amazing AI and Machine Learning colleagues — I’ve always worked in the AI/ML space well before it was a household thing.