Hi, I'm
Karim Varela
Software Engineer & Entrepreneur building things at the intersection of code and community in Venice, CA
I build elegant, scalable software and love the craft of clean architecture. When I'm not shipping code, you'll find me in the water at Sunset or on the mats at a local gym.
About Me
I'm a software engineer and entrepreneur based in Venice, California. I love building products that genuinely improve people's lives — clean code, thoughtful architecture, and delightful user experiences are what I care about most.
Over the years I've worked across the full stack — from distributed backend services to polished React frontends — and I've led engineering teams at startups and growth-stage companies alike. I have a particular fondness for TypeScript, NestJS, and anything that makes developer experience genuinely better.
Outside of work you'll find me surfing at Sunset Beach, training MMA at a local gym, or exploring what makes the Venice community so special. I also run Moto Venice, a motorcycle rental experience right here in the neighborhood.
Technologies I've been working with:
▹TypeScript
▹Node.js / NestJS
▹React / Next.js
▹PostgreSQL
▹Redis
▹Docker / K8s
Experience
Jan 2023 — Jan 2026
CTO & Director of Security
@ Space Runners / Ablo.ai
Remote
Led distributed engineering team building AI-powered fashion design platform.
▹
Led distributed team across web, backend, ML, and technical roles
▹
Architected and built custom AI image generation pipelines trained and fine-tuned on fashion styles
▹
Reduced AWS costs by 90% while expanding product scope
▹
Launched B2B API within 3 months
▹
Developed SaaS platform for external developers
Jan 2022 — Present
Fractional CTO & AI Consultant
@ The Guide App
Remote
Architected and launched product infrastructure, integrating AI and hiring engineering teams.
▹
Architected initial backend and mobile applications to get product launched
▹
Hired team for minimum viable product development
▹
Implemented agile processes for predictable delivery
▹
Built authentication systems with Okta integration
▹
Trained AI chatbot for community forums
Jan 2022 — Jan 2023
Vice President, Engineering
@ MetaLink Labs
Remote
Built and scaled engineering team for Web3 and NFT data infrastructure.
▹
Architected and built real-time NFT floor price ingestor into time-series DB
▹
Halved team size while doubling productivity through agile practices
▹
Cut infrastructure costs by 50%
▹
Launched mobile app within 3 months
▹
Recruited and mentored distributed engineering team
Jan 2021 — Dec 2021
Director of Engineering
San Francisco, CA
Led large engineering organization through structural transformation.
▹
Recruited and managed 50+ person engineering team
▹
Led engineering managers and functional leads
▹
Transitioned org from functional team reporting to feature team reporting (matrix)
Jan 2019 — Jan 2021
Chief Technology Officer & Chief Infosec Officer
@ Fan.ai
Los Angeles, CA
Built big data pipelines and scaled engineering for gaming analytics platform.
▹
Doubled productivity through agile transformation
▹
Scaled organization from 6 to 12 engineers
▹
Architected big data pipelines in Google Cloud for Twitch, Twitter, and demographics data
▹
Enforced data security and GDPR compliance
Jan 2018 — Jan 2019
Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder
@ Safara.Travel
San Francisco, CA
Co-founded and built travel agency platform with modern serverless architecture.
▹
Built travel agency platform in 4 months
▹
Architected and built modern GraphQL, serverless Node.js backend in AWS
▹
Recruited and mentored global engineering team
Jan 2014 — Jan 2017
Chief Technology Officer
@ Coffee Meets Bagel
San Francisco, CA
Led technology organization for top dating platform, scaling team and modernizing architecture.
▹
Released CMB Android application within 3 months
▹
Led data science team on recommendation algorithms
▹
Transitioned monolithic Python app to microservices
▹
Scaled platform from 10 to 25 engineers
Jan 2013 — Jan 2014
Director of Engineering
@ Tinder
West Hollywood, CA
Led engineering to build and launch Tinder Android at massive scale.
▹
Led Android engineers, designers, and QA
▹
Led cross-functional team to build and release the Tinder Android application in 3 months
▹
Scaled platform from tens of thousands to tens of millions of users
▹
Won Crunchie for Best New Startup of 2013
Jan 2012 — Jan 2013
Lead Android Architect
@ Beachbody
Santa Monica, CA
Jan 2010 — Jan 2012
Mobile Support Lead & Android Developer
@ AT&T / Muve Music
Jan 2008 — Jan 2010
Lead Software Engineer
@ HandsOn Mobile
Jan 2006 — Jan 2008
Senior Developer
@ Fandango
Beverly Hills, CA
Jan 2004 — Jan 2006
Software Engineer
@ Infospace
Jan 2002 — Jan 2004
Language Integration Technician
@ Electronic Arts
Skills
Frameworks & Libraries
Databases
DevOps & Infrastructure
Tools & Platforms
Other
Education
University of Florida
Master of Business Administration — Business Administration
Present — Present
University of California
Bachelor of Science — Computer Science
Honors graduate. 4-year Division I NCAA swimmer.
Present — Present