Portfolio / 2026
Vali Shah
Engineering Manager with 14+ years of experience building high-scale applications and leading teams through greenfield builds, platform evolution, and large-scale optimisation. Most effective at the intersection of people, product, and technology. Building cultures grounded in trust, ownership, and clarity.
Currently
Software Engineering Manager
@ Smartsheet
2020 — Present
Focus
Selected Work
2012 – 2026
2023
Software Engineering Manager
Smartsheet
Leading cross-functional engineering teams, building scalable systems, and driving technical strategy. Focused on building healthy engineering cultures where trust, autonomy, and clarity drive results.
2020
Senior Software Engineer
Smartsheet
Took ownership of key features in Smartsheet data integrations platform, improving user interactions and driving adoption. Mentored junior engineers through thoughtful code reviews, streamlined dev workflows, and advocated for modern tools and infrastructure to build faster, more reliable systems.
2019
Senior Software Engineer
Skyscanner
Developed key features for Skyscanner's homepage, improving user engagement on a platform with 100 million monthly visitors. Built performant, scalable solutions using microservices architecture.
2012
Team Lead
FULL Creative
Led development teams through greenfield builds and large-scale optimizations, always keeping customer value at the center. Mentored engineers and helped them grow as thoughtful, impact-driven team members.
Recent Thoughts
What Launching on Product Hunt Taught Me as a Micro-SaaS Founder
A Micro-SaaS founder lesson on expectations, traction, and sustainable growth. Why Product Hunt is a milestone, not the goal.
Read more →The Bug That Took Seven Hours
How one missing config, seven hours of debugging, and vibe-coding with Cursor taught me a lesson I did not expect.
Read more →AI Overviews: Navigating the Fine Line Between Assistance and Misinformation
Exploring the challenges and responsibilities of AI-powered information systems in delivering accurate and helpful content.
Read more →You are Learning AI, But Are You Learning AI Ethics?
A critical look at the importance of ethical considerations in AI development and learning.
Read more →Let's Connect
Always interested in new opportunities, collaborations, and conversations about technology, leadership, and building great products.
hello@valishah.com →Elsewhere