# Francis Kelly > Principal Engineer at Okta Location: Albany, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/franciskelly I'm a hands-on architect with full stack experience including expertise in distributed systems as well as macOS and iOS. I know how to work with an existing codebase, resourcing constraints, and deadlines to get quality software out the door. I love designing systems, but I also love to write code. I've written code in Ruby, Scala, Java, Python, Objective C and Swift that all currently runs in production. I'm a generalist, in large part because I enjoy learning new things and exploring new technologies. Over the course of my career I've worked on an eclectic mix of projects. I began my career porting the Oracle database to the Cray YMP. I worked as a system administrator for the French Ministry of Education. I launched a start-up that used Machine Learning to provide a plug-and-play recommender service. I built a video game for the US Navy. I've done cybersecurity work on iOS. Most recently, I developed the macOS Desktop MFA and Desktop Password Sync products for Okta. I'm currently looking at ways to use AI to increase developer velocity. ## Work Experience ### Principal Engineer @ Okta Jan 2022 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area Part of the Okta Device Access team. Focused on securing access to the desktop via multi-factor authentication. Actively working on improving development velocity through the use of AI. ### Principal Software Engineer @ Lookout Jan 2018 – Jan 2022 | San Francisco Bay Area I've been a generalist at Lookout. I worked on the iOS development team for Lookout for Work and focused mainly on the security stack. I also did back-end work for several teams (in Scala, Python, Java, and Ruby). ### Staff Software Engineer @ Lookout Jan 2014 – Jan 2018 | San Francisco Bay Area One of the original back-end team members responsible for launching Lookout's Mobile Endpoint Security product. Led the team that designed and implemented the query service that powers Lookout's App Risk functionality. Designed and implemented the ETLs that powered the Global Data visibility feature. ### Advisor @ PredictionIO Jan 2012 – Jan 2016 Provided advice on technical, strategic, and business issues to PredictionIO, a start-up that developed an open source recommendation engine of the same name. PredictionIO was acquired by Salesforce in February, 2016. ### Software Engineer @ CurriculaWorks Jan 2013 – Jan 2014 Designed and implemented a first-person-shooter videogame for the Office of Naval Research. Written in C# using the Unity gaming engine with data collection done using a Python/Flask server. In addition, I've worked with CurriculaWorks on software development process, hiring, and strategy. ### Software Architect @ Klamr Jan 2012 – Jan 2013 Klamr is a mobile application for creating social events with friends. I worked with Klamr to develop a recommendations engine for recommending locations at which to hold events. If a user were planning a dinner party with 4 friends, for example, the engine would recommend suitable restaurants based on location and user preferences. The system was built on top of Apache Mahout, MongoDB, and PostgreSQL using code in Python and Java. ### Software Engineer and Architect @ Technology Consulting Jan 2010 – Jan 2012 Worked on a variety of technology projects that included work for the Barnard Center for Cognitive Development, the launch of Tenzinga.com (employee performance management), and consulting on patent prosecution for Loomia. ### Member, Board of Directors @ Loomia Jan 2010 – Jan 2010 Involved in discussions with potential acquirers and worked with other directors to avoid insolvency. ### Co-founder / Chief Technology Officer @ Loomia Jan 2010 – Jan 2010 Continued to oversee the development of the Loomia service as well as working in business development efforts. ### Co-founder / Chief Architect @ Loomia Jan 2004 – Jan 2010 The focus of my work at Loomia was in the design and implementation of the Loomia personalization service, including SeenThis?, our Facebook social recommendation application. I worked heavily on the design of the recommendations algorithms and on the architecture of the system, which processed over 2B clicks a month and served ~1.5B recommendations. Because Loomia was a start-up, I had a range of responsibilities that went beyond technology, including: * prosecution of Loomia's patents (continuing as of 2012) * hiring the development team * supporting early customer deployments, notably Audible.com and The Wall Street Journal * business development (most notably - drafting the proof-of-concept that secured Travelocity.com as a customer) Loomia raised $5M in a Series A. ### Software Developer @ Independent Software Developer Jan 2002 – Jan 2003 | San Francisco Worked as a free-lance software developer. ### Senior Developer @ Learning Network Jan 1999 – Jan 2002 Learning Network was a subsidiary of Pearson, responsible for disseminating Pearson's education content over the web. I designed and implemented a variety of digital publication tools. ### Software Consultant @ Hitachi Data Systems Jan 1995 – Jan 1998 Worked on a variety of software projects including an early HTTP server and an inventory control system. ### System Administrator @ Institut national de recherche pédagogique (Paris, France) Jan 1994 – Jan 1995 Maintained servers running HPUX at the French National Institute for Educational Research. ### Technical Staff @ Centre national de la recherche scientifique (Paris, France) Jan 1993 – Jan 1995 Assisted with programming and statistical analysis for a sociological study on AIDS. ### Technical Staff @ Oracle Jan 1990 – Jan 1992 Responsible for porting the Oracle RDBMS (v6) to the Cray XMP and YMP systems. ## Education ### BA in Mathematics (summa cum laude) Yale University ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/francis-kelly-engineer - Portfolio: http://fkelly.com --- Source: https://flows.cv/franciskelly JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/franciskelly/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-12