# Julia Alvarez > On a personal sabbatical, exploring the world and recharging for what’s next Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/juliaalvarez I’m a mission-driven iOS engineer with 7+ years of experience building elegant, high-impact features that empower millions of users. Most recently, I led the development of A/B-tested upsell flows and the Edit Replay feature on Adobe Lightroom (used by 20M+ people), blending product thinking, creative storytelling, and mobile technical depth. I began my career as a backend engineer before transitioning into iOS, where I found joy in crafting user-facing experiences at the intersection of design, data, and accessibility. My path has also included teaching computer science to first-gen students, speaking at Adobe's global keynote alongside the CEO, and exploring how technology can serve equity, expression, and human creativity. Currently, I’m taking time to explore new technologies, recharge, and reflect on what I want to build next, ideally with a team that values curiosity, heart, and craft. ## Work Experience ### iOS Sr. Software Development Engineer (Level 40) @ Adobe Jan 2023 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco, California, United States - Spearheaded multiple A/B tested upsell experiences, driving significant ARR and retention uplift on the Lightroom mobile app (20M+ users) - Shipped Edit Replay, a solo hackathon idea turned shipped feature promoted to 7M+ followers on social—blending creativity, video tech, and mobile UX - Served as team Scrum Master, fostering an inclusive, high-ownership culture across design and backend partners - Collaborated cross-functionally with product, design, and data science to translate user behavior into impactful mobile features ### iOS Growth Software Engineer (Level 30) @ Adobe Jan 2021 – Jan 2023 | San Francisco, California, United States ### Cloud Services Software Developer (Level 30) @ Adobe Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | San Jose, CA - Built and maintained scalable backend infrastructure using AWS (S3, DynamoDB, CloudFormation), Docker, and CI/CD tools - Created tools for credential rotation and deployment automation, improving reliability and reducing manual work - Supported full-stack development and production on-call for globally used photo storage systems ### Cloud Services Software Developer (Level 20) @ Adobe Jan 2018 – Jan 2020 | San Jose, California, United States ### Computer Science and SAT Instructor @ SMASH Jan 2018 – Jan 2018 | Stanford, California - Designed and led a hands-on CS curriculum for first-gen high school students using JavaScript and python - Empowered students to increase STEM test scores by 50% on average ### Computer Science and Test Prep Tutor @ AJ Tutoring Jan 2017 – Jan 2018 | San Francisco Bay Area -Created an atmosphere of mutual trust and support between students, parents, and AJ Tutoring, resulting in many of my students requesting additional tutoring in other subject and test areas -Tutored students in problem-solving skills, as applicable to test prep (SAT, ACT, AP) and academic areas (Computer Science and Data Structures), resulting in an average of a 150-250 score increase (SAT) or a two-letter grade increase (Computer Science) -Created a computer science curriculum for an introductory summer programming course (java and data-structures based) ### FUSE Intern - Android Developer Intern @ Cardinal Health Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Dublin, OH -Created automated user interface testing for an Android application that saved the team time on future testing -Integrated feedback from user testing into our ATTD tests ensuring target-audience usability -Administrated project updates, key findings, and other deliverables to product managers and other product stakeholders -Ensured all potential flows and screens of the medical device were tested and covered in ATTD test using Espresso and UIAutomator for Android -Tested, monitored and reviewed previously implemented solutions -Ensuring extensive tests met FDA standards ### Software Engineering Intern @ Livefyre Jan 2015 – Jan 2015 | San Francisco Bay Area -Front-end work in a small team; building web templates that were purchased by NASCAR within days of completion -Development work on the next release of Livefyre Studio (now acquired and integrated to Adobe as part of the Experience Manager- see link) ### Teaching Assistant @ Brown University Jan 2013 – Jan 2014 | Providence, RI -Teacher Assistant for Professor Andy van Dam CS15, Intro to object-oriented programming (OOP) with Java -Led programming and debugging lab sessions to groups of 30 undergraduate computer science students (CS15 and CS020) -Held weekly office hours to assist with difficulties students may be having, cutting the professor's office hours by more than half -Wrote and performed in humorous computer science-related skits presented during lecture -Tested and graded over 100 student projects, some of had thousands of lines of code (java - CS15; python - CS020) ### BIARI Program Assistant @ Brown University Jan 2013 – Jan 2014 | Providence, RI Brown University’s International Advanced Research Institutes (BIARI) convene participants from around the world to address pressing global issues through collaboration across academic, professional, and geographic boundaries. It offers rigorous, innovative, interdisciplinary programs that further Watson’s mission: to promote a just and peaceful world through research, teaching, and public engagement, as well as providing a space for a global exchange of ideas. As a program assistant during the year, my responsibilities were to: -Automate tasks for admin, including creating a script for auto-importing flights of incoming scholars and scheduling transportation -Engage with past and current program contributors on social media -Manage weekly alumni newsletters -Correspond with applicants on a daily basis -Manage large database of participant information During the summer program itself, my responsibilities were all of the above, as well as helping with the logistics of keeping the program running. Some examples: -Facilitate transportation of international participants -Man the front desk: the central hub of it all -Adapt to new roles and responsibilities on a day-to-day basis, as necessary when last-minute emergencies come up ### Software Engineering Intern @ Polyvore Jan 2014 – Jan 2014 | Mountain View, CA -Implemented data reporting tool for engineers synchronized with build status and sprint ticketing system -Developed mobile-optimized APIs to optimize web and mobile applications ### Personal Assistant to Vice President of Hotel-Restaurant Operations @ Group3 Professional Jan 2012 – Jan 2012 | Santa Clara, CA -Manage professional and personal Calendar for Raymond Jones -Help maintain relationships with current and potential clients -Manage phone and personal cell line ### School Developer Intern for DCP-Alum Rock @ Downtown College Prep Jan 2010 – Jan 2011 | San Jose, CA -Recruit families for a new charter prep school -Help organize meetings for School Developer and for general information about the new school -Build and maintain relationships with potential teachers for the new school -Speak at events and parent meetings ## Education ### Bachelor's degree in Modern Culture and Media with an emphasis in Computer Science Brown University ### High School Diploma Downtown College Prep ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alvarezjulia --- Source: https://flows.cv/juliaalvarez JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/juliaalvarez/resume.json Last updated: 2026-03-29