# Nicholas Cordella

> Engineer at Mapbox

Location: Oakland, California, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/nicholascordella

I turn anonymized telemetry data into higher-value data products using statistical models and software engineering.  Examples include traffic estimates on the worldwide road network and high-precision vehicle trajectories for self-driving cars. Most of my time is spent using Python, Spark, Node.js or AWS tools. I also have a Ph.D in Chemical Engineering with a focus on theoretical biophysics.

## Work Experience
### Engineer @ Mapbox
Jan 2016 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area
Building systems that turn our telemetry data into valuable products.

### Data Scientist and Chief Product Officer @ Exodus Navigation Systems
Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Oakland, CA
Designed and built a scalable, high-precision map of lane-level vehicle flows for ADAS and autonomous cars

### Sr. Data Scientist @ Vehicle Data Science
Jan 2014 – Jan 2016 | Oakland, CA
- Senior employee in early stage company that builds maps of infrastructure and representative trajectories for use by autonomous vehicles
- Designing accurate statistical models of roadway structure and traffic rules using GPS probe data
- Building software tools in Python, with data storage in PostgreSQL

### Ph.D. Student and Research Assistant @ Stanford University
Jan 2007 – Jan 2014 | Stanford, CA
- Specialized in theoretical and computational biophysics in the lab of Andrew Spakowitz in the Department of Chemical Engineering
- Identified critical properties that dictate protein self-assembly and transport through cell membranes
- Authored 4 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, published in Soft Matter and Biophysical Journal
- Developed computational models using Fortran and conducted detailed numerical analyses with Matlab and Microsoft Excel

### Teaching Assistant @ Stanford University
Jan 2009 – Jan 2011 | Stanford, CA
Led weekly discussion sections, performed logistical tasks and mediated professor-student communication for 2 courses:
- 80 student undergraduate course: Energy: Chemical Transformations for Production, Storage and Use
- 10 student graduate course: Polymer Physics
- Recognized with the departmental TA award as one of the 2 best TA's among 40 candidates for the 2010-2011 school year

### MIT Practice School Intern @ Cabot Corporation
Jan 2007 – Jan 2007 | Billerica, MA
Improved process of inserting nanoparticles into composite materials for increased light extraction from light-emitting diodes.

### MIT Practice School Intern @ Cargill
Jan 2007 – Jan 2007 | Wayzata, MN
- Led a three intern team assessing feasibility of a new catalyst, reporting to the head of the process solutions group
- Predicted operating costs and revenues of a potential chemical plant acquisition, presenting findings to the process solutions group

### Teaching Assistant @ Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Jan 2007 – Jan 2007 | Cambridge, MA
Guided discussion sections and performed logistical tasks for an undergraduate fluid mechanics course of 100 students in the Chemical Engineering Department

### Research Assistant @ UC Santa Barbara
Jan 2006 – Jan 2006 | Santa Barbara, CA
Quantified the surface energetic properties of zinc oxide, clarifying its potential as a fuel producing catalyst


## Education
### Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Chemical Engineering
Stanford University

### Stanford Ignite Certificate Program in Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies
Stanford University Graduate School of Business

### Master's Degree in Chemical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

### Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/nickcordella

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Source: https://flows.cv/nicholascordella
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/nicholascordella/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-04-11