Yashwant Vaka

Engineer at Meta

Los Angeles, California, United States

About

My areas of focus are iOS and Android Development. I enjoy working on front-end development. I'm looking to work on projects that have an impact.

Experience

  • Meta (Full-time · 8 yrs 5 mos)
    • Software Engineer
      Mar 2026 - Present · 4 mos

      Engineer on the Applied AI Team.

    • Software Engineer
      Dec 2024 - Mar 2026 · 1 yr 4 mos

      Facebook Social AI • Worked on adding ai functionality in the facebook and messenger app. Mainly focused on adding on device machine learning to apps to allow for better message retrieval. • Implemented "limit sharing" functionality for both open and encrypted threads, empowering users with granular control over message sharing permissions with Meta AI.

    • Software Engineer
      Feb 2018 - Dec 2024 · 6 yrs 11 mos

      Instagram Direct Messaging • Engineering Lead for high-impact Android projects within Instagram Direct, overseeing the full product lifecycle from design to global deployment for several cross-functional features including custom theming for threads, music sharing, message forwarding, and a comprehensive thread redesign project. • Led the music sharing project, developing a seamless API in partnership with Apple, Amazon, and Spotify to enable 30-second song previews, which drove a 600% increase in shares (over 50k+ daily) within Instagram Messaging. • Established and led the "Craft and Quality" workstream for the team - served as the tech lead for UI/UX polish, performance optimization, and architectural standards across the messaging suite. • Led engineering efforts to optimize thread scroll performance, reducing frame drops by 10% and contributing to a 0.2% increase in messaging Daily Active Users. • Prior to working on messaging, I was in the Instagram Camera and worked to modernize AR and Camera effects, improving rendering performance and feature parity.

  • Software Developer at Epic
    Sep 2014 - Feb 2018 · 3 yrs 6 mos

    • iOS and Android engineer for the MyChart patient portal team • Implemented two-factor authentication for the Android app to improve security. • Overhauled the mobile app's user interface, proposing and leading design initiatives that improved UI/UX and overall usability through analysis, prototyping, and implementation. • Architected a reusable iOS library from core MyChart functionality, enabling healthcare providers to seamlessly integrate patient portal features into third-party applications. • Integrated WebView functionality to both ios and android to accelerate the deployment of complex features and streamline the development lifecycle across multiple platforms.

  • Software Developer Intern at Epic
    May 2013 - Aug 2013 · 4 mos

    • Developed a new questionnaires feature on Android that could help improve doctor-patient interaction. • Architected a back-end design that could support a variety of configurations. • Focused heavily on design to promote an aesthetic and easy to use interface.