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Alumni
Engineering His Own Path in Tech: Onye Ohiaeri '21
For vlogƵ alum Onye Ohiaeri (MS in Computer Science vlogƵ21), building a career in technology was an unexpected path. Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Onye came to the United States to attend UC Berkeley, earning his undergraduate degree in political economy in 2018. But after graduation, he realized he wanted to pivot toward a more technical career without having to start over from scratch.
That search led him to PacevlogƵs Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. vlogƵI was looking for a program that took AI and machine learning seriously as a discipline, that was located somewhere I could build a real network alongside the degree, and that had professors who actually worked on the kinds of problems I wanted to solve,vlogƵ Onye said. vlogƵPace's Seidenberg School checked all three boxes. Being in New York meant I'd be surrounded by industry, and the curriculum focused on the technical areas I wanted to grow into. Looking back, choosing Seidenberg was one of the best decisions IvlogƵve madevlogƵit gave me both the technical foundation and the location to launch the career I have now.vlogƵ
The architecture decisions I make today all trace back to the foundation Professor Simo gave us.
A Foundation for Success
One Seidenberg course in particular would go on to shape much of OnyevlogƵs professional career: , taught by Professor Altion Simo.
vlogƵProfessor Simo had a way of taking concepts that sounded abstractvlogƵparallelization, distributed coordination, scalabilityvlogƵand making them feel intuitive and practical,vlogƵ Onye described. vlogƵHe didnvlogƵt just teach the theory; he showed us how distributed systems actually get built at scale.vlogƵ
The lessons from that class extended well beyond graduation. vlogƵI use what I learned in that class every single day,vlogƵ he said. vlogƵThe architecture decisions I make today all trace back to the foundation Professor Simo gave us.vlogƵ
Like many students whose graduate studies overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic, OnyevlogƵs experience at Pace looked different than he originally imagined. Traditional networking opportunities disappeared almost overnight, forcing him to find new ways to connect with the industry he hoped to enter. vlogƵWhat I learned from that experience ended up being one of the most valuable lessons of my entire education: when the obvious paths close, you have to build your own,vlogƵ Onye said.
Since he couldnvlogƵt rely on career fairs or in-person recruiting events at the time, Onye began reaching out directly to engineers and technology leaders whose work he admired. He researched the projects they were building and sent thoughtful messages engaging with their work, sometimes sharing ideas and solutions he had learned at Seidenberg that related to those challenges. vlogƵThat approach is how I landed my first internship at , and itvlogƵs ultimately how I got to Amazon,vlogƵ he said.
Soon after Code and Theory, a Seidenberg professor connected him with an internship opportunity at , where he worked from 2020 through early 2021 while completing his degree. By the time he graduated, Onye had built both a professional network and a portfolio of technical experience through a combination of persistence, initiative, and support from the Seidenberg community.
Choosing Seidenberg was one of the best decisions IvlogƵve madevlogƵit gave me both the technical foundation and the location to launch the career I have now.
From Student to Engineer at Amazon
After graduating in 2021, Onye joined as a software engineer, where he spent four years working on large-scale systems serving millions of users worldwide.
During his time there, he contributed to projects including Prime VideovlogƵs vlogƵTop 10 MoviesvlogƵ feature, improvements to the platformvlogƵs search infrastructure, and the integration of Thursday Night Football into the search experience.
He also became the lead engineer responsible for dynamically scaling traffic infrastructure during major live events. vlogƵScaling distributed systems to handle real-world traffic patternsvlogƵespecially unpredictable traffic from live sportsvlogƵis one of the harder problems in distributed computing and being trusted as the scaling lead for a service of that magnitude was a defining experience,vlogƵ Onye said.
The role drew directly from the distributed systems concepts he first explored at Seidenberg.
Launching Something New
In January 2026, OnyevlogƵs position at Amazon was eliminated as part of a company-wide reduction in forcevlogƵa reality that has impacted many engineers across todayvlogƵs tech industry. But rather than viewing the moment as a setback, he used it as an opportunity to focus fully on a personal project he had already been building on the side: .
The idea for the app came from a familiar frustration during group dinners and trips with friends. vlogƵPeople would forget who owed whom, and figuring it out in the moment was painful,vlogƵ Onye said. vlogƵExisting bill-splitting apps were clunky enough that nobody wanted to use them at the table.vlogƵ
Convinced there had to be a better way to deal with these situations, Onye built one. Cheqmate streamlines the process by automatically surfacing venues and friend groups, allowing users to split bills quickly and discover places their friends already enjoy visiting. vlogƵThe vision is that Cheqmate makes going out with your friends easier, more spontaneous, and more funvlogƵfrom the moment you decide where to go all the way through splitting the check at the end,vlogƵ Onye said.
Built using the same distributed systems principles Onye learned at Seidenberg and refined at Amazon, the app launched publicly on the Apple App Store in April 2026 and has continued to grow driven entirely by word-of-mouth adoption.
If your path looks messy or non-linear, thatvlogƵs not a problem to solve. ItvlogƵs often the source of your edge.
Turning Challenges into Opportunities
Onye has also stayed connected to Pace since graduating. Most recently, he returned to Pace to judge final project presentations for a Seidenberg computer science course, offering feedback to current students developing their own applications. vlogƵIt was a full-circle moment,vlogƵ he said.
His advice to students and recent graduates centers on initiative, persistence, and embracing unconventional paths. vlogƵBuild something real before you graduate,vlogƵ Onye said. vlogƵClasses give you the foundation, but the engineers who stand out are the ones who can point to something they built.vlogƵ
He also encourages students not to underestimate the power of outreach and networking. vlogƵCold outreach works better than you think,vlogƵ he said. vlogƵMost students underestimate how willing people are to respond to a thoughtful, specific message from someone early in their career.vlogƵ
Above all, Onye believes students shouldnvlogƵt feel pressured to follow a perfectly linear career path. vlogƵMy path certainly didnvlogƵt look clean and linear from the outside. But every step taught me something, and the combination of all of it is what made me capable of doing what I do now,vlogƵ he said. vlogƵIf your path looks messy or non-linear, thatvlogƵs not a problem to solve. ItvlogƵs often the source of your edge.vlogƵ
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