Kerim Yasin Oktay

Kerim Yasin Oktay is a Turkish computer scientist and software engineer. He represented Turkiye at the IMO 2004, earned a B.S. in Computer Science at Bilkent University (2009) and an M.S. (2011) and Ph.D. (2015) in Computer Science at UC Irvine, advised by Prof. Sharad Mehrotra, with a focus on cloud data privacy and distributed/database systems. His engineering career includes internships at Google (2013, 2014) and Microsoft Research (2012), then senior software engineering roles at Apcera and Airbnb (2019-2024). A LinkedIn enrichment record (index-derived) shows him currently at Freestone Grove Partners, an investment firm, since March 2024.

Notes5

• Quant employment verification: UNRESOLVED. The only evidence for a Freestone Grove Partners 'Member of Technical Staff' role (start 2024-03, no end date) is index-derived LinkedIn enrichment (a secondary aggregator), not an independent primary source; no Freestone Grove web page, filing, or press item was found naming him. Freestone Grove Partners (fgrovep.com, Financial Services) describes itself as an investment firm integrating fundamental and quantitative capabilities, so IF the role is his it is plausibly quant-adjacent, but identity and role both rest on the index alone and remain unresolved. Every primary-source role/internship found (Google SWE x2, Microsoft Research, TTIC, ILG Studios, UCI grader, Apcera, Airbnb) is software/data-infrastructure, none at a trading, market-making, hedge-fund, bank, asset-manager, or energy/crypto trading employer. No actual past/present quant role or internship is confirmed; the IMO 2004 competition result is not employment.Sep 17, 2026
• Career timeline from his own 2015 resume: Google SWE intern Los Angeles (Jun-Sep 2014, Aqua Infrastructure Group); Google SWE intern Kirkland WA (Jun-Sep 2013, Dremel Group, supervisor Dr. Hossein Ahmadi); Microsoft Research intern Redmond WA (Jun-Sep 2012, Database Group, supervisor Dr. David Lomet); UCI grader (Sep 2009-Mar 2012); TTIC intern Chicago (Aug-Sep 2008); ILG Studios full-time Ankara (Mar-Jul 2008).Jul 2, 2015
• None of his pre-2024 roles (Google, Microsoft Research, TTIC, ILG Studios, UCI, Apcera, Airbnb) are quantitative-finance employers; his engineering history is cloud/data infrastructure and distributed systems, not trading or markets.Jul 2, 2015
• Primary source (his own CV/resume, archived 2012 and 2015 on his UCI page) lists email [contact omitted] and phone 773-680-0595, advisor Prof. Sharad Mehrotra, PhD at UC Irvine, M.S. 2011 UC Irvine (cGPA 3.91), B.S. 2009 Bilkent University (cGPA 3.67).Jul 2, 2015
• Identity link between the IMO-2004 math competitor and this engineer rests on his own UCI page: ics.uci.edu/~koktay hosts a CV/resume naming 'Kerim Yasin Oktay', email [contact omitted], and the 2004-2006 Olympiad dates and camp-instructor activity; the LinkedIn handle kerimoktay and its index-derived history (UC Irvine PhD; Airbnb senior SWE) match that CV, so the LinkedIn is a consistent lead rather than an independent primary-source confirmation.Jan 28, 2012
• He served as an instructor at an International Mathematical Olympiads Preparation Training Camp in Bodrum, Turkey in Winter 2006 (CV), distinct from his own 2004 IMO participation - evidence tying the Olympiad identity to the same person.Jan 28, 2012
• Interview/podcast appearances ('Dr Kerim Yasin Oktay ile Soylesi' on YouTube; 'Airbnb'de Kidemli Yazilim Muhendisi Olmak - Kerim Yasin Oktay' podcast) plus a Modern Data Stack post on upgrading Airbnb's data warehouse infrastructure, indicating he is a publicly recognized data-infrastructure engineer.