Ashraf Elnashar

Principal Software Engineer Cylance Cyber Security @BlackBerry

Irvine, CA, US

Joined startup tech company in its early stages to lead product engineering from initial proof-of-concept through acquisition to ongoing feature and functionality upgrades. Build, influence, and lead teams of engineering. Partner with and advise C-level leaders to align engineering department’s strategic direction with overall organizational goals. Facilitate cross-functional alliances to embed cybersecurity practices, tools, and processes into the entire software development life cycle. Delivered major releases of flagship CylancePERSONA product and oversaw the entire software development life cycle from prototyping to design, development, testing, and production. Successfully demonstrated anomaly and malicious attack prevention capabilities that earned high praise from investors, paved way for dramatic headcount increase, and positioned company as an attractive acquisition target. Slashed engineering time frame and decreased technical debt and risks 70% while leading production-level strategy to deliver scalable, replicable products. Scaled product by introducing Scrum and Agile development methodologies, a microservice-based architecture, and proactive partnerships which drove product strategy. Rocketed customer base via continual product enhancement, feature upgrades, and rigorous quality assurance. Boosted quality 40% and strengthened target market’s confidence in product suite through resolution of complex issues, including memory leaks, security application compatibility, and process synchronization. Spearheaded development of 2 complementary products: CylancePERSONA, an endpoint detection and response system leveraging machine learning to analyze user behavior on the cloud, and CylanceIDENTITY, a rules-based complex analysis engine for identifying and thwarting malicious attacks.

Syracuse University

Master's degree

Vanderbilt University

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)