Dean Stratakos
Software Engineer • Stanford MS AI
Building high-performance systems and AI with clean software design and thoughtful UX.
About
I'm a software engineer at Five Rings, where I design and optimize high-performance trading systems in C++ and Python. I lead our company-wide AI initiative, building internal tools that leverage firm knowledge and accelerate developer productivity. Previously, I interned at Apple and Citadel, working on everything from Siri personalization features to TCP recovery mechanisms for trading platforms. I hold an M.S. in Computer Science (AI) and B.S. in Computer Science (Systems) from Stanford, where I was a member of the varsity tennis team. I think in systems, not just features. Every decision has downstream effects, and understanding those connections leads to better architecture and fewer surprises. I value clarity in code, communication, and problem-solving. When I'm not coding, you'll find me on the tennis court. The game has taught me patience, strategy, and the importance of fundamentals—lessons that translate directly to engineering.
Experience
Software Developer
Aug 2023 - Present
Five Rings
- Led the company-wide AI initiative, building internal tools—such as an in-house Claude Code—to leverage firm knowledge and accelerate developer productivity.
- Designed, developed, and optimized high-performance trading system components in C++ and Python, including order-placing robots, asset pricing engines, market-data bridges, and message transport infrastructure.
- Partnered closely with traders and quantitative researchers to define technical roadmaps and deliver production-grade systems.
- Coordinated with trading operations to plan safe deployments, including release and rollback strategies.
- Ran the 2024 summer internship program, managing 24 developer interns and 11 mentors; delivered architecture and C++ lectures, scoped projects, assigned tasks, and conducted code reviews.
- Mentored two interns during the 2024 winter internship.
Software Engineering Intern, Siri Information Intelligence
Jun 2022 - Sep 2022
Apple
- Coordinated delivery of three new Siri personalization features across five cross-functional teams.
Software Engineering Intern, Market Connectivity
Jun 2021 - Aug 2021
Citadel
- Redesigned the TCP recovery mechanism between market gateway and connector nodes on Citadel's internal trading platform.
Software Engineering Intern, Platform Triage
Jun 2020 - Sep 2020Apple
- Improved the performance, scalability, and maintainability of a machine learning clustering algorithm that groups duplicate kernel panic reports.
- Achieved cluster efficiency ARIs of 84-89% for two new data slices.
Software Engineering Intern
Jun 2019 - Aug 2019
Quadric
- Designed the back end for six CNN layers in a C++ based intermediate language on a specialized edge-computing hardware architecture.
Projects
Classy
Built a social app for courses with a React Native frontend and Firestore backend. Published on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Sarcasm Detection
Fine-tuned ALBERT and XLNet models on the SARC dataset for sarcasm detection.
Pintos
Implemented threading, user programs, system calls, priority scheduling, and a file system for an instructional OS.
Face Mask Detection
Built and evaluated ML models for automated face-mask detection.
Outside of Work
Beyond code, I'm passionate about tennis. The sport demands the same qualities I value in engineering: discipline, strategic thinking, and continuous improvement. Whether it's refining my backhand technique or debugging a complex system, I approach both with the same methodical mindset. The court is where I reset, find clarity, and return to work with renewed focus.
Skills
Languages
- Python
- C++
- TypeScript
- Go
- Swift
- C
- SQL
AI/ML
- PyTorch
- TensorFlow
- NumPy
- Pandas
- Matplotlib
- scikit-learn
Infrastructure
- AWS
- Azure
- GCP
- Docker
Frontend
- React
- Next.js
- Expo
- Svelte
Databases
- MySQL
- MongoDB
Tools
- Git
- Xcode
- Android Studio
Get in touch
I'm always open to discussing new opportunities, interesting projects, or just having a conversation.