Ryan Liu ’07
Company: Google
Major: Electrical engineering and engineering management
Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii
Extracurriculars: Bassoonist in the Conservatory of Music Concert Band, Xi Chi Sigma Asian interest social fraternity
When Ryan Liu ’07 started his engineering journey, he didn’t see a single path; he saw possibility.
Now a technical program manager at YouTube, Liu leads projects that shape how hundreds of millions of users experience gaming content on the platform. But long before he was developing cutting-edge features like interactive “gaming recaps” and “playables”—mini-games you can play directly in the YouTube app—he was a student at University of the Pacific, double majoring in electrical engineering and engineering management.
“Pacific allowed me to become a well-rounded engineering professional,” Liu says, “It’s because of that foundation of liberal arts, coupled with the technical aspects, that I was able to go into the workforce and continue to improve myself.”
What Liu does at YouTube
Liu started working at YouTube in 2020 and now oversees a team focused on GTX—gaming, teens and extended reality. He collaborates with engineers, designers, product managers, researchers and data scientists.
One of his team’s newest projects is “playables,” a feature that lets users jump into casual games without ever leaving the YouTube app. It’s part of YouTube’s effort to create a more interactive experience and a new kind of entertainment.
“It’s the notion that you can, instead of watching a video on YouTube, play a game natively in the YouTube app,” Liu says.
Gaining a broad-based perspective at Pacific
Liu’s path to Big Tech wasn’t linear. His Pacific experience helped him explore both the technical and business sides of engineering. Through the School of Engineering and Computer Science’s CO-OP program, he worked at Calpine Energy as a plant engineer and completed a second internship in Japan at Daiwabo Polytec, a manufacturing company, where he helped develop advanced synthetic fibers.
“Figuring out how to navigate that environment by living, working and adapting in another country was an important part of being able to shape my skills for the better,” Liu says
He credits much of his growth to the close mentorship he received at Pacific—especially from his adviser, Professor Abel Fernandez, who taught project management.
“I credit him for basically getting my first job out of Pacific because of his support and coaching.”
Liu even recalls cracking open the project management textbook from Fernandez’s class long after graduating from Pacific.
Building a career in tech
After graduation, Liu spent 12 years working in consulting, mostly at the business management firm Accenture, helping clients manage large-scale engineering and business projects. But after welcoming his first daughter, he wanted to shift away from constant travel. That’s when he made the leap to Google.
Google was an environment which, according to Liu, required the ability to learn and thrive in ambiguity by being adaptable, much like the experience he gained from his CO-OPs and multifaceted education.
At Google, Liu says the most rewarding part is the scale.
“As soon as you hit that launch button for what would appear as a minute feature change on an app, it’s something that impacts billions of users. To me that is not only exciting, but there are few places that offer that in the world.”
Why a liberal arts foundation matters in tech
In a fast-moving industry, Liu believes one thing is crucial: a solid foundation with coursework in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. He says the liberal arts education he received at Pacific, which taught him to think critically, communicate effectively and approach problems from multiple angles, has made the biggest difference in his career.
“We’re in a world now where the pressure to specialize is so high,” Liu says.
He compares it to San Francisco’s Millennium Tower, which has tilted over time due to foundational issues.
“Students who jump into investing so much time and money to specialize in one thing without building that crucial liberal arts foundation are like the sinking tower,” Liu explained. “The short-term benefits are there, but the shortcuts will catch up to you.”
That solid foundation is especially important now, as artificial intelligence transforms how engineers and creators work.
Liu’s advice for students fearing AI
Rather than fearing replacement by AI, Liu urges students to focus on deeply understanding their core engineering principles and viewing AI as a tool to enhance their work.
“Know your tradecraft. You need to command an understanding of it,” Liu says.
He says students with a broader educational background will have an edge when working with AI tools. He urges students to develop a deep understanding of fundamental concepts, such as comprehending code rather than just generating it.
“The more knowledge you have, especially from a liberal arts standpoint, the better prompts you should be able to write,” Liu says. “The ability to interpret and find what’s useful for human use will help you because it’s a human element that AI won’t be able to replicate.”
For students considering a future in tech, Liu’s advice is simple: Be curious. Embrace change. And don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and adapt.
“Seek out opportunities to learn and grow, even if they take you outside your comfort zone,” Liu says. “And never underestimate the value of a well-rounded education.”