Services
$360 / month
Start free, decide later
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1
Free 7-day trial
No charge until day 7. Cancel anytime. -
2
Ongoing calls + chat
2 × 60-min calls per month, unlimited Q&A. Replies in 2 days. -
3
No lock-in
Month to month, no contract.
MentorCruise summary
Mikhail is a CTO and co-founder at Alphabet. He spent 12 years at Google and Waymo, led work on YouTube and ML systems, and ran more than 200 technical interviews. He helps engineers prepare for technical interviews, strengthen resumes for target roles, and build production systems.
Based on 5 verified mentee reviews
- Two reviews point to thoughtful, practical guidance tailored to mentees' goals and challenges.
- Two mentees mention valuable interview preparation, including mock interviews and guidance for upcoming interviews.
About
I spent 12 years climbing big tech (L3 → L6 at Google & Waymo), then left to build. Wherever you are on that path, I've already run it.
🦄 If you use dark mode on YouTube, I built that.
- 8 years at Google / YouTube: Tech Lead on modern YouTube.com, shipping to 2B+ users.
- 4 years at Waymo (L6): ML and GenAI systems, including the SF autonomous rollout.
- Now: Technical co-founder (a16z Speedrun-backed) & creator of Pony Diffusion (1M+ downloads, 1B+ generations).
- Hiring side: Ran 200+ technical interviews and calibration across L3–L6.
❗ I want to get hired at a top company
Real-bar prep: System design, coding, and behavioral tuned to how panels actually calibrate, not generic blog advice.
Resume & narrative: Frame your impact for the level you want, not the one below it.
Intros & referrals: Direct connections to FAANG and top AI teams once you're genuinely ready.
Immigration & relocation: Hired directly from Russia to Google US; deep familiarity with H-1B and visa navigation.
❗ I want to level up where I am
What actually drives promos: Scope, visibility, and high-leverage work vs. busy work.
Org dynamics: Navigating how different orgs (YouTube vs. Cloud vs. Ads) reward different behaviors.
Stay vs. jump: Knowing when you have runway to push vs. when your ceiling is real and you should move.
❗ I want to build something
Production GenAI architecture: Training, deploying, and serving models at scale without burning 6 figures on throwaway infra.
Founding stack: Early technical hires, co-founder dynamics, and investor-ready technical narratives.
How I work
Bring the artifact, not abstract questions. The resume draft, the architecture diagram, the pitch deck, or the interview you just bombed. We work on real material.
I don't do vague cheerleading. If something isn't good enough, I'll tell you why and how to fix it. If you're ready, I'll tell you to stop overthinking and ship.
🎥 See me explain the YouTube.com rebuild: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TzF3Pshx2Y
or read about how I helped save YouTube by leading the world's largest WebP rollout in Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/04/cheaper-bandwidth-or-bust-how-google-saved-youtube/ [1]
What mentees say
5 out of 5 stars
Mikhail might be the single best possible mentor for anyone out there! As a software engineer fairly new to the industry, I had many concerns about the direction I should take my career, what my goals should be, how I should approach the technical and political aspect of the job, where my primary struggles should be, and an overall lack of direction on what my engineering path should like. Mikhail, at multiple points throughout the mentorship, empathetically understood my painpoints and helped me reason through what the best possible decisions I could make were. Mikhail also brings an unbelievable wealth of experience and perspective. From probably one of the most impressive trajectories an engineer can have in the industry, Mike provided countless knowledge drops on technical concepts related to Machine Learning, System designs and architecture, Founding and VC's, on top of an introduction into his network of fellow a16Z and Waymo peers. For the cherry on top, Mikhail is also just a super fun person to chat and connect with as he participates in some of the most unique hobbies (acting, improv, martial arts, wrestling) and he is always asking and wanting to learn more and connect with his mentee. I couldn't recconmend Mikhail more and no matter what step you are in your career, I am sure Mikhail can provide immense help and direction on top of being a great friend and person to connect with!
Avi
Standard Plan • 6 months
5 out of 5 stars
Mike is an excellent mentor and an equally wonderful person. He possesses a vast amount of knowledge and is always willing to share it with others. I have truly enjoyed our technical and non-technical discussions, mock interviews, and job search conversations, all of which have been incredibly valuable and insightful.
Sagar
Standard Plan • 3 months
5 out of 5 stars
Mikhail is a great mentor. He helped me build an end to end streaming pipeline. I think he can understand exactly what you need out of mentorship very well and come up practices/exercises that make sense for someone to improve. I would 100% recommend him for anyone that is truly looking to get better.
Sriram
Standard Plan • 1 month
Get to know Mikhail
What happens when you start
You tell Mikhail your goals. They see exactly what you want to work on before session one.
You meet within days. Mikhail reviews your application and books your first session, usually within a day or two.
You leave with a plan. Concrete next steps and a weekly rhythm from your very first week.
