Max Dauber received his BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UT Austin in 2021. He works as a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer & Tech Lead at Primer AI. We sat down with Max to find out more about his time in Texas ECE, and what he is doing now.
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING NOW.
I’m based in San Francisco and work as a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer & Tech Lead at Primer AI, where we develop AI-powered systems for analysts and operators in the intelligence community, DoD, and commercial sector. Our software helps them efficiently sift through vast amounts of open-source, proprietary, and classified information to surface data about geopolitical events, armed conflict, and disinformation campaigns - and ultimately make higher quality decisions faster. In my current role, I lead a team designing custom software and machine learning solutions using NLP on top of our product suite, ensuring they function seamlessly in any VPC, network, or on-premise environment for our customers. Additionally I am an active angel investor supporting and advising entrepreneurs in the AI/ML, defense, and deeptech sectors.
HOW DID YOU END UP AT UT AND WHAT PATH LED YOU THERE?
My grandparents, both of my parents, and my sister Eve attended UT, making me a third-generation Longhorn! I grew up cheering for Texas football and attending games every year as a kid. I had a few criteria for selecting colleges when the time came: it had to be a top ten engineering school (specifically for electrical engineering/computer science) and have at least one nationally competitive sports program so I could have a franchise to support throughout my life. During the application process, UT ECE consistently seemed like the ideal choice for getting a well rounded education, and I was excited to attend. I ended up gravitating towards ECE because I wanted to learn how computers worked from the ground up to get a more fundamental understanding of computing systems generally and get broader exposure to physics/math/hardware via a rigorous engineering degree. My initial plan was to work on quantum computing and go on to get a PhD in order to design quantum encryption tech, but ended up spending time exploring other fields at UT and settled on the intersection of national security and AI as it combined my interests and a novel computing paradigm to potentially build a career in.
WHO HAS BEEN A MAJOR INFLUENCE ON YOUR LIFE?
My life has been shaped by various influences, with my family playing a central role. My paternal grandparents (and much of the Dauber clan) have instilled in me a keen understanding of business and worldly matters as well as ironclad traditions like the oldest generation always paying at dinners, while my maternal grandparents nurtured my creativity, sense of fun, and fierce intellectual curiosity. Beyond family, the renowned physicist Richard Feynman, has always inspired me with his ability to balance a playful approach to life with a serious dedication to technical pursuits and asking the right questions.
IF YOU COULD PROVIDE ONE POSITIVE MEMORY OF YOUR TIME AT UT THAT STANDS OUT WHAT WOULD THAT BE?
There are a few memories that stand out. Finishing the first assignment in Dr. Patt’s fabled EE306 Intro to Computing class was a great introduction to the ECE program as the programs were written in the LC-3 machine language (which his team invented for the class) and it was quite a thrill to be starting out my education designing components in what was effectively binary code. His teaching style and no-nonsense dedication to the material were inspiring and many of his ten commandments for good teaching stuck with me as I taught classes and sought to mentor others. Also, finishing a sprint to get all the test cases working for the virtual memory programming assignment in EE461 Operating Systems with Dr. Yerraballi and then doing yoga in a class he organized with the Undergraduate Advisory Board the next day was a memorable way to relax after making sure all of our C pointers were squared away.
WHAT IS ONE OF THE PROUDEST MOMENTS IN YOUR CAREER IN ECE?
Due to the nature of my work, I'm unable to publicly discuss many of the specific successes and deployments that have been very impactful for customers during my full time career at Primer. However, one instance I can mention involves applying several signal processing concepts learned from EE351M Digital Signal Processing and EE319K Embedded Systems. These skills allowed me to quickly get up to speed on state-of-the-art signals processing and build a system to use a LLM to process raw audio input for intelligence reports that will transform our customer’s ability to accomplish their mission. Outside of my direct work, giving back through education - especially STEM education - has been extremely rewarding. One example was getting to be a guest speaker to a 7th grade math class in Hawaii to give them a crash course on AI/ML. It was an excellent chance to distill down complex concepts into something fun and digestible for students who were only at an algebra/geometry level in math. They asked smart questions about the material we covered and several mentioned how they were inspired to work on computers and wanted to go on to get engineering degrees - so I consider it a big success!
WHAT IS AN IMPORTANT LESSON YOU HAVE LEARNED IN YOUR CAREER THAT YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TELL YOUR YOUNGER SELF?
I'm still early in my professional life, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. However, I've observed a couple major factors that impact professional success and personal growth in the technology world. First, the importance of building and nurturing relationships cannot be overstated. Networking and fostering connections can lead to unexpected job opportunities, invaluable mentorship, and contacts in different companies and industries to run interference with - all of which are crucial for career advancement. It's all about moving up the trust ladder with potential employers and colleagues, transforming from a random resume in a pile to a known entity and trusted confidante. Second, technical skills alone are often insufficient for success, particularly for engineers. The ability to effectively communicate and "sell" ideas within an organization or to the public is a critical, often overlooked skill. Even the most forward-looking (and sometimes obvious) concepts often struggle to gain traction without proper presentation, advocacy, and connection with other popular ideas.
ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO ADD FOR OUR ALUMNI?
I’m excited to be a part of the ECE alumni community and am looking forward to helping create the kind of alumni network that can help facilitate internships and jobs for graduates and build shared experience in the engineering practice. I would encourage all ECE grads to be open to mentoring and supporting current students, connecting with current department programs, and joining alumni communities in their locales. It all helps strengthen the feedback loop to propel UT ECE to become the best engineering program in the country.
