Will Yi

Building with AI. Leading with intent.
Always learning by doing.
Software Engineering Manager at Cisco.

SEATTLE, WA

Endlessly curious.
Selectively rigorous.
Always building.

17+
Years in Tech
10+
Years Leadership
Enabler
Leadership Style

Engineering Manager at Cisco based in the Greater Seattle Area, focused on developing wireless network intelligence services and empowering engineers to do their best work while delivering high-impact outcomes.

My approach to leadership is practical: mentorship over directives, deliberate prioritization, and keeping the balance between shipping new things and maintaining what already runs in production. I'm also building personal AI applications and integrating agentic workflows into how my team works day to day.

Outside of work: I run long distances, play guitar, and watch or play nearly any sport that involves a ball.

Practice is where knowledge becomes skill. That applies to code, leadership, and everything else.

AI/LLM Engineering Agentic Architectures Engineering Leadership Project Management Data Analytics Cloud Computing Software Development Network Security

Software Engineering Manager

Cisco — Wireless Intelligent Services
2022 — PRESENT

Leading a full-stack software development team focused on Intelligent Services across Meraki Dashboard and Catalyst Center. The team owns AI-RRM, Config Recommendation, and Agentic AI — products that bring machine intelligence directly into wireless network operations.

Beyond shipping product, I'm integrating agentic AI workflows into how the team develops software — making AI a first-class part of the engineering process, not just the output.

Python Machine Learning AI Agents LLM Integration System Architecture Team Leadership Wireless Networking

Software Engineering Manager

WatchGuard Technologies
2011 — 2022

Led cross-functional teams through the transition from on-prem to AWS cloud architecture, including the WatchGuard Cloud launch. Stabilized firmware and SaaS delivery, cutting customer-reported issues by 60%.

Scaled automated test coverage from 10% to 90% — 3,000+ Python/Perl scripts across distributed APIs, UIs, and CI/CD pipelines. Managed 10+ major releases end-to-end with zero delays and 7x growth in E2E coverage.

AWS Cloud Architecture Test Automation Python Perl CI/CD SaaS Security

Over 17 years in software engineering across networking, cloud infrastructure, system design, and AI applications.

● Active AI · Productivity

Context Infrastructure

A personal AI workspace system — rules, memory, skills, and agent orchestration patterns that turn Claude into a persistent, context-rich second brain.

● Production ML · Networking

AI-RRM

AI-powered Radio Resource Management system for Cisco wireless networks. Applies reinforcement learning to optimize spectrum allocation and reduce interference at scale.

● This Site Astro · Design

wiyi.ai

This site. Built with Astro, Tailwind v4, and React. Designed as a living portfolio — the code and design are intentional artifacts, not an afterthought.

● Active AI · Engineering

AI Dev Workflows

A collection of agentic development workflows integrating Claude Code, parallel subagents, and structured memory into the software engineering process.

● In Progress Python · Imaging

Astrophoto Pipeline

Automated image stacking, calibration, and post-processing pipeline for deep-sky astrophotography. Built to handle raw sensor data from long-exposure sessions.

● Exploring Side Projects

Open to Build

Actively looking for interesting side projects and business opportunities — especially at the intersection of AI tooling, productivity, and knowledge management.

Half marathon finisher. Always training further.

Acoustic and electric. Finding rhythm in the noise.

Exploring the world with family — and documenting every moment along the way.

Open to great opportunities
and interesting conversations.

I'm currently exploring senior engineering leadership roles, AI/tech advisory opportunities, and ambitious side projects. If you're building something that matters, let's talk.

Senior EM / Director Roles AI Strategy & Consulting Side Project Collaboration Technical Advisory