Ryan Hecht

Hi, I’m Ryan.

Pronounced RYE-uhn HEKT

I’m a product manager and technical leader, currently on GitHub’s Agentic Platforms team, where I build the Copilot CLI and SDK. I have also spent more than a decade running MCParks, a Minecraft recreation of the world’s theme parks that has hosted more than 450,000 guests and started more than a few careers.

Ryan smiling at Tokyo DisneySea

I’m constantly learning and building, and I’m trying to get better at sharing my sidequests and misadventures…hence this website. Thanks for stopping by!

Work

  1. Product Manager, GitHub

    May 2022 – present

    • Led product for GitHub Copilot CLI from nascent experiment to general availability, defining the requirements, prototypes, and metrics for each release milestone.
    • Ran GitHub Classroom and Education, closing the table-stakes gaps that were capping it: 20% year-over-year growth in active teachers, 45% in active students.
    • Led the cross-functional redesign of GitHub’s signup flow, worth a 5% lift in conversion and a 3x lift in users who engage with onboarding.

    Related workGitHub Copilot CLI

  2. Owner and lead developer, MCParks

    2013 – present

    • Led the technical, product, and community strategy for a Minecraft theme park recreation server with 450,000+ unique guests and 150+ volunteer staff, creating accurate in-game representations of the world’s leading theme park properties and a vibrant, wholesome community

    Related workMCParksShowScriptAchievables

  3. Product Manager, Microsoft

    Aug 2020 – May 2022, Redmond, Washington

    • Designed the Extended Stable channel for Microsoft Edge, for the enterprises that cannot take a browser update every four weeks. Rewrote Edge release channel documentation and field enablement guides.
    • Helped retire the legacy Edge Windows application and seamlessly transition clients to the Chromium-based Edge
5 earlier roles

  1. Head Sunlab consultant, Brown University

    Sep 2017 – May 2020, Providence, Rhode Island

    • Responsible for aiding students using the Computer Science department’s main computer lab. From a post at the entrance to the lab, support is given to students with technical problems such setting up SSH access to the department machines, configuring file transfer protocols, and troubleshooting software issues
    • As a Head Consultant, responsible for managing the other consultants, handling administrative work relating to the consultant program, and hiring new consultants.

  2. Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, Brown University

    Sep 2018 – May 2020, Providence, Rhode Island

    • TA for Design and Implementation of Programming Languages taught by professor Shriram Krishnamurthi. Responsibilities included holding office hours, answering help-queue questions, and grading interpreter/type-checker assignments.

  3. Program Manager intern, Microsoft

    Summer 2019, Redmond, Washington

    • Proposed Windows Shell investments to grow OneDrive sharing, built web prototypes of File Explorer to test them, and sized the impact.

  4. Software developer, Brown Space Engineering

    Sep 2016 – Nov 2018, Providence, Rhode Island

    • Wrote node.js ground software for a satellite that launched to the International Space Station

  5. Full-stack engineering intern, Vitae Industries

    Summer 2018, Providence, Rhode Island

    • Built and deployed REST APIs and a React survey and physician-review platform for a digital prescribing clinic, with CI on Jenkins and Docker.

Education

  1. BSc, Computer Science, Brown University

    2016 – 2020, Providence, Rhode Island

    Selected coursework

    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Computer Vision
    • Software Engineering
    • Computer Systems
    • Design & Implementation of Programming Languages
    • Crossing the Consumer Chasm through Engineering Design
    • User Interfaces & User Experiences
    • Managerial Decision Making
    • Leadership in Organizations
    • Computers Freedom & Privacy
    • Cultural Significance of Copyright
    • Software Security & Exploitation

Open the resume on a focused, printable page

Selected appearances

Talks, interviews, conference appearances, and more

  1. Talk

    Power agentic workflows in your terminal with GitHub Copilot CLI

    GitHub Universe 2025 · San Francisco, California

    Demonstrated terminal-first development workflows for building, debugging, and understanding code with the Copilot CLI coding agent.

    Ryan Hecht presenting GitHub Copilot CLI on the GitHub Universe 2025 stage as audience members raise their hands

    Job: GitHub Copilot CLI

  2. Workshop

    Distributing, Collecting, and Autograding Assignments with GitHub Classroom

    SIGCSE TS 2023 · Toronto, Canada

    In my role as PM for GitHub Education, co-led a three-hour hands-on workshop with legendary Harvard profressor David Malan and staff of CS50 Rongxin Liu and Carter Zenke on using GitHub Classroom to distribute, collect, test, and grade student work.

  3. Video

    MCParks @ Give Kids the World Village

    Attractions Magazine

    At the opening of a new gaming space at Give Kids the World Village that MCParks sponsored, I show a crowd of media attendees progress on MCParks’ 1:1 recreation of the Village!

    Attractions Magazine video thumbnail showing the MCParks recreation of Give Kids The World Village beside the real Village

    Project: MCParks

All appearances

Beyond the résumé

Other fun peripheral things about my work setup and interests