Ep 87 - How to Become A Privacy Engineer with Modupe Akintan

On this episode of #WorkingInTech, we’re talking to Modupe Akintan, a Privacy & AI Engineer at Amazon with a strong interest in tech policy.

Modupe went from being the top student in her Computer Engineering program in Nigeria to earning her Master’s at Stanford University and has since worked at major tech companies like Apple and Amazon.

She also helped build the Paragon Policy Fellowship, where she served as Director of Partnerships, using her passion for tech policy to make real impact.

Modupe will share her journey from Nigeria to Silicon Valley, lessons learned in privacy engineering and AI safety, and how you can chart your own path in tech.

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CONNECT WITH MODUPE

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/modupe-akintan/

Portfolio: https://github.com/ModupeAkintan

CHAPTERS

0:00 - Intro

1:40 - Why Tech?

6:20 - Privacy in Tech

12:45 - What is Privacy Engineering?

14:10 - Top Skills

17:01 - Privacy Tech Stack

21:03 - Prepping for the Big Leagues

23:30 - Doing it Without Stanford

26:10 - Getting into Tech Policy

30:35 - Fear of Rejection

45:20 - AI Privacy

57:50 - Why Tech Instead of Other Fields?

1:00:30 - Shoutouts

1:02:00 - Conclusion