Tra Vu
COO
OhmniLabs
San Jose, CA USA
“Where you come from doesn’t define where you’re going.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationTra Vu
Milestones
My road in life has taken me all over.
I was born in a small village in Vietnam and eventually moved to the United States with my parents.
I got into New York University on an athletic scholarship for soccer—I spent my first two years of college focusing on soccer and kept my major undecided.
During my junior year of college, I decided to major in civil engineering because of its great impact on everything around us.
After graduating, I earned a master’s degree in financial engineering and a Ph.D. in transportation planning and engineering.
I started my career as a technical director for an engineering company and an adjunct professor at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering.
I met the co-founder and CEO of OhmniLabs, Thuc Vu, at a young professionals event—I was inspired by his talk about robotics and decided to volunteer to help him by writing a technical paper.
After getting to know the team and the work they were doing, I was invited to stay on and help operate the company.
I left civil engineering, moved from New York to the Silicon Valley in California, and joined OhmniLabs as the chief operating officer.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Bachelor
Civil Engineering
New York University
Civil Engineering
New York University
Graduate
Financial Engineering
New York University
Financial Engineering
New York University
Graduate
Transportation Engineering & Planning
New York University
Transportation Engineering & Planning
New York University
Certification/License
Professional Engineer License
Professional Engineer License
Career
COO
I manage the company's operations in order to scale our robotics and AI products and services.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Business
Technology
Working with Others
Day to Day
At its core, my job is to make everyone's job easier. I provide (or remove) the guide rails, structure, framework, processes, and tools that my various teams need to focus on their work. I also ensure that we grow our team and expand our talent pool, while maintaining our culture of innovation, compassion, and tenacity.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
I made a career shift, going from civil engineering into robotics. It's a lucky opportunity that I took and then worked hard to fill the shoes. To work in operations, I recommend taking a more straight path through majoring in social studies, human science, or operation management.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Bachelor
Social Studies
Social Studies
Hurdles
Challenges I Overcame
School Stress
Interviewed By
Caring Forward
Meet who's building the future of healthcare
