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Ahmet Ala
§1

Identification

Ahmet Ala

Works close to the metal: routing algorithms for 2-D mesh Network-on-Chip architectures at Huawei's Future Computing Fabrics lab, and metadata infrastructure at Snowflake. Came to systems through competitive algorithms — and still teaches them.

Function
Systems and low-level software
State
Software Engineering Intern, Snowflake — MetadataCurrent
Education
M.Sc. Computer Science, ETH Zürichexp. 2028
Prior
Research Engineer Intern, Huawei Zürich Research Center
Contact on LinkedInGitHub
Ahmet Ala at the 2024 ICPC Challenge Championship in Shenzhen, holding an ice cream shaped like the Polybahn funicular, with the venue's campus behind him.
Fig. 1Physical package. ICPC Challenge Championship 2024, Shenzhen.
  1. 1Ice cream — Shaped like the Polybahn, the funicular that runs up to ETH Zürich
  2. 2Event crest — ICPC Challenge Championship 2024, Shenzhen — powered by Huawei
  3. 3Name badge — Event identification for the championship
§2

Functional Description

Employment

  • 0x2607

    Software Engineering Intern

    CurrentJul 2026 — Present

    Snowflake — Metadata

  • 0x2504

    Research Engineer Intern

    Apr 2025 — May 2026

    Huawei Zürich Research Center — Future Computing Fabrics

    • Routing algorithms for 2-D mesh Network-on-Chip architectures.
  • 0x2309

    Undergraduate Teaching Assistant

    Sep 2023 — Feb 2025

    ETH Zürich — D-INFK

    • Algorithms and Data Structures (2023, 2024), Algorithms and Probability (2024).
    • Weekly exercise sessions, assignment grading and final-exam grading.

Education

  • 0x2502

    M.Sc. Computer Science

    CurrentFeb 2025 — 2028 (expected)

    ETH Zürich

    • Expected graduation 2028.
  • 0x2109

    B.Sc. Computer Science

    Sep 2021 — Feb 2026

    ETH Zürich

    • Thesis: Analyzing the One-Permutation Variant of Sharir-Welzl, supervised by Prof. Dr. Bernd Gärtner and Dr. Simon Weber.
Fig. 2Operating timeline, January 2021 through December 2028. Every span it plots is listed with its dates above.
§3

Verified Characteristics

As coach, unless noted
Competition results and the conditions they were achieved under.
ParameterValue
World Finals placement48th ICPC World Finals, 2024 — as coachRank 19 · Highest Honors
Regional placementICPC Southwestern Europe Regional, 2023 — as coach1st · Gold Medal
National olympiadTurkish National Olympiad in InformaticsBronze Medal

Verificationicpc.global — official ICPC record

§4

Absolute Maximum Ratings

Recorded maximum distances and step count.
SymbolParameterValueUnit
N_STEPSteps, single day53,034steps
D_RIDEDistance, single ride226km
D_RUNDistance, single run42.6km
Race personal bests.
DistanceBest time
5 km22:49
10 km47:50
Half marathon1:43:20
Marathon4:07:50
Ahmet Ala hiking in the Swiss Alps.
Fig. 3Off duty, Swiss Alps.
Ahmet Ala's touring bike in front of Heidelberg Castle.
Fig. 4Zürich to Heidelberg, by bike.
§5

Referenced Documents

Session sites from teaching at ETH Zürich, kept online unchanged for the students who used them — exercise notes, problem sets and solutions.

Archived course sites, with the term each was taught in.
TitleTerm
Algorithms and Data Structures

Weekly exercise sessions covering core algorithms and data structures, with exercise notes and problem sets.

AnD G-07

Autumn 2023
Algorithms and Data Structures

Second iteration of the Algorithms and Data Structures exercise group, with updated material and tasks.

AnD G-06

Autumn 2024
Algorithms and Probability

Exercise sessions on algorithmic techniques and probabilistic analysis, including in-class exercises and solutions.

AnW G-09

Spring 2024