‘It’s Okay to Change’: Alumnus Finds New Dream in Tech Industry

Florida Tech March 5, 2024

By Erin Alvarado ’16

While other children in Kenya were playing video games in their school’s computer labs, Michael Kinoti ’05 was teaching himself how to code.

Today, Kinoti is the director of engineering, marketing technology (growth platform), with Airbnb.

This role combines his love of travel with his passion for technology, as he leads the growth platform team that powers all the technology services and tools leveraged to drive more growth and engagement opportunities for the company.

“Airbnb’s mission resonated with me to really focus on promoting belonging, creating a world where anyone can belong anywhere,” Kinoti says.

As the child of an entrepreneur father and an engineer mother, Kinoti grew up inspired to achieve what others said couldn’t be done.

“My mother’s grit was inspiring,” he says. “She was the only female in her university cohort, and time and time again, she has had to work harder than everybody else to prove herself. She became a leader at Kenya’s major telecom company and directly contributed to bringing the country high-speed internet, giving my generation and ones after access to a world of information.”

With the world at his fingertips through a computer screen, he grew up with one goal: secure a job with Microsoft.

Kinoti got one step closer to this dream when he declined his acceptance to medical school and instead accepted a partial scholarship to attend Florida Tech for software engineering.

The cultural shock of leaving his home in Kenya was intimidating, but Kinoti quickly found himself at home within the university’s diverse international student body.

“I found myself feeling more comfortable when I arrived at Florida Tech and realized so many other international students would be going through the same experience I was.”

In one of his Florida Tech classes, Kinoti had the opportunity to perform security testing for a Microsoft product and provide feedback before it went to market.

Having that hands-on experience helped Kinoti enhance his résumé so that when Microsoft attended a Florida Tech career fair during his senior year, he received an interview on the spot.

“Microsoft ended up flying me to Redmond, Washington, where I did a full day of interviews. When I arrived back to campus, I found out that I got the job,” Kinoti says.

And he has not slowed down since.

Kinoti moved to Seattle and worked at Microsoft for 11 years. During his time at the company, he was part of the Microsoft Office team and later transitioned to its Bing Search division.

Throughout this time, as he was exposed to new technology, Kinoti found himself drawn to Silicon Valley and the companies housed there.

“Once you get to a point in your career where you’re not growing the same way, you’re not learning the same way or you just want a different challenge, it’s okay to change,” Kinoti says.

Having accomplished his Microsoft dream, he decided to move on, accepting a position with Uber’s customer engagement platform team.

At Uber, Kinoti was initially on a team of 15 people that he helped grow to over 150 people during his 3 1/2 years with the company.

In February 2020, Kinoti discovered a new way to make an impact in the technology industry through Airbnb. So, he took another leap of faith and has been moving up in the company ever since.

“My college experience at Florida Tech taught me how to be curious, to never stop learning and always embrace the adventure.”