Zando Ward
Software engineering career coach and CTO
| Hourly rate range | $90 to $175 an hour |
|---|---|
| Focus areas | |
| Works with | Engineers and Students |
| Also coaches | Executive coach |
| Credentials | BS in Computer Science |
Zando Ward is a software engineering coach who helps people start and grow tech careers. He is also the CTO and co-founder of Leland. He has led engineering teams and worked at venture-backed startups. He interned at AWS and has interviewed, hired and mentored engineers from Amazon, LinkedIn and Meta. His clients include people breaking into software, preparing for technical interviews and weighing startups against big tech.
What Zando helps with
Zando works with people who want to get into software engineering or move up in it. He also helps with technical interviews and career choices.
- Breaking into software engineering
- Preparing for technical interviews
- Internship and new grad recruiting
- Choosing between a startup and big tech
- Growing as a full-stack or frontend engineer
- Moving toward engineering leadership or management
- Improving technical communication and career positioning
Who Zando works with
Zando works with people trying to break into software engineering, including students and new grads going through internship recruiting. He also coaches working engineers who want to grow as full-stack or frontend developers. Some clients are interested in engineering leadership, management or starting a company.
Background and qualifications
Zando is the CTO and co-founder of Leland, a role he has held since October 2021. Before that he was an engineering team lead at Workona from 2018 to 2021. He also worked at Lucid Software and Tiled. He interned as a software development engineer at AWS in 2017 and at LiveView Technologies in 2016. He holds a BS in Computer Science. He has interviewed, hired, mentored and reviewed engineers from companies like Amazon, LinkedIn and Meta.
Zando Ward pricing
Zando Ward reviews
Zando Ward has a 5.0 out of 5 rating from 12 reviews on Leland, as of September 2026.
The CoachVouch take
He is a working CTO and former head of engineering who has hired engineers from Amazon, LinkedIn and Meta.
Best for aspiring and early-career software engineers preparing for interviews and choosing between startups and big tech.
Common questions
How much does Zando Ward charge?
Coaching with Zando runs $90 to $175 an hour. Message Zando from this page for an exact quote.
What does Zando Ward help with?
Zando Ward helps with breaking into software engineering, preparing for technical interviews, internship and new grad recruiting and choosing between a startup and big tech.
Does Zando Ward have reviews?
Zando Ward has a 5.0 out of 5 rating from 12 reviews on Leland, as of September 2026.
Is Zando Ward certified?
Zando Ward lists: BS in Computer Science.
Does Zando Ward help with startup versus big tech decisions?
Yes. He works with clients who are deciding between startups and big tech. He has worked at several venture-backed startups.
Does Zando Ward coach people who want to move into engineering leadership?
Yes. He coaches engineers interested in leadership, management or entrepreneurship. He has served as an engineering team lead, head of engineering and CTO.
How do I contact Zando Ward?
Send Zando a message from this page. It's free and takes a minute.
Similar coaches to compare
Tick "Compare" to message several coaches at once.
Abisola (Abi) Ojikutu
Abi Ojikutu is a product management coach who helps students and professionals move into and grow in product roles. She has 13+ years of experience at Amazon, Remitly and PwC. She started in finance and accounting, then pivoted into product management. She led cross-functional teams of 30+ people across engineering, data science, design, marketing, legal and compliance. She coaches on PM resumes, behavioral interviews and building business skills.
Alexander Nowak
Alexander Nowak is a career coach who helps students and early to mid-career professionals define their career path and land new roles. He has 10 years of coaching and career advising for Bachelors, MBA, Masters and PhD students. He also spent 10 years leading teams and shaping strategy in marketing and sales. He has worked with more than 100 career coaching clients and uses the GROW coaching model.
Alok Shah
Alok Shah is a career coach who helps people get product manager jobs and do well in PM interviews. He is a senior product manager at Meta with over a decade in big tech. He has built ad-tech and sales-tech products at Meta, Google, Coursera and Intuit. He also holds offers from Twitch and Pinterest. He works with aspiring and early career PMs on job search, interview prep and high stakes product launches.
Ashwin V.
Ashwin V. is a product management coach who helps aspiring and working product managers prepare for interviews and grow in the role. He has 25+ years in product and technology, including 15+ in product management. He has worked at Amazon and Oracle, and he was the Sr. Product Manager on Amazon DynamoDB. He has interviewed PMs and PM interns and coaches on behavioral, product sense and domain-specific interviews.
Browse related
Last updated September 2026. Request a correction.