Mike Schroepfer is an American computer scientist and technology executive who served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.) from March 2013 to March 2022. During his tenure, he oversaw the company's engineering organization, data center operations, and the development of its Artificial intelligence infrastructure, which became foundational to Meta's products and research efforts.
Schroepfer joined Facebook in 2008 as Vice President of Engineering, after previously holding leadership roles at Mozilla Corporation and Sun Microsystems. He holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from Stanford University, where he later became a visiting scholar. His early career included work on web browser performance and open-source software, experiences that shaped his later focus on scalable systems.
Engineering Leadership at Meta
As CTO, Schroepfer managed a global team of thousands of engineers responsible for Meta's core platform, including the social network's recommendation systems, video streaming, and messaging products. He was instrumental in driving the company's shift from traditional server deployments to custom-built data centers, which reduced costs and improved efficiency. Under his leadership, Meta developed the Open Compute Project, an initiative that shared hardware designs to advance industry-wide sustainability.
Schroepfer also championed the use of Machine learning across Meta's products, from content ranking to ad delivery. He often emphasized the importance of adapting engineering practices to the rapid growth of the platform, which grew from roughly 100 million users when he joined to over 2.9 billion monthly active users by the time he stepped down.
AI Infrastructure and Research
A significant part of Schroepfer's work centered on building the computational backbone for Deep learning models. He played a key role in the creation and expansion of Meta's AI research laboratories, which focused on areas such as computer vision and natural language processing. He supported the development of PyTorch, an open-source Neural network framework, which became widely adopted in the Machine learning community and is now maintained under the Linux Foundation.
His advocacy for large-scale AI systems anticipated the industry's move toward Large language model architectures, including Transformer (architecture)-based models. While specific projects were often confidential, Schroepfer publicly discussed Meta's investments in specialized hardware, such as custom chips, to accelerate Generative AI workloads. These efforts helped position Meta among the leading technology companies in AI infrastructure, alongside peers like Google DeepMind's parent Alphabet and Microsoft's Microsoft Azure cloud services.
Transition and Later Roles
In March 2022, Schroepfer announced he would step down as CTO to focus on personal projects and creative pursuits. He remained at Meta as a Senior Fellow, advising on AI strategy and talent development. His successor, Andrew Bosworth, took over the CTO role, continuing many of the initiatives Schroepfer had established.
After leaving his executive position, Schroepfer became involved in philanthropy and technical education, including supporting STEM programs at his alma mater. He has also spoken at industry conferences about the ethical implications of AI and the need for responsible development, echoing themes from researchers like Carlos Guestrin and Daphne Koller who advocate for human-centered machine learning.
Industry Impact
Schroepfer's contributions have been recognized through various awards, including being named one of Fortune's 40 Under 40 in 2010. His engineering philosophy - prioritizing reliability and open collaboration - influenced not only Meta but also broader discussions on data center design and AI scalability. He is frequently cited in technology media for his pragmatic approach to managing complex systems.
In 2023, Schroepfer joined the board of Coreweave, a cloud provider specializing in AI computing, signaling his continued engagement with the sector. He has also invested in early-stage AI startups, though he rarely discloses specific financial details. His career exemplifies the intersection of large-scale infrastructure and AI research, a field that continues to evolve rapidly.
Personal Life
Schroepfer is known for his interest in photography and has documented his travels and the natural world on social platforms. He resides in California with his family and maintains an active presence in the Bay Area technology community. Despite his public role at Meta, he has kept personal details largely private, focusing public commentary on engineering and innovation.