Restaurants
10 Taco Bell engineering leaders
These ten current and former Taco Bell engineering leaders hold or held CTO, vice president, senior director, director and head roles, covering ecommerce and restaurant software, data platforms, quality engineering, and kitchen equipment and operations engineering. A reader can learn how engineering leaders work at Taco Bell from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
01—10Andrew Soltan
LinkedInExperience: Director, Software Engineering · Taco Bell
Director, Software Engineering at Taco Bell since February 2025, described in the profile as Director of Engineering, Ecommerce, leading teams that develop the Taco Bell iOS app, Android app and tacobell.com website. Andrew Soltan was Vice President, Engineering (2021–2025) and Director, Software Development (2017–2021) at Phunware.
Leo Salazar
LinkedInExperience: Director, Tech Ops and Reliability Services · Taco Bell
Director, Tech Ops and Reliability Services at Taco Bell since July 2025, based in Irvine. Leo Salazar was Sr. Manager, Site Reliability Engineering (2023–2025), Manager, Production Support (2021–2023) and Associate Manager, Production Support (2021) at Taco Bell, and Manager IT Operations at Michael Kors (2018–2021).
Mark A. Ramos
LinkedInExperience: Former Director Of Engineering · Taco Bell
Former Director Of Engineering at Taco Bell (2010–2020) and Assoc. Manager Operations Engineering at Taco Bell (1995–2010), with foodservice expertise in site review, kitchen and equipment design, construction, regulatory compliance and computer modeling, per the profile. Mark A. Ramos was an Industrial Engineer at CKE Restaurants (1992–1995).
Micah Tsern
LinkedInExperience: Former Director of Engineering · Taco Bell
Former Director of Engineering at Taco Bell from March 1996 to December 2017 in Irvine, a role described as designing, developing and implementing equipment and labor solutions to maximize customer throughput while reducing operational costs and complexities. Micah Tsern has been Consultant, Investor and Entrepreneur at m&c Tsern Consulting since 2018.
Ratika Garg
LinkedInExperience: Head of Data Platform and Engineering · Taco Bell
Head of Data Platform and Engineering at Taco Bell since June 2025, based in Irvine. Ratika Garg was Director Quality Engineering (2022–2025), Senior Manager Quality Engineering (2021–2022) and Manager (2015–2021) at Taco Bell, and earlier a Consultant at Techwave (2013–2015).
Rishi Gupta
LinkedInExperience: Former Director II, Software Engineering · Taco Bell
Former Director II, Software Engineering at Taco Bell (2019–2020), then Head of International Digital & Technology (Division CTO) (2020–2023) and Senior Director, US Technology (2023–2024) at Taco Bell. Rishi Gupta is now Vice President, Technology Strategy & Enterprise Applications at Brinker International.
Siri Pathammavong
LinkedInExperience: Director of Software Engineering, Restaurant Systems · Taco Bell
Director of Software Engineering, Restaurant Systems at Taco Bell since February 2026. Siri Pathammavong was Senior Software Engineering Manager for Restaurant Technology & Support Center (2025–2026) and for Ecommerce Web & Serverless (2023–2025), and Software Engineering Manager (2021–2023) at Taco Bell.
Stephen Plank
LinkedInExperience: Former Chief Technology Officer · Taco Bell
Former Chief Technology Officer at Taco Bell (2017–2024), reporting to the CEO and responsible for all aspects of global technology for the brand, per the profile. Stephen Plank was Vice President, Technology Delivery (2016–2017) and Senior Director, Back of House Technology (2015–2016) at Taco Bell, and now advises through Plank Partners Consulting.
Steven Gomez
LinkedInExperience: Former Senior Director, Culinary Innovation & Global Engineering · Taco Bell
Former Senior Director, Culinary Innovation & Global Engineering at Taco Bell (November 2020 to September 2024), now Sr. Director Culinary Innovation for Carl's Jr. US at CKE Restaurants. Steven Gomez was Director, International Product Development (2018–2020) and Sr. Manager, Product Development (2006–2017) at Taco Bell.
Vadim Parizher
LinkedInExperience: Former Sr Director, Engineering and Analytics · Taco Bell
Former Sr Director, Engineering and Analytics at Taco Bell (2019–2021) and VP of Technology at Taco Bell (2021–2026), a role leading software, data and quality engineers, and now Chief Technology Officer at El Pollo Loco. Vadim Parizher was also Director, Technology Delivery and Strategy at Taco Bell (2017–2019).
Choose the right perspective
Pick a software engineering director for questions about the mobile app, website or restaurant systems, and an equipment or operations engineering director for questions about kitchen design, equipment and restaurant throughput. Note who is current and who has moved on.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How does a quick service restaurant brand run software engineering for its app and in-store systems?
- 02What goes into designing kitchen equipment and layouts for a large restaurant chain?
- 03How do restaurant technology teams keep digital ordering reliable during peak hours?
Reaching Taco Bell engineering leaders
How can I contact one of these Taco Bell engineering leaders?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 1 company: Taco Bell, based on profile data retrieved on October 15, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
How much does it cost to reach Taco Bell engineering leaders?
You choose the offer, starting at $5 per person. The offer is what the person receives, and Instant Expert's fee is added on top, so a $100 offer costs you $125. The fee is 20% of what you pay. You're charged only when the person books the call or sends the answer.
What if they don't reply?
You pay nothing. Instant Expert sends follow-up reminders, and if the person hasn't booked or answered within 7 days, the request expires and any hold on your card is released. You can invite several of the 10 people on this list at once and cap your total spend, so you pay only for the ones who accept.
Can an AI agent ask one of these Taco Bell engineering leaders a question?
Yes. An agent with a USDC wallet on Base can ask one question without an Instant Expert account. It names the person, for example by the LinkedIn URL on this page, and pays per ask over x402 (HTTP 402). The person answers in writing or by voice note, and if nobody answers within 7 days, the payment goes back to the wallet automatically. x402 docs
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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