Ryan grew up in San Diego in the 80s and 90s. He studied mathematics at UCSD and the University of Rochester before pivoting to software engineering. In 2009, he created Node.js and guided the project through its foundational years. Throughout his career, Ryan has ventured into diverse areas of software engineering, from server infrastructure to machine learning research. He currently serves as the co-founder and CEO of Deno Land Inc and resides in Brooklyn, New York.