Bret McGowen onstage at a Google Cloud event

Howdy! 🤠 I'm Bret, a software engineer and raccoon fan.

I'm a passionate full-stack web developer and former Developer Advocate at Google where I focused on serverless Google Cloud products like Cloud Functions, App Engine and Firebase. I love to travel and have been to 70+ countries 🌍. I've also been an avid runner, completing 19 half marathons and 5 full marathons.

Bret McGowen in front of a sign that says I Love Tacos

What I've been up to

Bret McGowen running in front of the Sydney Opera House

Running!

From London to Tokyo to Sydney and much more, I used to love going on runs when traveling.

Check out those and more as I start posting some of my old travel runs on my running page.

More about me

I'm into nachos, running, volleyball, and raccoons. Here's me meeting an awesome raccoon:

Bret McGowen meeting an awesome raccoon
Me meeting an awesome raccoon. We have the same hair color! Source: Instagram @Bret.McGowen

Bret McGowen's workspace overlooking New York City.

Prior to Google, I worked in the cloud industry at Rackspace as a software engineer. Before that, I led engineering teams at an e-commerce company, a government laboratory, non-profits and tried my hand at creating two startups. I'm often on the running trail, volleyball court or kickball field.

I earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from Texas A&M University. You can find me on Twitter at @BretMcG or @BretMcGowen.


I met a camel named Falcor in the Sahara desert

Bret McGowen taking a selfie with a camel