Thank you Google Cloud, Thank you NYC…

Today is Friday, August 7, 2026.
And as I write this, it marks my very last day at Google Cloud.

When I first joined Google in November 2020, right in the thick of the pandemic, it felt completely surreal.

To say Google was always my “dream job” wouldn’t be totally honest. The truth? It always felt so wonderfully unattainable that it existed entirely outside the realm of my dreams. I’m a self-taught designer who learned how design by messing around with MS Paint on a family PC back in the 90s, and I don’t have a formal college education.

So, when I went through the interview process, I had zero expectations of ever getting an offer.

I just decided to be unapologetically me.

I went into every step with a free spirit and an open mind. I allowed myself to show all my flaws, all my quirks, and all my authentic energy. I remember sharing my presentation plan with my recruiter, and she told me,

“Gustavo, do not do that.”

But my mind said: What do I have to lose? I’m not getting the job anyway, so I might as well do what I want to do.

I did it anyway.

After I got the offer, my manager told me something I’ll never forget. He said that in his 15 years at Google, he had never seen anyone do what I did during an on-site presentation.

I joined the Google Cloud Logging team. And I’ll be honest—at first, I thought “Logging” was just the button you clicked to log into Google!

I was stepping into the deep, unknown ocean of enterprise cloud software. It was an ambiguous, highly technical route. But if there is one thing my journey has taught me, it’s that you have to fall in love with the problem, not just the solution.

During my tenure at Cloud, we did some incredible things together:

🧠 Embraced the Ambiguity: Enterprise was a brand new domain for me, but we navigated it by remembering that behind every complex data log is a real human trying to do their job.

🚀 Delivered Massive Impact: I helped launch over 50 different features in Cloud Logging and saw them showcased across multiple CloudNext events. We even brought two brand-new 0-1 products to market!

🎨 Listened to the User: By completely reimagining the Log Explorer UI, we raised our NPS score to over 85%. That’s the power of human-first design.

This job gave me so much that words can’t fully describe. It gave me New York City back.

NYC has always played a critical role in my life. From my early days running Pixalies to these past 5 amazing years in Midtown, I got to experience a completely different side of the city. I finally understand the beautiful, chaotic quirks of this gigantic metropolis. New York isn’t for everyone, but man, it was mine.

New York City….I ❤️ YOU TOO!

Now, my path is taking me back to a familiar space. I’m returning to fintech!

My years designing at Citi Bank were some of the most unforgettable of my career, and I am pumped to dive back into the financial domain. This time, I’m staying within the Google family, joining the amazing team at Google Pay.

But it wouldn’t be a true Gustavo story without a massive leap of faith, right?

You can’t become new if you’re not willing to start over.

Starting August 16th, I’ll be packing up and moving across the country to a city I’ve never been to, but one that has always felt like destiny. If you work in tech long enough, eventually you find yourself pulled to its absolute mecca. Silicon Valley, here I come! 🌉

I am super pumped for this new journey in my life and cannot wait to see what the future holds. To the incredible folks and friends I leave behind at Cloud: you are absolute ROCKSTARS. It has been the honor of a lifetime to work alongside you, and I wish you nothing but monumental success.

Oh and please send your best Bay Area recommendations

Keep shining! ✨