CJ Murphy: From Junior Developer to VP
CJ Murphy is a 2007 graduate of the Computer Information Systems program and currently serves as the vice president of Product and Engineering at AdParlor, owned by parent company Adknowledge.AdParlor is one of Facebook’s largest API partners and is currently one of 13 Strategic Preferred Marketing Developers. They were also just named one of Twitter’s first certified Ads API partners. What does this all mean? In simpler terms, Adparlor is one of the largest programing partners for businesses to use when advertising on Facebook and Twitter.
On a day-to-day basis, Murphy manages a team of 15 developers and product managers focused on building the next generation of AdParlor’s social advertising platform. This platform currently manages billions of impressions (ads served) per day and has a heavy focus on real-time bidding, dynamic creative optimization, and LTV/ROI optimization. Again, in layman’s terms for all of us who are not well versed in computer and software lingo, the company develops software for ad management across social media platforms. The software focuses on results and driving traffic to websites or social media pages designated by the company placing the ad. Murphy is essentially a problem solver with a specialization in improving struggling and unstructured software teams. He provides insight and guidance in project management, architecture, communication, and business knowledge.
Since graduation, Murphy has felt privileged to be a part of his current company. “My greatest career accomplishment is helping Adknowledge grow from under 30 to people to over 300. This includes working my way from Junior Developer to VP and putting myself in the position to run a team of product managers and developers. I am also proud of the platform we are currently building, as it will certainly be the most important product one of my teams has built for this company managing tens of millions of advertising dollars per month.”
For those students hoping to gain career success he recommends doing “everything you can to get experience in your field before graduating. Having experience coming out of college is invaluable to not only get interviews but also have the real-world knowledge to succeed out of the gates. Even if that means taking unpaid or low paid jobs to build your resume it will pay off immensely in your job search.”
He also has advice for young alumni. “Be the hardest working person on your team and learn everything you can about how the company works even if it doesn’t relate directly to your job. Do whatever you have to do to be noticed and seen as someone who is invaluable to the company; if you have the opportunity for additional career development outside of work, take it – put yourself in a position so that your company can not afford to lose you.”
During his time on campus, Murphy was an active member of Theta Chi Fraternity. He currently resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. During his time at Adknowledge, he has lived in Kansas City, New York City and Los Angeles. In his spare time he likes to play soccer, stay abreast of the newest technologies and programming languages, and travel the world.