About

Photo taken in 2026

I’m Xiaohan Yan (颜啸晗 in Chinese), originally from Tai’an, Shandong. My parents were first-generation college graduates from rural China. Very much knowing the value of higher education, they supported me to pursue my studies in the States.

I went to University of Washington from 2009 to 2013, where I developed a passion for statistics just as the Big Data era was unfolding. After taking advanced statistics courses, I had an aspiration to delve deeper into statistical models and theory. As an undergrad, I engaged in research on China’s energy efficiency, funded by the Mary Gates Endowment scholarship. This pivotal experience carved my path as a statistician.

From 2013 to 2018 I pursued my PhD study at Cornell University Department of Statistics and Data Science. I was very fortunate to be advised by Jacob Bien, and Martin T. Wells and Thorsten Joachims were also on my committee. My PhD research focused on developing novel convex optimization models for achieving desirable structural patterns in model parameters. Parallel to academic pursuits, I gathered work experiences in tech firms through internships (which also supplemented my modest graduate student stipend.) Post-PhD, I joined Microsoft as a Data Scientist and moved back to Seattle.

I am a Principal Data Science Lead at Microsoft Azure, leading the Capacity Intelligence team in the Capacity & Observability organization, where we help capacity-engineering teams and region owners improve capacity efficiency through advanced modeling and innovation. Previously I tech-led the Aegis AIOps platform, driving regression detection & prevention and reliability detection for Azure’s control plane, and more recently built proactive-AIOps detection and multi-agent automation frameworks. My work centers on using AI to ensure the reliability and quality of large-scale cloud infrastructure, and I actively lead collaborations across engineering and research teams.

Outside work, residing by Lake Washington’s East Side, I relish reading, gardening, and engaging in sports with loved ones.