The Californer - Passive Appoints Sophia Eng as Head of Growth and Brand

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SAN FRANCISCO - Californer -- Passive today announced the appointment of Sophia Eng as Head of Growth and Brand.

Passive is an AI-powered mobile app designed for high-performing professionals—from managers to executive leaders—who want to discover new career opportunities passively. The platform enables individuals to explore what's next without actively job searching, while helping companies connect with top-tier talent—without friction, spam, or traditional job boards.

Sophia brings nearly two decades of experience spanning product-led growth, brand strategy, and go-to-market execution across both Fortune 500 companies and high-growth startups. She began her career leading digital optimization at Workday, where she focused on experimentation, lifecycle optimization, and scalable marketing systems. She later joined unicorn startup InVision, contributing to startup growth during a period of rapid expansion in a remote-first environment.

Sophia also led product initiatives at Smartsheet, where her work further deepened her expertise in product-led growth—bridging marketing, product, and customer experience. Across her career, she has moved fluidly from startup marketing to Fortune 500 environments, and from marketing leadership into product and brand—developing a holistic view of how products are built, adopted, and scaled.

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Throughout this non-linear career path, Sophia developed hands-on expertise in applicant tracking systems (ATS), resume optimization, and role alignment. By understanding how talent is evaluated and matched within modern hiring systems, she was able to intentionally position her experience to unlock opportunities that accelerated her growth across functions and leadership levels.

"Career growth is rarely linear, but hiring systems often assume it should be," said Sophia Eng. "Passive aligns deeply with my own experience—helping people translate who they are and where they're going into signals that today's systems actually understand."

In parallel with her technology career, Sophia is an award-winning author and storyteller. Her book, "The Nourishing Asian Kitchen," received recognition from the Indies Forward Awards, and she is the co-author of the forthcoming "The Nourishing Asian Homestead," which documents her family's journey from Silicon Valley to the Appalachia mountains in search of balance, resilience, and intentional growth. This long-term, systems-oriented perspective informs her approach to leadership and brand building.

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At Passive, Sophia will lead growth and brand strategy across user acquisition, partnerships, go-to-market execution, and long-term positioning. Her focus will be on building a product-led growth engine that helps professionals discover their next chapter while enabling companies to connect with aligned talent more effectively.

"Sophia brings a rare combination of product intuition, growth discipline, and narrative clarity," said Michael Wenning, CEO of Passive. "Her background across marketing, product, and brand makes her uniquely equipped to scale Passive's mission with integrity and precision."

For media inquiries or partnership opportunities, contact the Passive (https://www.thepassive.app) team