Setting the bar for modern restaurant technology and digital experiences, Yum! Brands is upskilling its technical teams via a ground-breaking learning program – Tech Elevate.
The parent company of global brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Habit Burger & Grill, Yum! Brands has made a name for itself over the past decade as an industry trendsetter in modern restaurant technology and digital experiences.
The stalwart company is adamant that the future of the QSR sector will be determined by technology and is working toward this goal by upskilling its digital and technology teams through a flagship learning program called Tech Elevate.
“Tech Elevate reinforces Yum! Digital & Technology’s commitment to continuous learning and technical excellence. What sets Tech Elevate apart is that it serves as a functional development program for software engineers and employees in adjacent roles, helping them strengthen technical skills and foster greater collaboration across Byte by Yum! Teams and our brands,” states Shiv Adhiappan, Pizza Hut Chief Technology & Information Officer and Tech Elevate Executive Sponsor.
Approximately 300 employees have signed up to take part in the second iteration of the program. This online, six-to-nine-week initiative will provide the participants with the skills and tools needed to deepen their technical abilities across a range of critical technologies. Training topics include AI and machine learning, various programming languages, modern web development, and site reliability engineering.
New this year are AI platform engineering, Byte Menu, and application programming interface query languages.
Through Tech Elevate, Yum! Brands team members are provided with intentional time and space to build skills that directly support platform scalability, reliability, and innovation at its finest.
Yum! Brands’ commitment to personal development is not only a crucial component of its workplace culture, but it has also earned the company a reputation as an incubator for future restaurant executives and helped land it on TIME’s Best Companies for Future Leaders list multiple times.
This second version of the Tech Elevate program allows participants to choose from three courses, including ‘AI-First Platform & Reliability Engineering,’ ‘Foundations of Byte Menu,’ and the final course offering highlights the execution, federation, and best practices of API query languages.
Saurabh Sundriyal, senior software engineer II and engineering team lead at KFC US, notes that “The AI-First Platform & Reliability Engineering course was extremely practical and immediately applicable to my day-to-day work. I used the learnings right away to enhance application logging and built dashboards using large language models, improving visibility and operational efficiency for my team at KFC US.”
As a steadfast leader in the QSR industry, Yum! Brands is continuing to invest in its people to ensure the organization helps shape the way in the constant technological evolution of the sector. Tech Elevate allows individuals the opportunity to build and sharpen the critical skills needed to develop technology that creates better teams and customer experiences.
“As our technology stack evolves and scales globally, our teams must grow alongside it. This long-term investment in our people will ensure that we have the skills, confidence, and discipline to continue to grow our brands,” concludes Adhiappan.
