Nessa Nguyen

Full-stack Software Engineer

What I do

Based in New York City, I am currently working as a full-stack software engineer at Better, leveraging technology to innovate and streamline the online mortgage process. I have expertise in Javascript/Typescript, NodeJS, React/Angular/Ember, Python, SQL/NoSQL databases, microservice architecture and RESTful APIs. I am passionate about writing DRY code, automated testing, and continuous integration.

I started programming in 2014 after attending General Assembly's Web Development Immersive. It was an unique and engaging learning experience that led me down a fulfilling career path. I love software development because it allows me to communicate via writing and solve problems creatively.

Interests & Causes

I'm interested in constantly evolving my skill set and giving back to the tech community. In the past five years, I have mentored seven software engineering interns from various internship programs (including NYC TTP, WiTNY). One of my early mentees went on to become a valuable software enigneer at Narrativ. I have volunteered as a coding bootcamp instructor for CodeNow.org, and I'm currently tutoring software fellows at The Knowledge House.

Issues I care about include conserving the environment, reforming higher education, advancing women/minorities in leadership and technology, and promoting a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

I've always been a cat person. I adopted my cat Jane Snow in May 2020 after a ten-year hiatus. I am hoping there will also be a dog in my future.

In my free time, I train in aerial arts and dance, listen to EDM, and watch TV shows on Hulu. I love traveling and exploring new places. I have done work remote trips in Berlin/Lisbon/Playa del Carmen (2015/2019/2020 Hacker Paradise), Barcelona (2017 Be Unsettled), and London (2018).

Skills

Back End

NodeJS / Typescript

Python / Flask

SQL / NoSQL

Ruby / Rails

Front End

Javascript / ES6

React

AngularJS

EmberJS

Tools

Docker / bash

AWS

Jenkins / BuildKite

LogDNA / Papertrail

Work Experience

Software Engineer, Better | November 2019 - Present
- Serve as tech lead for mid-sized projects, including building a Ticket microservice for managing and resolving customer issues (NodeJS/Typescript)
- Build and maintain the ticket API and its frontend (admin React app), monitor performance using Datadog
- Tackle technical debt through converting JS into Typescript, refactoring instances of wastefully preloading staff data in the legacy Ember app, significantly reducing the response size of staff endpoints
- Promote a high level of code standards and increase developer productivity through reviewing PRs, improving linting tools, speeding up Docker builds and writing technical documentation
Lead Software Engineer, Narrativ | April 2018 - October 2019
- Played a key role in sprint planning, refining priorities and spec'ing out technical requirements
- Spearheaded the frontend React migration (from AngularJS) and rebuilding the client-facing product and earning stats dashboard
- Restructured event schemas in order to provide real-time stats and actionable insights to clients (Python, Apache Storm, ElasticSearch)
- Continuously upheld code quality and standards, facilitated learning and collaboration throughout the engineering team
Software Engineer, Narrativ | August 2016 - April 2018
- Built and maintained dashboard app utilized by admins and clients to configure auctions and monitor ad spend/earnings (Angular 1.5, Python/Flask)
- Wrote Javascript widgets and tags that run real-time auctions on page and track customer/product statistics (Node, Javascript)
- Collaborated with and mentored other engineers through code reviews, upheld code quality and reliability through refactoring and writing automated tests
Software Engineer, Sportsrocket | June 2015 - August 2016
- Part of four-people backend team that built and maintained the Bedrocket API and various workers that carry out video ingestion/distribution tasks (Ruby/Rails)
- Constructed Rails service that utilized GeoIP to restrict access to geographically restricted and paid content
- Built new features and refactored the video content management system (AngularJS), implemented ad playback for the custom HTML5 video player
- Revamped the video analytics process using multiple AWS services and databases (Kinesis, Lambda, Redshift, ElasticSearch)
Junior Software Engineer, Waywire | Sept 2014 - May 2015
- Refactored and styled Waywire's CMS admin application (Javascript, SASS)
- Implemented front-end features (carousel, endless scroll) and constructed mobile responsive pages Waywire.com & clients' sites
- Debugged and added features to Waywire's admin tool (Angular, Perl/Mason)
Email Marketing Associate, Vendome Group | 2013 - 2014

Education

General Assembly, 2014 / Web Development Immersive
California Lutheran University 2008 - 2012 / B.A. Marketing Communications

Volunteer

The Knowledge House, 2020 / Review bootcamp curriculum and tutor students
iMentor, 2018-2019 / Mentor to a high schooler who will become a first-generation college student
Code Now workshop, 2017-2018 / Volunteer instructor for full-stack bootcamp serving underrepresented high school students

Download PDF resume

Projects

Leafthru: A personalized news aggregator

Leafthru aggregates articles from users" Twitter timeline. Built on Rails, content retrieval and parsing with Twitter and Alchemy APIs. Log in as guest@ga.com/Password1.

Try me View code

Fashioni.se: Virtual closet assistant

Fashioni.se helps users search and bookmark clothing items for future purchases using the ShopSense API. They can also "steal" inspiration from other fashionistas" closets. Log in as guest@ga.com/password.

Try me View code

One-page apps

New Zealand photo journal

Sinatra Colors: Sinatra app for discovering and saving color palettes / Github.
WDI Class Page: Static portfolio page for General Assembly's WDI Proto April 2014 cohort.