About
Highly accomplished Software Engineer with 8 years of extensive experience in full-stack web development, UI/UX design, and hardware prototyping. Expert in building and deploying user-centered web applications at scale, specifically impacting K-12 STEM and AI education through innovative solutions and leadership.
Work
Pixel Playgrounds Lab
|HCI Researcher & Full-stack Software Developer
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Summary
Conducted Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research and full-stack software development, focusing on advanced image processing, scalable research platform architecture, real-time collaboration tools, and robust remote device management systems.
Highlights
Designed and implemented advanced image processing algorithms, co-authoring a peer-reviewed paper published at an ACM conference.
Iterated on and refined the full-stack architecture for a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research platform, significantly enhancing efficient on-site data collection and real-world deployment capabilities in educational settings.
Developed and deployed a real-time WebRTC video calling application for remote collaboration, leveraging React, TypeScript, and WebRTC APIs; built custom signaling logic and media stream handling with a Python Flask backend on AWS (EC2, S3) for secure credential management and session control.
Architected and delivered a cloud-based remote device management system utilizing MQTT, React, Node.js, and SQLite, providing real-time status monitoring, remote command execution, and multi-device coordination through a centralized dashboard for distributed hardware units.
CocoRobo LTD
|Co-founder & CTO
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Summary
Co-founded and served as CTO of an EdTech startup, leading cross-functional R&D teams and overseeing the development and deployment of multiple core web platforms and developer tools for K-12 STEM and AI education.
Highlights
Built and led a cross-functional R&D team encompassing frontend, backend, hardware, and mechanical engineering, implementing weekly code reviews, sprint syncs, and feature planning to ensure delivery velocity and code quality.
Designed, prototyped, and successfully shipped core web platforms adopted by over 500 K-12 schools, including:
Developed CocoBlockly, a browser-based visual programming IDE for embedded hardware, featuring a frontend interface with vanilla JavaScript, Google Blockly, and WebSocket integration for real-time device communication, and a Node.js backend for compiling and uploading block-based code.
Created Coco AI Model Training Platform, a web application for training YOLO-based object detection models, complete with a frontend for dataset annotation, training visualization, and model export; implemented a RESTful Python backend (Flask) to orchestrate AWS EC2 jobs, automate model conversion for edge computing devices, and manage concurrent requests via Nginx reverse proxy.
Engineered CocoPi Developer Tool, a React (with Redux) web tool for debugging embedded Linux boards via WebUSB, incorporating custom components for terminal access, file browsing, and comprehensive device control.
Established and maintained Git-driven developer workflows, including a code deployment dashboard, changelog automation, and a real-time service status page, supporting robust CI/CD-style staging and production deployments.
Managed, root-caused, and effectively resolved complex system-level issues, including inconsistent behavior on outdated PC setups and web service instability under load; led on-site debugging and deployed production-ready fixes.
Education
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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B.Sc.
Computer Science
Grade: Graduated with Honors
Courses
Data Structures (A+)
System Programming (A+)
Probability & Statistics (A)
Natural Language Processing (A-)
Deep Learning for Computer Vision (A)
Computational Photography (A)