CAREER

Designing a Predictive Technical Interview Process for Startups: Assess Real-World Engineering Skills Effectively

Predictive Technical Interview Process for Startups assesses real-world engineering skills.

The Hardest Thing About Work Isn't the Work

Early in my career, a mentor gave me a simple system: tell people what you're going to do, do it, then tell people you did it. From engineer to consultant to founder, I've learned that was the start of the biggest lesson of my career — the hardest thing about work isn't the work, it's the work…

Chen Receives NSF CAREER Award for Research in Machine Learning Systems

Do This Tiny Year-End Retro If You Want a Raise

Busy does not equal value. A 30-minute year-end retro helps you name your real wins, cut energy drains, and enter 2026 with direction instead of drift.

Advice for New Principal Tech ICs (i.e., Notes to Myself)

Based on what I've learned from role models and mentors in Amazon

A Beginner Developer's Guide to Kanban

First, a confession: When I was learning to code, my “workflow” was a mess. Sticky notes. Google Docs. Random Trello boards I never checked again. And a to-do list that somehow never got any shorter. Then I joined a real team. Suddenly, I was introdu...

Some Lessons on Reviews and Rebuttals

Writing and responding to reviews is the bread and butter of any academic and especially in AI research, PhD students are confronted with both rather early compared to other displicines.

AI Didn't Replace Me

AI replaced the gap between my role and my potential. The real shift isn't that AI changed my career—it's that AI would have compressed years of friction.

Thinking About Research Ideas vs. Technology

In this article, I want to share some thoughts on the difference between research ideas and technology, particularly in machine learning. This distinction is have been contemplating since starting my PhD.

The Importance of Effectively Experimenting in an AI PhD

Engineering and running experiments are a key component of most PhDs in AI. While there are plenty of more theoretical topics that are often limited to smaller scale experimentation, the trend has definitely been to scale up models, datasets and experiments.

How to Interview and Hire ML/AI Engineers

What to interview for, how to structure the phone screen, interview loop, and debrief, and a few tips.