Coded my first website
13 years oldMentored by my uncle (a developer at IBM), I coded my first website, a hyperlink collection of my favorite guitar tab sheets of early 2000s rock. I often tell people this all got started because I was obsessed with websites and how they work.
Statistics obsession in UCLA Research Labs
UCLAI immersed myself in advanced statistics at the UCLA Marriage Lab with Professor Benjamin Karney, learning data structures and analysis methods: using R to compare couples' social networks and running stepwise regression models predicting each network feature.
Software engineering career
Presto, CommonRoom, freeCodeCampI wrote back-end and front-end production software for startups and agencies. I also taught junior engineers through the non-profit organization freeCodeCamp, and gave technical talks on JavaScript.
Transition to design
Carnegie Mellon UniversityAfter taking on more design work at startups, I made the full transition, earning my Master's in Human-Computer Interaction. Designing for robotics, autonomous vehicles, and AI at Carnegie Mellon shaped me as the designer I am today.
Return to Silicon Valley
IntuitAfter CMU, I moved back to Silicon Valley and led design at Intuit, shipping numerous high-impact features for QuickBooks, as well as for TurboTax and Mint.
Mom's health in decline
My mom's health took a turn for the worse. After a near-death experience from diabetes, I had to step in as her caregiver until her health got back on track.
Launched Macro to success
MacroAfter observing a massive gap in the market for products that make diabetes and blood sugar management easier, I developed a line of patented kitchenware products that make carbohydrate measurement accessible to diabetics of all ages and abilities.
From exit to AI-native building
HostWatchAfter selling the company, I began using Claude Code to develop a number of product ideas that I never would have been able to otherwise. I built HostWatch, crunching 100k+ listings with causal inference models that tell hosts exactly what to change and the precise revenue lift they'll see.
Defining AI-Native Design at Scale
NowI proved I could build and sell a company. But the AI transformation is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to define how product design works in a new paradigm. I want to help shape how millions of people interact with AI at a mission-driven company, while the patterns are still being set.
Three beliefs that guide my work
Design is problem-solving, not decoration
Beautiful interfaces that don't solve real problems are just expensive art. I start with the user's struggle, the business constraint, the technical limitation. Then I find the elegant solution that makes all three happy. Metrics matter. If a design doesn't move the needle, it's not finished.
Code literacy makes better designers
I don't just hand off designs. I build prototypes in code, contribute to production systems, and debug alongside engineers. This isn't about replacing developers. It's about speaking the same language. When you understand what's hard to build, you make smarter tradeoffs.
AI is a tool, not a replacement
I use AI to compress timelines, explore more variations, and handle the tedious parts of design work. But AI can't talk to a frustrated user and hear what they're really asking for. It can't make the judgment call about when to break the design system. Human craft and AI leverage work best together.
I'm obsessed with what happens when design meets AI
Not because it's trendy. Because I've seen what's possible when you stop treating AI as a separate "AI feature" and start integrating it into the core experience.
With HostWatch, I built an AI-powered analytics platform for Airbnb hosts from scratch. Not just the designs. The data science, the causal inference methodology, the production code. I used Claude Code to ship in weeks what would have taken months. The Figma MCP integration let me move seamlessly between design and development.
But here's what I've learned: AI makes the good parts of design faster, not easier. You still need taste to curate AI outputs. You still need craft to refine them. You still need judgment to know when the AI is confidently wrong. The designers who thrive in this era won't be the ones who resist AI. They'll be the ones who use it to amplify their distinctly human skills.
Giving back to CMU
The MHCI program changed my career. So when I had the chance to mentor students at Carnegie Mellon, I didn't hesitate. I work with students on portfolio reviews, career strategy, and the unspoken rules of breaking into product design.
What I tell every student: your portfolio isn't a gallery of pretty pictures. It's evidence that you can solve real problems. Show me how you think, not just what you made. Show me what you'd do differently, not just what worked. Show me that you're curious enough to question your own assumptions.
MHCI Alumni Mentorship Program
I helped launch the MHCI student-alumni mentorship matching program, connecting current students with alumni who share similar backgrounds and career goals. The program is still running today.
When I'm not designing
I'm enjoying time with my girlfriend and our orange cat
Let's build something together
I'm always interested in challenging problems and teams that care about craft.