Appstem Profile: Andrew Hsu
For a lot of people, a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California Berkeley leads to lengthy careers in industries like defense, transportation, healthcare or manufacturing. Andrew Hsu was on that path, designing large machinery for a well-known company that designs and builds complex machinery for door manufacturers in Sonoma County. Despite being behind the development of million-dollar machines, he was always interested in coding and flexing his creative muscles.
Andrew enrolled himself in Hack Reactor’s accelerated 12-week Coding Bootcamp and embarked on a career change. He had already familiar with engineering programming language having used it throughout college, but it was mainly used to solve math and physics problems. He often turned to coding to make his work and life easier, so the program put him on the fast track to software engineering. He quickly learned the fundamentals of new software technologies through immersive projects and assignments.
“There is a lot more creative freedom in design as opposed to mechanical engineering,” said Andrew. “I learned a lot in my early career but felt constrained. Not only did every design require detailed manufacturing and assembly instructions for others to build, but the result – and any design problems – might not be seen until months later. With software development, it's fast-paced, changes often, and you can build almost anything you can imagine."
Andrew joined Appstem in 2017. The company was growing its web development team and eventually Andrew became the company’s Lead Web Developer, heading up a team at Appstem headquarters in San Francisco. One of his favorite, and most difficult, jobs was to create the backend for a real-time fantasy sports platform, but he’s gone on to work on a variety of projects. For Andrew, Appstem gives him the freedom to learn on his own while also getting support from more experienced members of the team.
“Working here has been a really unique experience,” he said. “I’m learning all the time and have a lot of autonomy with my work.”
One highlight for Andrew was the opportunity to work with Hover, a 3D property company that lets users take photos of their homes and create 3D models to assist with renovation and improvement products. He was able to work with their project manager and development team to see how different businesses run and was able to bring some key learnings back to Appstem.
“I love that our team is built of developers and designers that are not only engineers but also have a genuine curiosity about technology and a desire to learn and grow,” said Robert Armstrong, Appstem CEO. “That level of creativity differentiates Appstem from other companies who do what we do.”
Andrew’s creativity isn’t limited to technology. He almost became a professional musician. He plays the cello, guitar and is known to sing on occasion too. He also loves to cook and can do anything from spatchcocking turkeys to weekly sous vide meals. He’s also a big fantasy sports fan and joins his Appstem colleagues for a little friendly competition.
Appstem is always looking for talented developers and designers. Visit our website for opportunities on our team.
