I got into UX from the engineering side of the table.

I studied cognitive science at UCLA with a computer science specialization, plus a minor in Asian languages and digital humanities, a combination that turns out to be a reasonable description of what I do now: how people think, how systems get built, and how meaning survives the translation between them.

I started at Oracle in cloud engineering, building custom applications and end-to-end systems for customers on Oracle Cloud. That's where I learned what it costs when a design ignores implementation reality. I was the one implementing.

I wanted to design, so I went and got the experience deliberately: I specialized in front-end web design within our product track, found an internal mentorship program and paired with a UX researcher, and took on research and design work alongside my engineering role. Then I switched internally into a UX designer role at Oracle, bringing the consulting background with me. From there I joined Frequency, where I work on Studio, the platform behind thousands of streaming TV channels.

Outside of product work I've mentored UX students through UCLA ONE, including teaching two five-week workshops for students who didn't have access to formal UX coursework, and I've done marketing and print design over the years. I speak Korean, some Japanese and a little Mandarin, and I love any excuse to practice.