Yishu, MioTech’s chief front-end engineer, graduated from Southeast University. He has extensive experience in Baidu and Morgan Stanley working as a software engineer. He’s endearingly known as “Issue” to us MioTechers, mainly because his day revolves a lot around finding the software bugs in the system and exterminating them.

Through the daily demands of working at a fast-paced startup and an ever changing software landscape, Yishu has learnt, tested and applied the most advanced front-end frameworks in order to build up our arsenal of applications. Since MioTech specializes in data analytics and visualization through our advanced knowledge graph, Yishu’s kept up to date with a variety of new technologies and libraries like d3, SVG and Canvas to ensure high levels of function and quality in MioTech’s software.

Yishu has been honoured the highest MioTech employee award, “Rockstar”, for 2 years in a row.

Why did you choose to be a software engineer?

I have a deep love for code. With the exception of playing with my son, if I had to only write code everyday, I’d be a pretty happy man. I studied a degree that was completely different to what I’m currently doing mainly because I love the immediate results that comes with coding. Your objectives are attainable, realistic and you basically have the tools to code anything into reality.

When I joined MioTech, results needed to be achieved in a short amount of time. I was given the responsibility of revamping the company’s entire framework. It was a daunting, but at the same time a fantastic opportunity. Once you’re signed off on the initial stages of conceptualizing, planning and designing the framework, writing the actual code is the easiest part. AMI’s framework was achieved in a couple of months and it was truly my proudest moment. My efforts had the desired impact.

Starting them young, Yishu brings his son into work.

What makes your day not so typical as compared to other software engineers?

Working in a startup means new surprises everyday. On top of that, you have the “Yishu”s that come with the nature of software that is errors and bugs. Being able to meet the demand and push out results fast and timely is critical. Right now, we’re working on pushing out a new update every week and so far (knock on wood) we’ve kept up the pace.

What is one myth about software engineers that isn’t true?

Many people think that you need a degree in software engineering in order to be a software engineer. In my experience, I don’t think that’s necessarily true. It might be a good foundation, it’ll get you a foot in the door, but I think 90% of your skills are learnt on the job. I studied something completely different from what I‘m currently doing so I can say with confidence that what’s needed is a love for learning, independence, logic and a critical mind.

Yishu's wife and son at a recent trip

Why did you decide to work for MioTech?

Before joining MioTech, I was working for a corporate giant where I felt like a small screw in a larger machine. As long as the task assigned to me was completed and no mistakes were made, the operation of the larger network could be guaranteed. But the longer I stayed, the more I realised the little I could achieve. My work was in part limited to the boundaries set by a fairly entrenched system. It was hard to feel like I belonged.

Initially, while I wasn’t particularly clear on what it took to start a business, what motivated me to jump into a startup despite MioTech being fairly small at the time, was the company direction and atmosphere. I had many long discussions with the CTO before I joined and I was inspired by the promise of this business and assured by the talent and reliability of the people at MioTech. I’ve only grown more convinced of my choice as time passes.

What are your key responsibilities?

I’m basically MioTech’s front end warrior. Besides the daily grind of putting out software pests, my key responsibilities are to make into reality every business need, fulfill the design fantaries of the product team, and ultimately, code it into a functioning software system.

What was the biggest challenge you faced at MioTech?

The biggest change I faced upon joining MioTech was the fast pace. New features that used to take months or even a year to go live in a big company can usually be achieved in a few weeks. Fast-paced product iterations means continuous learning, continuous exploration, continuous trial and error, continuous improvement, continuous acceptance of information explosion which at times conflicts with the idea of speed.

Yishu and team debugging at a restaurant in Boracay during a team building trip.

What do you value most working at MioTech?

One thing I value the most is the fact that I’m not treated like some code churning machine. I’m not writing code for codes sake. I feel that everyone at MioTech feels a sense of ownership for the product. We liken the product and the system to our own child. While we have a collective sense of responsibility, we know that it’s our individual performance as an employee that directly impacts the performance of the product. You can see that effort being brought into fruition. What MioTech needs is a person who can pair ambition along with current technological realities. Dreams can also be down to earth as well.

Hobbies：Coding, Photography, Travel

Yishu’s Wish：That his son will also come to love code.

If you could give yourself 2 labels, what would it be？Tech, Perfectionism.

What kind of engineer is MioTech looking for？A passionate, deep understanding individual who also pays attention to details.

Tagline: The code finance needs to be cool.