👋 Hello, 你好, こんにちは, 안녕, Hola, Salut, Ciao, Salam, مرحباً, I’m Aila Lu
- 👀 Passionate learner in human languages and programming languages
- 💞️ I’m empowering others' mental health through technology
- 🔭 I’m currently working on Corner
- 🌱 I’m currently polishing Data Structures and Algorithms
- 📫 Reach out to me:) ailalutw@gmail.com
- 😄 Fun fact: I can recite italian classical music tempos from slowest to fastest based on bpm
I'm not your typical software engineer- From Customer Pain Points to Code Solutions
My tech journey began where most engineers aren’t looking—on the frontlines. Working directly with customers in global logistics, I saw how broken systems created real headaches: endless paperwork, tracking errors, and frustrated teams. Where others saw inefficiencies, I saw opportunities—if someone could bridge the gap between user pain points and technical solutions. So I became that bridge. After hours, I dove into coding through Stanford’s Code in Place, discovering Python’s power to turn chaos into order. The moment I built my first full-stack app—watching data flow from backend to UI—I knew I’d found my calling. My edge comes from having been on the other side. Now, I bring that same strategic mindset to building software. That frontline experience as an end-user is why I engineer differently:
My engineering superpowers:
- 💡Customer-to-code perspective: I speak both tech and human. Design systems anticipating real user needs (because I've been that frustrated user)
- 💡Business-first mindset: I ask who this serves before how to build it
- 💡Full-stack precision: React, Python (Flask/Django), Ruby on Rails, AWS
- 💡Crisis-tested: Debugged production issues from beaches and boardrooms alike
Why companies love working with me:
- ⚡Rapid mastery: Went from Stanford's Code in Place to building production full-stack apps in record time
- ⚡Business-technical bilingual: Can debug React hooks in the morning and explain them to executives in the afternoon
- ⚡Team multiplier: Code reviews that elevate, documentation that enlightens
- ⚡Customer-facing rigor: 3 years negotiating in high-pressure environments taught me to listen deeply and solve pragmatically
When I'm not turning complex problems into elegant solutions, you'll find me: 🏠 Applying the same design thinking to my apartment's interior design (yes, I do my own interior design!) 🧠 Building mental health tech (created Retreat, a mood-tracking app) because tech should heal too. 🌍 Volunteering with STEM programs to open doors for others, exploring how technology can drive social impact
Let's build something meaningful - especially if you're working on:
- SaaS that makes professionals' lives genuinely easier
- Full-stack projects where clean code meets real business impact
- Tech that solves problems you've personally experienced
P.S. Ask me about: → The logistics problem that made me learn to code → The time I debugged a production issue while literally on a beach
💻 Tech Stack
