Gene Tseng

Background

About Gene Tseng

From my early passion for math, art, and technology, I grew a deep appreciation for the beauty and perfection that computers can create. In graduate school, I found iOS development—a field where all these interests came together perfectly. Now, with over 13 years of experience, I’m devoted to crafting elegant, high-quality code and creating beautiful user experiences, while inspiring my team to reach for the same level of excellence. From an early age, I joined my school’s math club, competed in Math Olympiad, and devoted countless hours drawing and painting—my parents even supported me with art classes from elementary through high school. At home, I explored computers, games, and graphics, sparking a fascination with the perfection technology could create. A standout memory from those early years was a school project to design a bookmark. While my classmates decorated theirs by hand, me being me, I designed mine digitally, meticulously crafting it and printing it with a brand-new color inkjet printer that I had been dying to use. My teacher gave me a poor grade, saying "the computer did all the work." Her critique only fueled my determination to pursue technology further. I had my first taste of programming on a Texas Instruments calculator. I taught myself BASIC, to create homework problem solving scripts, and even a couple of games that circulated among classmates. These experiences revealed to me that whatever career I ended up choosing should bring together my love for math, art, and technology. This convergence came to life in iOS development. I joined Loki Studios, an iOS gaming startup that was later acquired by Yahoo! Through multiple iOS projects, I deepened my appreciation for high-quality, elegant code, and I took pride in seeing that craftsmanship in my projects. This drive accelerated my coding skills, skyrocketed my productivity, and led to my appointment as tech lead. My mission, as Tech Lead, became fostering the same productivity and commitment to code quality in my team. I quickly recognized the need for scalable strategies to elevate standards across the board. By leading through example, giving team lectures, initiating group discussions, and creating clear documentation, I established a framework to foster these standards while reserving more time consuming one-on-one feedback for targeted guidance. Today, I continually strive to create ever-more elegant code and am dedicated to inspiring others to uphold those same high standards.