Thi Nguyen

Hi! I'm
Thi Nguyen

I'm a full-stack software engineer by day
an outdoor lover, learner, personal finance and adventure enthusiast by heart.

Welcome to my page! 👋

something i build

Productivity KikasPlanner - a tool to plan your activities and track your time usage.

built with typescriptreactnext.jsmuitailwindcss

My tech stack

react

typescript

nextjs

tailwindcss

materialui

php

aws

vercel

Work & Educational Timeline

Full Stack Software Engineer

August 2018 - July 2023

@ Dulles Glass and Mirror, Manassas, VA

I joined DGM after graduation, and during my five years there, I wore many hats as part of a small team building internal tools. I worked on both the front and back ends of the glass manufacturing and CRM applications, developing over 100 features that supported departments like sales, operations, and fabrication. On the backend, I used Java and PHP, while on the frontend, I worked with JavaScript, TypeScript, and React. I also maintained the DynamoDB database, managing tables with thousands of entries, and gained valuable experience with AWS services along the way. I enjoyed learning and growing at DGM, and a few of my favorite contributions were building a web scraping tool with TypeScript and Puppeteer to extract hardware product data from vendor websites, working on the pricing algorithm, and implementing new features for the shower building tool. These contributions helped the company create automated quotes and supported the launch of the franchise program. Additionally, I regularly trained and supported users, gathered feedback, and collaborated with the team to design solutions that aligned with business needs. I also enjoyed guiding new engineers and mentoring interns, and contributing to team meetings to brainstorm ideas and plan development work.

The Graduation

May 2018

@ George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

I finished my five years of college in May 2018, and like many others, it was a special milestone for me. I studied Applied Computer Science with a concentration in Software Engineering and a minor in Economics. My college memories are treasures to me. I learned a lot from my professors, tackled homework projects, and had fun collaborating with classmates on group assignments. There were plenty of late nights and early mornings spent working on programming projects, which taught me valuable lessons in time management. I also learned since college that getting a good night's sleep and exercising regularly helps me think more clearly.

Software Engineer Intern

January - May 2018 & June - August 2017

@ ScienceLogic, Reston VA

I had the opportunity to intern at ScienceLogic twice—once during my junior summer and again during my last semester of senior year. During my first internship, I developed "Elmer Bot," a Slackbot that interfaced with the company's internal VM management tools. I also wrote unit tests for the new UI using the Jest testing framework. In my second internship, I focused on improving the search functionality in ScienceLogic's new UI by implementing over five new features. These included adding search chips as users typed, displaying results that matched the chips, and enabling chip editing—using React.js and Draft.js. I also wrote unit tests with Jest and Enzyme and documented the Search feature in detail. Throughout both internships, I actively participated in Agile processes, joining daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and sprint reviews, which gave me valuable experience in how features are built from idea to implementation.

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant

August 2016 - December 2017

@ George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

From August 2016 to December 2017, I had the opportunity to work as a UTA for the Computer Science Department at George Mason University.

In Fall 2017, I was a UTA for CS 306 - Synthesis of Ethics and Law for the Computing Professional. CS 306 is, in fact, one of my favorite courses at Mason because it teaches students to become effective professionals in the field of computer science by exposing them to many of the challenging legal and ethical issues surrounding computer technology and its use. The course builds a foundation for dealing with those challenges. I learned about legal cases related to intellectual property in the technology industry, as well as emerging legal and ethical issues involved in the computer profession and e-commerce. As a UTA for the course, I applied and enhanced the knowledge I gained to assist students with their homework and group projects by answering their questions and providing constructive feedback on their homework.

In Spring 2017, I was a UTA for CS 367 - Computer Systems and Programming. I assisted students on the Piazza forum and during office hours. My favorite project was the Binary Bomb! :)
In Fall 2016, I was a UTA for Intro to Computer Programming (Python) and Object-Oriented Programming (Java). During this time, I answered students’ questions regarding their Python and Java projects in lectures, labs, and office hours. I enjoyed helping other students, and I was happy to see both them and myself gaining a better understanding of programming concepts after I explained to them.

Undergraduate Researcher

June - August 2016

@ George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

During the summer of 2016, I worked as an Undergraduate Researcher on a project funded by NSF BIG DATA. Under the supervision of Dr. Huzefa Rangwala, I designed and developed both the front and back ends of the DegreePlanner web app. The app takes a student’s chosen degree and transcript data to display the courses needed for completion. It also allows students to add courses to their planner. I used Django, Python, SQL, JQuery, AJAX, and Bootstrap for this project. This was my first time building a full-stack application, and it was a great opportunity to dive deep into both front-end and back-end development. You can check out the project here: DegreePlanner WebApp

Things I love (and Keep Me Sane)

Nature

The outdoors are my happy place and I think there are so much peace, comfort and energy nature can bring. I love starting my day with a jog or bike ride under sunshine.

Staying Active

Running, hiking, biking, volleyball, zumba, tennis, pickleball—you name it. If it gets me moving and being outdoor with nature, I am in!

Cook & Read

I love cooking just as much as eating and always enjoy trying new recipes—it’s my way of relaxing after a workday, and cooking for others is how I show my care and love. Reading is my meditation, and "ideally", I read to start and end the day.

Living Sustainably

I’m on a mission to reduce waste and make eco-friendly choices every day. I also hope to use my skills as a software engineer to help fight the climate crisis.

Love and Connection

Meaningful relationships and friendships are at the heart of my happiness. I love spending time with my family and friends—cooking, enjoying a good meal, going for a hike, and playing board games together are my favorite ways to spend time with others. Happiness is simple.

Slow Travel

Like so many others, I am always dreaming up my next trip and adventures — exploring new places and cultures, trying different kinds of foods, and, of course, misreading maps along the way!