In April, Rose went on the record with Jordan Tang, a front end developer and graduate of VCU who is coming up on his one-year work anniversary at Brightspot. During the conversation, Jordan shared about his father's influence on his career, his professional growth over the past year, and how he'd turn around the New York Knicks if given the opportunity. Since coming to Brightspot, Jordan has played an integral role on projects for two of our marquee clients—Newell Brands and Walmart.
You came to Brightspot after graduating from VCU in 2017. What brought you here?
Like a lot of other recent college graduates, I had not heard of Brightspot until the career fair at VCU, where I met Avery and Omavi. We hit it off really well. When I came for my interview, there was a lot I liked about the company and ultimately decided to come here.
Tell me about the current project you are working on and your specific role on the team?
The current project I am working on is for the Walton Family Foundation as a front-end developer. It's been a lot of work, but also very fun. It is a smaller project with fewer resources, which results in each of us having much greater responsibility. It's a lot of weight on my shoulders, but it has been a great learning experience.
What inspired you to become a software engineer?
My background in computer science started with my father. He came to the United States with a software engineering background, and I followed in his footsteps. My dad has had a significant influence on my career path.
In the 9 months you've worked for Brightspot, how have you grown as a developer?
For me, the biggest opportunity has been exposure to real-life work. Projects are the best teachers. Expanding my current skills, especially on the front-end and learning new technologies and techniques that I had never previously used has been incredibly valuable.
What trends or technologies in computer science excite you the most?
Working as a front end developer, the number of new frameworks that are available is really exciting. We have recently started using React on some projects and I am looking forward to getting exposure to that and other cool new frameworks on future assignments.
Besides the people, what's your favorite part about working for Brightspot?
I would say it's the underdog mentality that we have. As a mid-size company, we have the best of both worlds. We're not too big, where everybody feels like a cog in a machine; I've actually gotten to know my coworkers. At the same time, we don't have to sacrifice resources and benefits by being a smaller company.
What are your favorite activities or hobbies to do outside of the office?I love music whether playing or listening. I love art, both traditional and physical forms. I'm a big fan of Wes Anderson's films and was super excited to see his latest movie, Isle of Dogs. I also like playing basketball, exercising and being outside.
If you could have any super power, which would you like to have? Why?
Oh man! I'd go with teleportation because it would make my commute shorter and it would be cool to travel around the world without taking a day off. During the cold weather, I could teleport to Miami.
What was the last movie you saw? Would you recommend it?
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. It's a fun movie, not too long, and very kinetic and fast-paced. I really like the style of the director, Edgar Wright. I highly recommend it.
I read that you are a big fan of the New York Knicks! If you were in charge of the team, how would you turn them around?
I think they should follow a similar model as the 76ers and lose big to get better draft picks and plan for the future. The Knicks definitely need to avoid giving long-term, expensive contracts to older players. We've had a pretty bad history of doing this. We have some good young talent that we need to keep healthy and just be patient.
