Hey, I’m Deven

and I write code!

👋 Based in Atlanta, GA and currently a Sr. Software Engineer @ Thorn, I’ve been doing this software thing since 2015. I love taking on hard, real-world challenges with no pre-trodden path for success, and finding ways to engineer solutions to them. I also care deeply about the impact and user experience of the products I build, to the point where I even held the title “Product Manager” for a stint 😱. I’ve worked in a variety of domains and haven’t settled on a central “theme” to my career yet, but I’ve gotten to tackle alot of cool challenges along the way, in areas I never would have expected. Some of the work I’m most proud of includes:

• Making the internet a safer place for children around the world 🌐
• Leading the demand forecasting team that would guide our $10B+ business through Covid-19 lockdowns 🔮
• Building and deploying a risk model for foodborne illness in thousands of restaurants, protecting millions of guests 🥘

Tackling each of these projects (among many others) were continual lessons of how much I still don’t know, and each has taught me valuable things along the way. Much of that learning came from the experience, but none of this was achieved alone, and alot of what I learned came from other people who took the time to share their hard-earned lessons with me. So, I figure it’s time to start giving back!

If you’re a software engineer, engineering lead, or even product manager I hope you’ll enjoy my corner of the internet. From coding solutions that took me far-too-long to figure out, to sharing the oft-fuzzy experience of having a long term career as a software engineer, to shaping up my opinions on what it takes to build great software products and the teams behind them. This site is a space for me to share what I’ve learned so far and to think aloud about hard problems I’m still facing. And who knows, maybe I’ll contribute to the breadcrumb trail of someone else out there conquering their own hard, real-world challenges. I hope something I write about gives you value. I don’t claim to bring any answers. Just what I’ve learned so far.

~ Deven