Ever wonder what it’s like to work at thredUP? We asked a few amazing employees from our headquarters in SF to share their career journeys with us. Meet Ed, our Technical Engineering Lead for our New Ventures team.
Tell us a little bit about your journey at thredUP:
I joined thredUP in November 2011, and have gotten to work on all different kinds of projects throughout the years.
I initially joined as a Junior Engineer. thredUP was my first job out of college and I did not have that much experience with web development. I took on projects wherever I was needed.
I have always been focused on Full-Stack development while also juggling projects that have been focused on either front-end or back-end. thredUP is a great place to be if you don’t want to be tied to specific constraints to one type of task. You are always going to be working on different projects and there are always going to be opportunities to learn different technologies and take on more responsibilities.
How have you progressed professionally?
I started off as an entry-level engineer, and progressed to a full-stack engineer tackling large scale projects on my own. In the last couple of years, I’ve taken on more of a Lead role.
What keeps you engaged?
It’s never boring here. There is always something exciting happening, and an interesting problem to tackle. Our problems become harder as we have matured as a company, which makes the work even more interesting.
We are always trying out new ideas and new product solutions that are all encompassing – not just for the engineering team but the entire company. This impacts everything from UX to Product to Engineering. Having these types of problems to solve is great for us engineers, because it forces us to test our boundaries and try new solutions. We figure out how to work around all kinds of limitations.
What would you tell someone who is considering an opportunity at thredUP?
One of the biggest things is that you can make a BIG impact on the team quickly. People are always willing to listen, they’re open to new ideas, new solutions and your suggestions. thredUP is a place where it is very easy to collaborate. It’s a great place if you want to come in and have an immediate and positive impact on your team.
At thredUP, you are juggling multiple projects while looking to make improvements to the existing product. You are always working on many different things, which is not an opportunity you would get at a bigger company. You are constantly testing out multiple hypotheses and become involved in whatever helps us learn the next lesson.
How do you partner with other teams?
You get to work with other people all the time. We are always working with the designers, and sharing ideas. We solve problems together and assess what things we can and can’t do.
As a thredUP engineer, it’s not about “here’s a spec, go build it”. It’s a true partnership with constant communication between engineers, stakeholders, product managers, the design team, dev-ops and operations.
What’s the next challenge for you?
I am going to be a part of the Algorithms team. I am looking to grow by tackling a new set of challenges, bringing about new solutions, and pushing myself technically.
If you’re looking for a career opportunity at thredUP, check out our Jobs Openings.
