Kat Vu

Software Engineer

Hi there, my name is Kat and I am a full-stack software engineer driven by my passion to build meaningful, user-centric and exciting products for the world to use.

My eagerness to learn has led me to building a diverse set of projects, including an online multiplayer word game that I kickstarted and launched alongside a team of 3 other ambitious women, a wellness platform to increase mental health resources within the company workspaces, and an AI-powered study tool to help medical students study more efficiently and effectively.

Skills

JavaScript

TypeScript

Python

Ruby

SQL

HTML

CSS

React

Redux

NextJS

Express

Node

Flask

Rails

MongoDB

PostgreSQL

AWS S3

Postman

Figma

Heroku

Docker

Websockets

TailwindCSS

Styled-Components

Experience

March 2024 — Now

Software EngineerStartercode NextJS, React, TypeScript, MongoDB

Current project: Study tool platform powered by AI tailored towards helping medical students study more efficiently

  • Integrated RTK Query for efficient data fetching and caching
  • Built User History feature by developing a RESTful API enabling CRUD operations for history items
  • Optimized exam initialization by leveraging asynchronous data loading, allowing users to interact with the exam-viewer after the first question has been generated
  • Developed a PDF generation tool allowing users to export AI-generated data as a standardized, formatted, and downloadable PDF file
  • Designed and developed a toolbar feature that enhances the online test taking experience, enabling users to highlight text, change content font size, open a searchable and filterable lab values sheet, and bookmark questions
  • Redesigned and implemented new landing page
  • Integrated Amplitude Analytics for tracking user activity across web application, enabling data-driven product development

August 2023 — Now

Pro Bono Software EngineerFlowFree Node.js, Express.js, React, MongoDB, TypeScript

Wellness platform aiming to increase mental health resources within the company workspace by providing users access to video call sessions where they can speak freely while staying anonymous, a mood tracking tool, and a community forum.

  • Collaborate with UX/UI designers, product managers, and other engineers to plan, design, and build the MVP.
  • Built mood tracker tool allowing users to log their daily moods and additional information by creating a RESTful API and leveraging React-Redux for state management and data fetching.
PROJECT archive

LETTERHEISTONLINE MULTIPLAYER GAMELETTERHEIST

ONLINE MULTIPLAYER GAMELETTERHEISTONLINE MULTIPLAYER GAME

LETTERHEISTONLINE MULTIPLAYER GAMELETTERHEIST

ONLINE MULTIPLAYER GAMELETTERHEISTONLINE MULTIPLAYER GAME

01
Letterheist

Flask, Python, React, MongoDB, JavaScript, PostgreSQL, Docker, Websockets

An online competitive multiplayer word game that takes a twist on anagrams. Players can join games with their friends and family by entering a shareable room code. The player who obtains the most letters by creating new words, upgrading their own words, or stealing their opponent's words wins!

BEAN BUNNYCOFFEE SHOP FINDERBEAN BUNNY

COFFEE SHOP FINDERBEAN BUNNYCOFFEE SHOP FINDER

BEAN BUNNYCOFFEE SHOP FINDERBEAN BUNNY

COFFEE SHOP FINDERBEAN BUNNYCOFFEE SHOP FINDER

02
Bean Bunny

Ruby on Rails, React/Redux, JavaScript, PostgreSQL

Full-stack web application for finding coffee shops based on city location, allowing users to organize saved businesses into collections and create ratings. Utilizes the Yelp API to obtain real-life information and database seeding optimization. Collection creation is automated based on business city location to enhance organizational impact.

GRUB GLOBERECIPE FINDERGRUB GLOBE

RECIPE FINDERGRUB GLOBERECIPE FINDER

GRUB GLOBERECIPE FINDERGRUB GLOBE

RECIPE FINDERGRUB GLOBERECIPE FINDER

03
grubGlobe

MongoDB, Express, React/Redux, Node.js, JavaScript

Full-stack MERN project, integrating a 3D interactive model and AI chatbot to help users find diverse recipes from all over the world. Also implements a badge rewarding system based on user accomplishments to encourage user stickiness, search feature based on keywords, and a recommendations pages based on user's existing data.

CATASTROPHEONLINE MINI-GAMECATASTROPHE

ONLINE MINI-GAMECATASTROPHEONLINE MINI-GAME

CATASTROPHEONLINE MINI-GAMECATASTROPHE

ONLINE MINI-GAMECATASTROPHEONLINE MINI-GAME

04
CATASTROPHE

Vanilla JavaScript

2D minigame for obtaining the highest score. Point acquisition and overcoming obstacles are facilitated by keypresses. As the time duration progresses, the game becomes more difficult due to increased number of mice to defeat and the speed of the mice. Fun fact: the character assets were all hand-drawn by me and transformed into the main characters of this fun interactive game! :)