Frontend Engineer at a Startup — Constantly Overcoming Challenges with a Growth Mindset
Tags: Drone, Startup Life, Startup, Uav, Construction

Hello Hyeokjoo, please briefly introduce yourself!

My name is Hyeokjoo Moon, lead Frontend engineer at Angelswing. I joined Angelswing about a year and two months ago, and I am in charge of a variety of tasks related to Frontend engineering.

Heard that you joined Angelswing while attending school in HongKong?

I graduated middle and high school from China, and I attend college in HongKong as well. I came back to Korea to serve my mandatory military service and planned to return to school upon getting discharged. However, I had the urge of wanting to create useful real world products based on what I’ve learned. That’s when I started looking for Korean startups that I wanted to work for.

Is there a reason why you particularly chose Angelswing among other startups?

There are lots of reasons why I chose Angelswing among other startups. But the biggest reason is because I thought experiencing tech related to drones would be super unique and special. So I decided to challenge myself and inquired for a position at Angelswing. After a series of processes, I joined the company!

What is the difference between working as a Frontend Engineer at Angelswing and at other web service companies?

Generally, our Frontend team tasks can be categorized into two parts. One is GIS(Geographic Information System), and the other is the component development itself. Since we are working on a web service used largely in the construction industry, the requirement for a comprehensive understanding and consideration of the relevant fields is a big difference. Since our service is targeted at a specific user domain, there are also a lot of other industry specific things to consider as well.

Among those two, which one do you enjoy working on more?

Well, each has its own uniqueness. GIS is a field that I have never experienced before and it’s certainly fascinating to learn how smart people around the world abstract the earth. Creating components is also challenging since it requires tons of requirements to construct a truly productive and simple UI/UX, but once you make all the requirements, you feel a huge sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

What’s your typical day like as a Frontend engineer at Angelswing?

Every morning, I habitually open Terminal, Code Editor, and Slack when I come to work. I then first check PRs that haven’t been reviewed yet. In the morning, I try to concentrate on writing code, since there are usually a lot of meetings in the afternoon. After lunch, I attend meetings with team members and finish up the work that I haven’t finished in the morning.

What project/work are you currently focusing on?

I am currently researching displaying DXF, a file format that can be exported from AutoCAD, with better performance in a web browser. Displaying large datasets seamlessly on the web is not an easy task, but my team members and I are working hard to create an exceptional and high performing product.

An Engineer’s KPI is often determined based on the amount of time it takes to implement a feature. Do you agree with this opinion?

Yes. I mean, there are many ways of determining an engineer’s KPI, but I can simplify my KPI to the number of tasks I solved in a specific time period. I think time efficiency is the most important KPI because launching a feature in a short time period is one of the most important competitive edges of a startup.

What was the most meaningful work you’ve done at Angelswing?

There are a lot, but if I have to choose one, I remember writing new code in a short time period to improve the poor logic behind one of our core functions, which hindered the feature’s scalability. I remember extensively writing about 2500 lines of code and it was really unforgettable because I put great effort into writing each and every line of the code.

At first, I doubted myself asking “Will this really work?”, but I decided to trust my code, because I believe every developer needs great confidence in one’s own code. And I was super delighted to see that the code worked really well at the end!

Coming from China yourself, are there any communication difficulties working with engineers from abroad?

One of the advantages of working at Angelswing is that you get a chance to work with engineers from many different countries. In fact, our most recently joined Frontend engineer is also working remotely from Indonesia. With the onset of remote working becoming a new norm upon COVID-19, I think the collaboration is now very smooth. As long as you can communicate well using English, there won’t be many difficulties with communication.

Recently, more engineers from abroad are applying and inquiring for recruitment. How would you assess our working culture/environment for teammates from overseas?

From my experience working at Angelswing, I think we are a really good company for foreigners to work at. Generally, we communicate using English in Slack, and we make use of Slack apps that help with automatic translations. Even teammates who don’t speak Korean will not have any problems keeping up with the conversations.

Many teammates are fluent in English and we help facilitate communication among teams and team members. Meeting minutes and documentations are also usually written in English. English is technically our official language, so it’s relatively comfortable for foreigners to work here at Angelswing.

What are the required qualifications for a Frontend Engineer at Angelswing?

First and foremost, Angelswing is a startup. You need the initiative to identify and solve problems on your own. But this doesn’t necessarily mean you should work alone. We want team players who know how to collaborate and learn from one another. Working at a startup, it’s important to create much output even with limited resources, so collaboration and cooperation is key to making success.

In terms of the technical qualifications, those with a profound understanding and experience with JavaScript or TypeScript, and a comprehensive understanding of the JavaScript ecosystem (such as npm, nodejs, etc…) are who we look for. This is because at Angelswing, it’s not just about creating a simple website. Since we create web apps that utilize WebGL and canvas, the quality of code is greatly valued. Sometimes, we need to install and experiment with new canvas libraries, so understanding the JavaScript ecosystem well and having the ability to quickly test things is important. We believe you will certainly learn a lot by working at Angelswing.

As mentioned earlier, since we work continuously between Korean and foreign engineers, the ability to communicate in English would be even better.

Lastly, is there any advice you have for engineers who want to join Angelswing?

At Angelswing, not a lot of things are simple and easy. Every task requires a considerable amount of challenging spirit. If you are simply good at with what you are given, you won’t be a great fit. But for those who really enjoy rising up to challenges, Angelswing would be a great place to pursue your engineering passions, because nothing is comparable to the satisfaction of tackling challenging tasks. If you are one of them, join us!