Hello!
Hello, I'm Andy Tran.
From a young age, I have been passionate about designing & developing software and computer systems. I love connecting to people who share that passion.
In the 80s, I took on programming with MLX on a Commodore 64 -- doing whatever it took to get the game from the back of the Compute! Gazette magazine onto my CRT screen. That experience served as my first introduction to hex code and binary.
As the 90s rolled in, I ran a BBS and FidoNet node in Dallas, diving deep into the wild-west days of the pre-internet era. I hosted LAN parties, frequented meetups at local computer hobby stores, and served as a Sysop in the network operations center at a local dial-up ISP during my high school years. My curiosity led me to experiment with network routing, enabling me to use IP masquerading to share my dial-up connection among multiple computers. This was my gateway into the realms of systems networking, FreeBSD, and Slackware Linux.
Fast forward to the 2000s, to when I earned my Sun systems administration certificate shortly after graduating high school. I obtained a job at GTE Internet (now Verizon) and spearheaded the construction of email server infrastructure. This was the first time I had a chance to engineer large enterprise systems (Sun E10k / Hitachi Disks), fibre channel networks, network laboratories, and change control processes -- all vital experiences for understanding the intricacies that come with running a five-nines, high-availability mail service. When Verizon underwent a series of voluntary layoffs, I took the severance package and relocated to San Francisco.
This move led me to Apple. There, I transitioned their workgroup ECAD and MCAD systems from Sun and HP/UX to an entirely Apple IT environment. This role sharpened my skills in crafting internal tools (with user-friendly interfaces), and familiarized myself with the brisk pace of workgroup engineering teams (a vivid contrast from the change-control process at Verizon).
The 2010s marked my entrepreneurial journey as I founded a software development consultancy, MochaLeaf. The venture provided invaluable lessons in setting up an organization, honing marketing strategies, managing client relationships, and so much more. After a successful five-year run, our firm was acqui-hired. This transition gave me a front-row seat to executive decision-making processes. What stood out to me during this period were the joys of cultivating relationships, fostering team growth, and witnessing our clients' visions coming to life.
I boomeranged back to Apple, this time focusing on Industrial Design tools. Due to our team's success in the ID space, there was an increased demand for our development expertise. We scaled the team in response and expanded into Product Design and Reliability Engineering tools. Alongside this, I began research on large-scale data systems and enterprise ETL pipelines.
As the number of projects grew, my desire to be hands-on in the code grew, and thus I transitioned to HomeKit Test Engineering to dive down to the binary / packet level. Within HomeKit, I expended my knowledge of the Bluetooth & HAP protocols, as well as public key cryptography on untrusted networks. I also had the opportunity to rewrite HomeKit pairing code from Objective-C to Swift, refactor various components into frameworks, and develop automated tests for HomeKit accessories. It was humbling to work with really brilliant people who knew the HomeKit / Bluetooth protocols inside and out.
The 2020s began with personal and professional shifts. I said farewell to Apple and journeyed south to Southern California to tie the knot, kick-start a fashion venture, and work on a tech project to operate the fashion business. (We're experimenting with innovative concepts like bypassing traditional retail, embracing made-to-order fashion, and advocating small-batch production over wasteful mass production.)
However, a ever-growing scope on a home renovation project (it was our first) sidetracked us from our initial plans. In less than a year after leaving the HomeKit team, I found myself boomeranging back to Apple to join their Environment team.
The Environment team at Apple had a suite of FileMaker servers and dedicated FileMaker engineers, but no expertise in web software development, systems management, ticket management, release processes, etc. I took on the role of mentoring the team and it's management, so that they could rise to address the growing challenges faced with meeting Apple's 2030 environmental goals.
During this time, I spearheaded the hiring process for new talent, set up a robust server infrastructure, introduced CI/CD automation, held regular tech talks, taught the team about support processes, created a funding model for new project development, kickstarted multiple greenfield projects, and much more. It was a lot of work, but also, truly rewarding. Everyone was passionate about the tangible positive impact we had on Earth's environment through our efforts.
Now on to recent times. Following the home renovation, we were eager to launch our fashion business. After securing a manufacturing space and my departure from Apple, our journey began. It involved construction, licensing, skills tests in garment manufacturing, and more. We put a placeholder web store online while I developed custom software to handle our made-to-order business.
We are currently wrapping up the photos, marketing, and branding for the "real" web store. (We are excited to launch on April 22nd, 2024!) Following the launch, my partner, Long, will be taking over the business responsibilities of Alt+Fn as I return to tech full-time. We have a goal to move back to the Bay Area mid/late 2024.
For me, professionally, I would like to return to team management, with the future goal of becoming a director. I really enjoy working collaboratively with people in differing roles and sharing my experience with teams who need it. At this point in my career, I've accumulated a diverse set of experiences, and want to focus on expanding the impact I can bring to an organization.
- Andy