Hi! My mom named me Krystal, but I usually go by Krys.

I’m a Staff Software Engineer at Crunchyroll on the Partner Engineering team. I was previously a Staff Software Engineer at Carta and Lob. Some of the other fun companies I previously worked for are: Simple Habit and Nordstromrack.com|HauteLook.

I love coding, but… surprise! I am a self-taught engineer. No CS degree. No bootcamp. It’s been a hard journey, but I’m so glad I decided to do it. I found a career I truly love. I’m excited to build something new every day.

I strongly believe in empowering underrepresented communities. I do this by giving talks, mentoring, and sponsoring.

If you’re pro-diversity and want a Latina, female engineer to give a technical talk, I’d be delighted to speak at your conference or for your organization. (I do charge a speaker fee because time is $.)

Because I do a lot of mentoring, I’ve put together a section of resources here to help those transitioning into tech.

Elsewhere: LinkedIn, GitHub

Be the change you want to see in the world, right?

Well, I want to see a world with more computer programmers who don't need a computer science degree, but are passionate, intelligent and get the job done well. I want to see a world with more female coders and more Latinx coders. I want those who previously thought they couldn't say, 'Yes, I can!' 

In my talks, I seek to give a face to those who are not usually represented in conference talks. The more you see, the more there will be.

I also try to take difficult topics and make them manageable.  We may think the barrier to entry is high in computer programming, but I want everyone to know that it begins with one small step forward. Si se puede.

Talks & Blogs

Staff Plus Track—> Track Host (Videos available through QCon website)

QCon San Francisco, 2023

Say No to Burnout and Stand Up for Yourself —> SLIDES, VIDEO

LeadDev’s StaffPlus, 2023

Why Everyone Needs a Cheerleader to Succeed —> Article

Elpha, 2022

How Becoming a Parent Accelerated My Path to Staff Engineer —> Article

LeadDev, 2022

Common Mistakes New Staff Engineers Make & How to Avoid Them —> VIDEO

LeadDev, 2022

Lob Internal Engineering Talks, 2022

• Slack /explain Integration

• Buzz, Woody, & Webhooks

• Useful Datadog Dashboards

• Automatic Github Whitespace Removal

Latinas Equal Pay Day: Be Unapologetic About Heritage, Language & Legacy —> PODCAST

Women of Color in the Workplace and The Latinista, 2021

Lob Internal Engineering Talks, 2021

• What is Svix and Load Testing before K6

• Intro To Deployment Strategies: Blue-Green, Canary, And More

• Brag Sheet Baddies

Lob Love Letters: Code and Mail a Postcard to Your Best Friend —> GITHUB - SLIDES

Women Who Code, 2020

Merge Intervals and Interval List Intersections —> VIDEO

Women Who Code, 2020

Depth First Search in Trees —> VIDEO

Women Who Code, 2020

Dynamic Programing Patterns in Python —> VIDEO

Women Who Code, 2020

From Trigger to Happy Moment in the Workplace —> VIDEO

Twitter Threads with Techqueria, 2019

Searching for a Better Me: How Simple Habit Uses $text Search to Help Users Stress Less, Achieve More and Live Better —> SLIDES

MongoDB World, 2019

How To: Whiteboard Interviews —> SLIDES

Women Who Code, 2019

#NothingLess Micro Documentary —> VIDEO

Hired.com & Ladies Get Paid Present #NothingLess, 2019

Know Your Worth, and Then Add 20K: Pay Equity for Female Software Engineers —> SLIDES

git hired -f "Womxn in Tech", 2019

Redshift: A Beginner's Data Analysis Solution —> SLIDES

AWS Summit Anaheim, 2018

The Object Oriented Thought Process —> SLIDES

Women of Silicon Valley, 2018

Applying Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In" Principles in Technology

MicroStrategy World, 2018

Nordstromrack.com|Hautelook: The education and empowerment of users

MicroStrategy World, 2018

Nordstromrack.com|Hautelook: Need more data?

MicroStrategy World, 2018

Transition Into Tech

I like helping people. It makes me happy. So when I got laid off because of COVID, I put together a calendly link offering 1:1 mentoring sessions. I talk to over 50 people from just invite alone. There were a lot of similar questions. Since I’ll probably get asked a lot of these questions again, I wanted to write down my thoughts. These links are for anyone looking for that entry level coding job.

Stories from 5 Engineers Who Transitioned Into Tech

Alyse Nicole Dunn interviewed five programmers (including me!) who made the transition into tech. We come from a variety of backgrounds. I highly recommend reading this so you can see five different approaches into entering tech as an engineer.

Becoming a Software Developer Without a CS Degree

This is a great article inspired by a massive twitter thread. It shows that there are many ways to get there. Find the way that’s right for you!

The resume is the first step. Do it right.

Are you confused about what to write? One column resume or two? Do you list all your projects? What goes in the “Technical Skills” section? If I misspell something, will they skip me? These resources will help you answer those questions.

Job Sites: Where do I apply?

Long story short: EVERYWHERE. Here’s a list of places to look for jobs.

Coding Interviews

Ques: I’m just learning. Do I need to pass those data structures and algorithms questions to get my first job in tech?

Answer: Yes, most likely. Resources, click below!

System Design Interviews

Ques: What is a System Design Interview!?! Do I need to prep for this in addition to practicing data structures and algorithms?

Answer: No, most likely.

Negotiating

Congrats! You’ve finally been offered a job. Now what?

You may be thinking:

• Do I take what they give me or do I ask for more?

• It’s my first coding job. Shouldn’t I just be grateful?

A company offered me equity. What do I do?

Equity is super confusing and usually it doesn’t pan out to much. I’ve compiled a few resources to help you out.

 So you’re a Staff+ Engineer… now what?

This page is going to be a list of resources that I’m publicly documenting for ease of access (for myself, for sharing, for anyone who stumbles upon them). Many of the links will come from The Staff Engineer’s Path and Staff Engineer recommended reading sections. Later, I hope to add my notes as to why each of these resources is good AND add some resources of my own.

WTF is a Staff+ Engineer?

If you’re wondering, WTF is a staff+ engineer, go here.

The above was modified from a wonderful cartoon. Link to original here.

What are the must reads for Staff+ Engineers?

If you’re an aspiring, new, or staff+ engineer looking for good, general reads, see below:

• Rands Leadership Slack, particularly the following channels:

  • #staff-principal-engineering

  • #staff-principal-engineering-ftw

  • #architecture

  • #engg-jokes (yes, two g’s)

• Lead Dev’s Staff+ focused content (videos, panels, conferences and blog posts)

• The Staff Engineer’s Path: A Guide For Individual Contributors Navigating Growth And Change by Tanya Reilly

• Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond the Management Track by Will Larson

• What Does a Senior Staff Engineer Actually Do: Part I and Part II by Joy Ebertz