# Kharpoh Chen 鄭嘉萂 > Principal Engineer at Guild Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/kharpoh I’m a hands‑on software professional with a proven track record of delivering high‑quality enterprise web applications by aligning business needs with the right technology and architecture. I believe in agile principles and take a pragmatic approach to building scalable, maintainable, secure, and performant systems. As a technical leader, I lead by example while recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of each team member. I’ve built successful, distributed development teams by setting clear goals, coaching, empowering, and maintaining accountability. With the emergence of AI, my experience across both good and bad systems gives me the taste and judgment to guide AI toward producing maintainable, high‑quality code at a pace we’ve never seen before. I bring accountability, clarity, and a forward‑looking vision to help teams thrive in this new AI‑accelerated landscape. ## Work Experience ### Principal Engineer @ Guild Jan 2020 – Present • As a member of the product expansion team, I played a crucial role in building various full-stack production Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) to validate product-market fit. My responsibilities included collaborating with cross-functional teams, implementing features, and ensuring seamless user experiences. • I contributed to the key architecture design of various sub-system components. By analyzing requirements, proposing solutions, and collaborating with other engineers, I helped shape the technical foundation of our products. • As the lead engineer for the EdFlo Tuition Assistance benefit management system, I was responsible for maintaining and enhancing the platform. This involved overseeing system stability, implementing new features, and optimizing performance to support our users effectively. Tech Stacks: Python, Pydantic, MyPy, SQLAlchemy, Poetry, Tox, GraphQL, React, Tailwind, AWS, PostgreSQL, Azure Open AI services, LangChain, Flask, FastAPI, Linux. ### Software Architect @ Entangled Group Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 ### Software Development Manager @ ComplianceEase Jan 2014 – Jan 2019 | Burlingame, CA • Led and managed development teams responsible for two separate line of businesses. • Designed and developed next generation flagship product to serve the mortgage documentation preparation and closing market. • Reduced customization time from days to real-time by leveraging data driven designs and metadata programming. Biz Ops is empowered to update the system at run-time hence eliminating majority of custom development needs. • Mentor and coach team members to achieve higher level of autonomy. • Established standard development framework to reduce errors and increase quality by promoting consistency and repeatability. Tech Stacks: .NET + Core, ASP.NET MVC + Core, Entity Framework + Core, C#, Dapper ORM, JavaScript, Regular Expression, Vue.js, Bootstrap, jQuery, SQL Server, REST + WSDL services, Redis, Elastic Search, ABCPdf, ITextSharp, Json.net, AWS, Git, Mercurial, Jenkins, Selenium, Bitbucket, eFax, MISMO ### Staff Software Developer @ AtHoc Jan 2012 – Jan 2013 | San Mateo • Designed and developed high-quality software under tight deadlines for high profile customers. • Re-factored Maps module to improve performance, maintainability and added new features. • Designed and developed next generation UI using responsive, real-time, SPA concepts. • Worked across multiple teams to help keep the project on track. • Worked with a technical writer to help with documentation and training materials for users. Tech Stacks: .NET, ASP.NET MVC, Entity Framework, C#, Dapper ORM, JavaScript, SQL Server, Bootstrap, OpenLayers, Google Maps, Bing Maps, MapServer, FFmpeg, Json.net, Knockout, SimpleInjector, Mustache Templates, T4 Templates ### Principal Consultant @ ComplianceEase Jan 2011 – Jan 2012 | Burlingame • Designed and developed a Loan Verification Platform which uses multiple data sources to verify and qualify borrowers' income, identity and employment. • Increased platform throughput by 20 times by having a centralized and secured web portal for receiving order requests, streamlining back-end operations for concurrency and automating the fulfillment and delivery process. ### Founder @ GrubCrowd Jan 2012 – Jan 2012 | Hayward, CA • Sole founder and developer responsible for bringing GrubCrowd from conception to a fully functional web application. • Created a fully customizable online menu for restaurants with comprehensive sharing capabilities. • Integrated with Yelp for reviews. • Member of the Microsoft BizSpark program. ### Chief Software Architect @ Hobsons Jan 2005 – Jan 2011 | Oakland, CA • Responsible for defining the technical direction of the EMT Connect CRM product. (aka Education CRM Suite) • Led a team of 3 product architects responsible for researching new technologies, creating proof of concepts, product development, and architecture reviews. • Led the design and development of a multi-tenant system with dynamic object models which can be customized at run-time. • Designed and developed an extensible and customizable search engine to query dynamic object models. • Designed and developed a Single Sign-On platform with active syncing with Hobsons’ products. • Designed and developed Events and Interviews management product module. • Designed and developed the Group Chat product module. • Designed and developed Telecommunication management product module. • Designed and developed filter-based reporting with data drill down. ### Software Architect @ C&S Technologies Jan 2000 – Jan 2005 | Milpitas, CA • As the first technical employee, I designed and developed company's flagship product which was acquired by Liberty Tax for ~10M. • Led and managed development teams responsible for 3 line of businesses. • Designed and developed internal RAD framework to help automate and streamline the development of Federal and State tax forms. ### Senior Software Developer @ CafePress.com Jan 2005 – Jan 2005 ### Web Developer @ Nortel Networks Jan 1998 – Jan 2000 | Santa Clara, CA • Maintained and developed new features for existing e-business applications. • XML shopping cart transfers to participating resellers' and distributors' websites. • Customized marketing materials, business cards, letterheads and posters for SMB partners based on their user profiles. • Led a team of consultants to design and develop a web portal for SMB partners from scratch using PCOrder/Trilogy e-business solution. ### Application Developer @ Multicall Jan 1997 – Jan 1998 • Designed and developed a voicemail system which enables users to listen and manage their messages from a web portal and Microsoft Outlook. • Designed and developed Agent desktop for call centers to handle support calls via the CSTA interface. • Integrated Agent desktop with Remedy and Clarify helpdesk applications. • Features include: Web callbacks, IVR, Screen pops, Call routing, Automatic call distribution ## Education ### MS in Computer Engineering San José State University ### BS in Computer Science San José State University ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kharpohchen --- Source: https://flows.cv/kharpoh JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/kharpoh/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-12