About Me
Hello, I’m Nathan Nguyen.
I’m a first-generation Computer Science student at Purdue University, but the real story started long before college. Growing up in Vietnam, I was the kid who took things apart just to see the gears underneath. I didn’t always manage to put them back together, but the curiosity was worth it. I’ve always wanted to understand the “why” behind how things work, and that curiosity is still what gets me out of bed in the morning.
Career Goals
I’m pursuing roles in Backend Software Engineering or Quantitative Development. I want to be part of a team that pushes for technical rigor and takes pride in solving problems that don’t have straightforward answers.
My Technical Toolkit
I like to think of myself as a builder with a mathematician’s curiosity.
- Mathematics: I’ve always preferred deriving a formula over just memorizing it. I enjoy working through proofs and understanding concepts from first principles, which is why I actively supplement my coursework with classes from MIT OpenCourseWare.
- Machine Learning: I’m currently following Stanford’s curriculum to really understand what goes on under the hood. I don’t just want to import libraries; I want to grasp the calculus and probability that make the models work.
- Systems & Backend: There is something satisfying about designing software architecture. I love the challenge of building systems that stay fast and reliable, even when things get heavy.
- Competitive Programming: It feels like a sport to me. Even though I only recently got into it and am still learning the ropes, it’s become one of my favorite ways to sharpen my problem-solving skills.
Beyond the Keyboard
When I step away from the terminal, I’m usually out in nature clearing my head. And while strolling outside, I also enjoy landscape and portrait photography. I love tinkering with every manual setting on my Nikon Zf paired with a Voigtländer lens. This setup slows things down and teaches me to notice patterns in the world, the same way I look for structure in engineering.