David Tsai

Experience

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  Thomson West Group

  Jun 2002 - Aug 2002

  Software Engineer Intern

  • Overhauled "West LegalEdcenter" Online Store, improving the business team’s efficiency by 60%. • Captured the budding online Continuing Legal Education market in 4 U.S. states, growing revenue by $500,000 by overhauling business logic.

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  IBM

  Jun 2003 - Aug 2003

  Software Engineer Intern

  • Grew revenue by $2 million by designing and developing prototypes of eLearning tools, with a focus on meeting U.S. Department of Defense's SCORM specifications.

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  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  Sept 2003 - Jan 2004

  Researcher (MIT Computer Graphics Group)

  • Developed a program that examines a region on a dense 3D mesh and simplifies it on the fly, producing a mesh hierarchy while keeping track of correspondence mappings between mesh levels. Increased mesh generator speed by 150%.

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  IBM

  Jul 2004 - Aug 2004

  Software Engineer Intern

  • Increased ThinkPad security by 75% by implementing Kerberos cryptography in BIOS password manager.• Thrived in a uniquely foreign office culture. Quickly adapted to an international work environment.

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  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  Sept 2004 - May 2005

  Researcher (MIT User Interface Design Group)

  • Increased Eclipse IDE search speed by 300% by architecting UI plug-in with fast-search.• Designed & prototyped mock UIs with well-organized search results and ease of navigation.• Iteratively conducted usability & heuristic evaluations to ensure UI was fast, accessible, and easy to use.

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  SBI Shinsei Bank

  Apr 2007 - Jun 2007

  Consultant (Office of the Chief Investment Officer)

  • Won approval for a €15 million European private equity fund by co-authoring investment proposal to bank’s risk committee.• Directly advised CIO on technology revamp of 9 problem areas for buy-side private equity group.• Contract engagement.

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  Bridgewater Associates

  Apr 2008 - Feb 2009

  Technology Associate (Software Developer)

  • Led inter-departmental team to establish new foreign exchange (FX) analytics methodology and build new Bloomberg app, which resulted in 200% higher accuracy in the analytics pipeline.• Increased revenue by $3 million by building an ETL tool for processing incoming pricing feeds.• Recommended and designed systems for portfolio equities and positions valuation using .NET stack.• Trained in company's intense 6-month "Investment Associate" in-house Front Office training course, gaining exposure to the Front Office, familiarity with buy-side investment strategies, acquisition of alpha vs. beta, and fundamental macro economic linkages.• Spearheaded reformation of group’s SWAT Team for executing tactical projects. Show less

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  David Tsai Photography

  Mar 2009 - Aug 2019

  Founder & Owner

  • Boosted revenue YOY by successfully forecasting social media trends, boosting competitive advantage.• Grew user base YOY by solving customer pain points and continuously improving customer experience.

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  P&D Studio

  Sept 2019 - Sept 2020

  Co-Founder, Product Manager, & Game Designer

  • Launched MVP game prototype via data-driven product management. (Unity 3D, C#, Game Design)• Spearheaded user persona analysis and Steam market research to cut product discovery and feature design time by 500%, shaving 3 months off production schedule. (Asana, Python, Agile/Scrum)• Increased UI navigability by 200% by conducting UX evaluations and iterating fast, easy-to-use UI. (Figma, UI/UX)• Cultivated global Discord community to better understand user experience, leveraging metrics to inform feature planning and prioritization, manage specifications, and maintain a living Product Requirements Document and Game Design Document.• Rallied team productivity by 200% by clearly communicating with cross-functional team of programmers, designers, and artists. Show less

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  Code in Place

  Apr 2023 - Jun 2023

  Section Leader (Stanford University)

  • Led weekly section of 15 students in Stanford University's "Code in Place" program, an international computer science Python course offered for free across the world with 650 volunteer teachers and 9,500 students.• Worked with Stanford computer science department staff to teach online version of Stanford's CS106A course ("Programming Methodology").