My name is Allen Cheung. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my wife and two kids, and I work in the software industry here in Silicon Valley. Welcome to my personal website and blog!
Professional
I have spent all of my professional career within the software industry in the Bay Area, some 18 years and counting. I’m drawn to fast-growing startups that face scaling challenges, and I’ve been fortunate to take part in the formative phases of some of these companies, particularly around the FinTech category. I’ve worked both as a full-stack software engineer and an engineering manager, though I’m now primarily focused on the latter.
I’m currently a VP of Engineering at Kiddom, building technology to help learners reach their potential. Previously, I ran Product, Design & Engineering teams at Mystery.org, and worked as a Senior Director of Software Engineering to improve financial products and systems for Affirm. I have previously worked within HealthTech at Counsyl, and before that for a number of years on merchant dashboards at Square when it was a private company; my other work experiences include stints at Google and FactSet Research Systems.
I really enjoy helping others succeed via coaching and mentorship, and volunteer as a mentor for engineering leads on the Plato platform.
Personal
I am very lucky to go home to two adorable children and a caring wife. Taking on the responsibilities of parenting have been immensely fulfilling—albeit challenging at times—and we have rediscovered much of our small town’s community as a family.
When I get some time to myself, I get in a few hours of video games, some reading, and I spend some time every week jotting down thoughts to post here. My actual hobbies are all over the place; I’ve gotten into mechanical watches recently, have always dabbled in photography, and assemble laser-cut wooden models of vehicles and buildings.
Archeological
I started allenc.com in 2011, initially to complement to my resume and establish an online presence of sorts. It has evolved to be a repository of weekly reactions and musings, hence the updated name in|retrospect. Blog topics range from my aforementioned hobbies to thoughts on engineering and management, in addition to my avid following of the tech industry at large.
This version of the site was updated in 2021. It runs on WordPress, using the Alia theme with a bunch of my customizations, hosted on Cloudways. I use a combination of Typora (macOS) and 1Writer (iOS) to write and edit my posts.