Sonar Spotlight: Roger Chang
An Instagram photo of Roger taken by Katie. Thanks, Katie!
Hello there, Submariners! We hope you’re all enjoying the first few weeks of summer.
You’ve probably seen our Sonar Spotlights before, but this one is different. This interview is the first in a series that feature the fine folks on team Sonar - that’s right, the people behind the app you know and love! First up: engineer extraordinaire, Roger Chang.
Roger hails from New Jersey and graduated with a computer science degree from Rutgers. After working at Wired.com for 4 years, Roger came to Sonar.
So Roger, what exactly is it that you do at Sonar?
I started as a backend developer for Sonar but now I’m doing a lot of client stuff, including iPhone and Android development. I joined the team in December. So far so good.
Cool. For readers who are unfamiliar with tech lingo, backend developers work on programs that users don’t interact directly with, while client work is user-facing. Could you tell me a little bit more your past work with Wired.com?
Wired was my third gig coming out of college and one of my favorites. I worked with Paul Fisher, whom I work with now at Sonar (Paul is currently Sonar’s CTO). We were responsible for rebuilding the site from the ground up when it was bought from Lycos. Wired was different from my previous jobs because I got to interact with editors and web producers instead of just programmers. It helped me develop a non-tech-friendlier rhetoric. Being a tech-centric publication, we felt the need to be on the cutting edge of technology, which is what shaped my love of technology exploration today.
What are your interactions with Subby like outside of work?
Whenever I’m taking the train or subway somewhere – I’m usually in the city – I’ll open up Sonar and see if I know anyone. I’ve used the status feature to find friends and Sonar team members nearby. Maybe in the morning, I’ll change my status to “Getting a coffee” or something. It’s a good way to get your friends’ attention when you’re close by because the status is sent out to friends who are nearby.
The status feature is indeed very handy. Now, if you could have any superpower, what would it be?
I would love to fly. Asians can’t jump [laughs], so I’ve never experienced the feeling of flying. It’d be cool to be in the air with nothing to obstruct you, and you’d never have to deal with New York City traffic.
Sweet deal. Lastly, what’s your favorite part about working for Sonar?
I would say the dedication and the intelligence of the people I work with. They challenge me everyday to be better at what I do. Seeing their dedication and motivation motivates me as well. And the free food in the kitchen.
