Employee Spotlight: Emily Rosenkranz, Software Engineer
JP Arnaud-Marquez
·April 18, 2022
Emily Rosenkranz is originally from Brooklyn, New York, and today, she lives near the Jersey Shore working as a software engineer here at Loop. “I don’t come from a traditional tech background,” she said. “My bachelor’s is in English and I hold a master’s in Human Resources, so it’s been quite a career path.”
Upon graduating from college, she took on various marketing roles, but an underlying interest in coding continued nagging at her. “My interest in computers, and coding, presented itself from an early age,” she said. “When I got my first computer, I began learning HTML and CSS to build websites purely out of curiosity.”
When the opportunity arose, Emily enrolled in a part-time coding bootcamp, where she found interest in front-end development. “There was a lot I remembered from tinkering with computers as a kid,” she said. “I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed it.” And, a few years after graduating from her bootcamp, she joined Loop. “I’m an avid online shopper, who dislikes bad return experiences. The product market fit was obvious, and the team was incredible – I knew this would be a great place to work, and grow.”
The following is a transcript of an interview by JP Arnaud-Marquez, Loop’s principal content marketing manager. Some of the questions have been edited for brevity and clarity.
What would you say to someone interested in tech who perhaps has a similar, non-tech background?
That it’s never too late. Whether you join a coding bootcamp, or check out some free online courses, there are so many ways to get started. Don’t hesitate like I did.
My interest began in early middle school, and continued throughout high school. But, at the time, most developers were going to college for computer science degrees – which are math heavy, and I really dislike math – so that was the main deterrent for me. And don’t get me wrong, I loved studying English and working in marketing, but that calling to learn how to code and work in tech kept showing itself until I finally took a chance.
Software engineering, at least for me, provides such a satisfactory feeling. Being able to dream up something, write some stuff in a text editor, and have it actually work on the computer is a great feeling – even if that dream is just getting a button to take you from point A to point B. So if you’re even slightly interested in this space, I encourage you to try it out.
Today, there are so many different languages, libraries, and frameworks out there; combine that with the rise of online, flexible learning, and suddenly you have the option to choose an area to focus on that truly interests you. There’s going to be someone out there looking for that skill.
Again, it’s never too late to start a career in tech.
What does a day in the life as a software engineer at Loop look like? What keeps you coming back?
My days at Loop are spent working on components, tooling, and processes to support other developers, specifically on the front-end. I love making development processes simpler since it allows us to roll out new features faster while ensuring the platform is functioning well. The direct impact of making merchants successful, by making our developers successful, is energizing.
I’m currently working with a few engineers to upgrade our Customer Portal to a newer version of Vue, the framework we use, to make processes faster and more efficient. I’m also supporting some product design initiatives which are helping me gain insight into how customers use our products.
Even though we’re remote, we’re very collaborative here, which makes the job that much more satisfying. This is where a diverse, non-tech background comes into play, too.
As a software engineer, I’m not only working on code, but there’s often opportunities to collaborate with merchant success, sales representatives, and Loop leaders. Having different experiences allows me to better understand, and communicate with, other departments.
Software engineering at Loop is great because I get to work with so many talented developers, designers, product managers, and more. I’ve found Loopers to have a real “if you can dream it, you can do it” mentality which makes every week both challenging and exciting.
Interested in working at Loop? Check out our careers page here.
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