Open Book: Alex Martinez Jr, Software Engineering
Open Book is a series of interviews for you to get to know the incredible people of Opendoor. Meet Alex, whose unique career path led him to discover a passion for software engineering. Here’s how he’s bringing his experience to the Seller Engineering team while continuing his quest to learn and grow.
Hi Alex! We’re excited to talk with you today. You’ve had a unique career path — can you tell us about your background before joining Opendoor?
My personal motto is “choose what makes you happy,” so I love trying new things and meeting people with different life experiences. Before Opendoor, I studied chemistry at the University of California Santa Barbara, where I took a computer science class for fun and fell in love with code and coming up with solutions with my classmates. While I didn’t finish my degree, I had a feeling I would return to coding at some point in my life.
After leaving university, I took classes at a local community college and tried new roles that interested me. I became a mental health coach, helping people find their careers. The work was rewarding, but I realized I needed to start taking my own advice. I knew I wanted to work with a diverse group of people and needed a clear separation between work and life which led me to a casino dealer role. While I loved the people I got to meet, working nights and weekends took a toll on me. I needed a career that fit my life, didn’t require working with clients hands on and empowered me to bring my creative visions to life. That’s when I realized I wanted to be a software engineer.
How did you realize your dream of becoming a software engineer?
I started with baby steps: taking a $10 coding course through Udemy. After I realized this was the career for me, I went to a bootcamp called Springboard that helped me learn new technologies, the correct syntax for Javascript and how to collaborate with other engineers. There, I met a mentor who told me Opendoor was looking for apprentices, and he thought it would be a great opportunity for me. Having studied real estate at community college, I knew of Opendoor as a high-growth tech company and was immediately interested.
At the time, I was considering another full-time offer and knew the Opendoor apprenticeship was only six months — but I was drawn to the mission and modern technology stack. It turned out to be the right decision, because the apprenticeship was such a supportive and helpful experience. The best piece of advice I received during the apprenticeship program was, “Never be afraid to ask questions.” This approach gave me confidence as a new engineer at Opendoor — and I still talk to my mentor from the program regularly!
The best piece of advice I received during the apprenticeship program was, ‘Never be afraid to ask questions.’ This approach gave me confidence as a new engineer at Opendoor.
When you first joined Opendoor and began your career in engineering, did anything surprise you?
I had a misconception about what software engineers actually do — I always pictured them sitting alone in a room, building the product and hitting requirements. It’s actually never like that, as there’s so much collaboration with product designers and product managers.
I’ve also been able to use skills I built earlier in my career, like the empathy I developed as a casino dealer when managing frustrated customers. If someone files a bug ticket, it’s because they need my help and I want to be there for them. Opendoor also emphasizes mental wellness, so my experience as a mental health coach is helpful when talking with my teammates about managing workload and stress.
Tell us about your role and team. How have you made an impact?
I’m a software engineer on the Seller Engineering team, which means we work cross-functionally to ensure we’re building the best products possible — whether for internal team members, customers or agents. In my role, I help internal operators organize information, whether that’s adding a button, hosting data or building a test data API to make people’s lives easier. One teammate told me, “I’ve been at Opendoor for a few years now and never felt so empowered, because now I can see my work.” Knowing I can help my teammates do their best work is an incredible feeling!
If there’s something I want to learn or fix, I’m empowered to move forward. The first project I worked on was a text reminder feature, and I still remember how good it felt to see the first texts go out. At Opendoor, I’m never done learning. I grow my knowledge every day, and I’m fascinated by how tech is ever-changing. There’s always something new for me to think about or explore.
Can you tell us about a project you’re really proud of?
Earlier this year, we launched a new feature to our core selling experience: listing with Opendoor. With this option customers get the certainty of our cash offer — locked in for 60 days — and work with one of our local agents to list their home through the open MLS market. This gives them the opportunity to receive the best possible offer on their home.
Being an engineer at Opendoor is like being part of a startup, but with the resources of a larger company. No matter their role, everyone is encouraged to share their perspectives, offer suggestions and take ownership. For instance, listing with Opendoor is a fun product to work on because it’s continuously evolving. We’re constantly asking ourselves how we can make the product better for our customers. and I feel motivated when I hear stories about homeowners who were able to start their next chapter because of the work we’re doing. One story that sticks with me is a customer who needed to move across the country for a new job — he was navigating the complex process of buying and selling at the same time, and in different states no less! He received an offer on his current home, so he put an offer on a new home. However, the buyer for his original home fell through and he didn’t know what to do. But, Opendoor was there to help. We stepped in and bought his home so he could continue with his move. This is what motivates me to do the work I do everyday.
Being an engineer at Opendoor is like being part of a startup, but with resources of a larger company. No matter their role, everyone is encouraged to share their perspectives, offer suggestions and take ownership.
Do you have advice for people who want to chart a career like yours? You’ve done it beautifully!
I recommend exploring your interests before committing to a career. Take an affordable coding course before jumping into a bootcamp. Pick a language — I recommend Javascript because it’s universal — and try to build something through resources like the Odin Project or Colt Steele, who has some free resources on youtube. When you do sign up for a bootcamp, try to find one that has a job guarantee. If I didn’t find a job after six months of completing my bootcamp, the tuition was free. Beyond learning opportunities, do your best to gain real-world experience working on large codebases and contributing to an open source project like Hack for LA.
As you build your skillset, you’ll grow your confidence and community — which is equally important. At Opendoor, we try to be 1% better every day. Remember you can always do something different or choose to start a new chapter. Your life is entirely up to you.
Interested in joining our team? Opendoor is hiring across different teams. Check out our current open positions!
Want to learn more about working at Opendoor? Check out our Design and Business blogs.
