Q&A: Alli Kwon, Machine Learning Engineer, Perceptive Automata
Welcome to Perceptive Automata’s new Q&A series, where we’ll spotlight bright minds from our growing team of engineers. These team members are working on some of our most cutting edge tech — building, testing, and integrated Perceptive Automata’s State of Mind AI into autonomous vehicles.
First up is Alli Kwon, Machine Learning Engineer (and Ramen enthusiast)…
How were you introduced to machine learning? What in particular interested you about this discipline?
I graduated from Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. While I was there, I was exposed to many machine learning fields as part of my research work. The opportunity to do research in several labs gave me exposure to different fields of machine learning, including NLP and computer vision. I found myself more and more drawn to these areas as I realized their potential for real, global impact — and, ultimately, I decided to continue down this path in my career. Perceptive Automata has been a perfect bridge from academia to industry for exactly this reason. I get to do the thing I love most with a great team of people that are all working towards the same goal.
Tell us about a typical workday at Perceptive.
I’ve got a healthy balance of meetings (roughly 25%) and development time (75%). On the dev side, my role includes scoping deliverables, writing code, and reviewing other team members’ code. Meetings include one-on-one’s, brainstorming sessions for new projects, and all-staff during which syncing on company goals. But, of course, we make time for breaks, too! Our team has lunch together almost every day — and we often go head-to-head in a game of Super Smash during lunch if we have the time.
What excites you most about coming to work every day?
Working with a team that’s incredibly intelligent, innovative, and supportive. We’re solving complex challenges for the AV industry and it’s important that the whole team is in lock-step. It might be clichéd, but I wake up every single morning excited to get to work, so I can tackle a problem and learn something new. You can also count me in for any chance I get to beat my coworkers in Super Smash!
What is the most challenging part of your job? The most rewarding?
The biggest challenge is also what makes my job most exciting — the pace of change at Perceptive and within the AV industry. Our team is growing rapidly and we are part of an industry that’s experiencing a dynamic evolution. As a developer, this means I’ve got to simultaneously be focused on the day’s tasks, but also looking ahead and be ready to pivot. Since we’re a small, tightly-knit team, we can adapt quickly and have processes for building towards future stages ahead in the development process. The most rewarding part of my job is without a doubt seeing my team’s work in action. There’s no better feeling than seeing one of our cars driving down the street knowing that my code was part of making that happen. And, then, to see our products go out to a customer or partner and solve for their challenge — that’s even better!
It’s a competitive hiring market for developers — especially ML engineers — what drew you to Perceptive?
I was one of the first non-executive hires, which I knew was a unique opportunity. It meant I’d get hands-on experience with a certain level of autonomy, but I’d also have direct access to and support from our founders. After two years, we’re now a team of 20+ working with some of the largest OEM’s to solve one of their biggest challenges: building smarter AV’s that better understand what people might do next so they can navigate safely and smoothly around pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists.
What advice would you give student engineers looking to pursue careers in machine learning?
My main advice would be to gain hands-on experience wherever possible — whether that’s hands-on projects, open-source projects, or joining a lab to see what intrigues you the most!
What are you reading, listening to, and/or watching right now?
I mostly listen to EDM or podcasts. My favorite podcasts right now are On Being, Pod Saves America, and How I Built This. Currently, I don’t have many shows I’m keeping up with, but I’m always watching cooking videos and travel vlogs.
If you could pick any superpower, what would you choose? (and why?)
Easy, teleportation. I’d love to be able to quickly and easily visit my family and friends — especially with most of my family being outside of the U.S.
If you could snap your fingers and be an expert at something, what would it be?
Speaking French, it’s a beautiful language. I’ve always tried and wanted to master it, but never did.
You can only eat one meal for the rest of your life….what is it?
Japanese ramen — am always on the lookout for my new favorite ramen place!
