ms.mondrian

README.md



My name is Chao (pronunciation ‘ciao’). I go by the first four letter of my first name, Chaoyue. I am currently a Frontend Engineer at GitLab, specifically the Source Code group in the Create Stage. This README is my work portrait that tells you a little bit about the work me.

🖼️ About the handle

My first ever Javascript project, when I was in coding bootcamp, was a Mondrian generator. One of my friends who writes for films mentioned “ms.mondrian” would make a dope screen name. That has stuck with me ever since. My dream is to have someone paint their wall with a mondrian generated from my app.

🥳 Fun Facts


I am an only child.


I am a proud Chinese Canadian.


I am a software developer without a CS degree. I studied Communication Studies and Psychology. In 2025, my undergraduate thesis research Operand-order effects in single-digit multiplication and addition among Chinese-educated adults is published in the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology.


In a previous life, I planned B2B events for living.


I am a ENFJ.


POTTERY IS LIFE.


I am on a developmental professional dragonboat team (True North Leviathan) and spend a lot of time in the summer paddling (different from rowing).


I wrote a poem in Jan 2024 and I thought it was fun:

I wish us endless cool product feature dreams and the furious desire to realize some of them.

I wish us the eagle eyes to track down those bugs, before they make it to staging.

I wish us to respect the differences of ourselves, because the worth and virtues of each person often remain to be discovered.

I wish us at last to never give up the search for what work means for us holistically.

I wish us above all the comfort to show up as our true selves and the damn good vibe.


🥅 Goals:

1 year goal:

Get promoted to senior or on my way to there.
Long term goal (5 years+):

Currently I would like to explore the people management route as I really enjoy mentorship. I like to help people find their niche.

🦸🏻‍♀️ Superpowers


Communication: I am bias towards asychronous communication, especially given the nature of all remote culture at GitLab. I care and write technical documentations. I learn in public by sharing my learnings formally and informally.

Empathy: I develop a great sense of empathy through my undergraduate degree in communication & psychology and my past career as an event manager. I celebrate the diversity in points of views folks bring to the table, based on their own experience and expertise.

Humility: I once was told to take work seriously, not as myself. I believe, no matter how many years of experience one has on anything, there is always room for curiosity.


🙏 Weaknesses and how you can help me 😊


Patience: I am learning things that take time, especially the better ones. The best time could be now, but more often than not, it’s a bit later. Please help me to slow down and give space for others.

Overcommitting: I’ve got this feedback often. I am consciously prioritizing what I can do myself vs delegate. Please remind me to do this, if you see the chance to do so.

Low context communication: I'm bad at this. Please remind me to provide as much background as possible.


👠 Work Style

Dev Day to Day


I prioritize code reviews over my own work, unless I am putting out production fire. I follow conventional comments.
I use Git history a lot to find a person to unblock myself.
I choose boring solutions. I consider clever code harmful. In other words, readability for the win.
I aim to not be a bus factor on anything. Sharing is caring.
I do well and don’t mind them. But I want to spend most of my time, not being a glue.

Asynchronous vs Synchronous Communication


I default to ask questions and start conversations in public slack channels. I personally believe that it speeds up getting an answer while promoting inclusivity and transparency.
My ideal workday is a nice balance of individual head down time and synchronous collaboration with the team.
I prefer slack messages first and then in person/google meets/zoom/huddle chats so I can have context for our conversations.
I am a heavy emoji user. I would use emojis to say thank you or acknowledge I have read a message, instead of typing out a message.
I tend to need time to process information before providing answers.

Meetings


If possible, please avoid booking me on Mondays and Fridays as I like to leave out 2 days a week to be focus time only.
I care a lot about meeting hygiene.

I prefer to go to meetings with an agenda/ a list of things that we hope to achieve/ pre-reads / pre-work and a clear invite list.
I would like to see meetings open up with a clear understanding of what hope the outcomes will be.
After them, send out a meeting notes with action items and their owners.


Work Philosophy


Value excellent user experience for all, developer experience and build to last.
Productivity for me means spending time intentionally, effectively and enjoyable.
I am in the high growth period of my career so I want to do work that “set the bar high, just out of reach”, knowing there are people who would support me.
I thrive on improving the process so we can all work better together.
I find it’s hard to proceed when people stop caring.
I like my boundaries to be respected and I try my best to respect others’.
I like to push for repeated processes to get automated and templatize.
I operate with a bias for action.

Others


I like to be guided to find my own answers vs being fed directly what to do.
I tend to talk and think and can go on tangents. I am open to being told that I am running off-topic.
I believe one can’t listen when they talk or wait for their chance to speak.
I like to receive feedback on a timely basis and I LOVE them, positive or constructive. - I like to receive constructive feedback with potential discussion afterwards on how to do better.
I like to receive recognition/kudos publicly.
I love PEOPLE. Crowds energize me. Even though I am extremely extroverted, I need my me time too.


🤝 Preferred management style


For me, a good EM understands the role is very different from coding/ individual contributors. EM wears many many different hats. Some of these includes:

Coach
Cheerleader
Mentor
Party planner
Peacemaker
Shot caller
Speaker of the house
Notetaker
Project manager
Salesperson (sell the team to other stakeholders)


For me, A good EM knows everything is built on trust. Trusting the good people you hire can do the job and do a great job on their own and GET OUT OF THE WAY.
For me, A good EM is a Vulnerable leader. It’s the person who admits what they don’t know, apologizes publicly and understands “work is important, but it’s not one whole self”.
For me, A good EM understands the importance of 1:1s and uses them as opportunities for giving consistent and construtive feedback that is actionable and ongoing career conversations.
For me, A good EM act on the feedback received.
For me, A good EM reduce noise and distractions by sharing context at the right time for the relevant team members by identifying what's critical and making information accessible and open.