About Me
Hey there, I am Klein. I am based in Oakland, CA. I currently work at Affirm, Inc. currently as an engineering manager for our Rewards team, previously as a tech lead for our Shopping team. Previously, I worked at Pandora as a software engineer on the automotive and consumer electronics team. I attended UC Berkeley, where I studied Cognitive Science and was an ASUC Senator.
I enjoy building apps that make a difference in the world.
My ultimate goal is to one day connect computers and social causes together. I believe that we can solve systemic problems in the world using computers.
Ever since I was 12 I have held the conviction that computer programming can fix institutional problems in our society. Throughout my life, I have explored a myriad of avenues on how to realize that conviction. I have several years of experience with this problem domain from my time organizing with activists, working as an elected official, volunteering on presidential campaign tech teams, and even studying this problem as an undergraduate researcher. You would think that after having devoted over half my life to the pursuit of understanding this problem I would get bored of it and move on, but it still wakes me up in the morning getting excited over what is next to come. Ultimately, I want to make the world a much more equitable place to live for my community. My name is Klein, a kid from East Oakland and a recent graduate from UC Berkeley disciplined in Cognitive Science.
My work experience can be summarized in three areas: social justice, computer science, and government. On the topic of social justice, I have worked with communities of color, women, and the queer community at Berkeley to build collective bargaining power, organize communities around causes, and fight for the change we believe in. On the topic of computer science, I have several years working in university labs tackling problems in data visualization and artificial intelligence, and how to apply these concepts to society. On the topic of government, I have used my previously-elected position as a senator at UC Berkeley to work on causes regarding open governance and educational inequity. Most recently, I was the lead organizer at Berkeley where our team of organizers rallied over 35,000 students around a very pivotal ballot proposition in California surrounding the future of public higher education, all on a budget of a few hundred dollars. I pride my work on being very intentional, ethical, and values-oriented.