CAROLINE DINH ✦

>> cd ~/technology >> cd ~/art >> cd ~/happenings >> cd ~/writing
>> ls ~/archive
>> cd ~/about


GAIAXUS (2024-PRESENT)

In my current position, I develop user-facing software for water quality monitoring devices at GaiaXus, a Germantown, Md.-based startup. As my first full-time position out of college, it has been a rewarding and challenging experience and I have learned a lot about environmental science, user interface design, and the field of educational technology.

As a multimedia technologist and former environmental educator in a small company, I take on many roles in the company. My work involves:

HCI & FULL-STACK DEVELOPMENT

When I first joined the company, the mobile app and web portal were used only by the engineers on the team and a small number of testers. I have since advanced the original prototypical interfaces into production-ready software, re-designing every screen to communicate with three additional sensor models and better present data and educational modules for classroom and citizen science users.

On the front-end, this work includes:

  • Designing high-fidelity user interface mockups for data collection, device management, and citizen science projects in Figma
  • Implementing new designs for mobile application and web portal with React Native, React, and Next.js
  • Introducing responsiveness to original tablet layout to make compatible with mobile phones and Chromebooks
  • Translating sensor calibration procedures from internal command-line interface to user-facing graphical modules
  • Coordinating with NECI scientists to integrate nitrate and phosphate calibration procedures into the mobile app

On the back-end, this work includes:

  • Optimizing usage of AWS Amplify, S3, and Lambda to reduce loading time of multimedia content from minutes to seconds
  • Developing relational data models for projects, labs (multimedia modules), lab results, and water quality data
  • Implementing data automation, ArcGIS integration, and API functions with AWS Lambda

And on the DevOps side, this work includes:

  • Managing the Android build and release process using Android Studio and the Google Play Store
  • Guiding a team of contractors to port our existing Android app into an iOS app on the App Store

WHAT I INHERITED: Built for engineers, not visual learners

WHAT I BUILT: Optimized searching, filtering, visual hierarchy, and graphing

GRAPHIC & MULTIMEDIA DESIGN

I have also had the opportunity to edit videos, create motion graphics, and re-design the company's website using Adobe Creative Suite and WordPress. Below are samples of multimedia work.

GAIAXUS.COM WEB DESIGN

Made with WordPress

INSTRUCTIONAL MOTION GRAPHICS

Made with Adobe Photoshop and After Effects

SALT MONITORING EXPERIMENT VIDEO

Made with Adobe Premiere Pro

PHOTOMETER INTRODUCTION VIDEO

Made with Adobe Premiere Pro



OUTREACH & EDUCATION

The "human" side of human-computer interaction, I have also facilitated outreach and engagement with members of the community, including having conversations with teachers and citizen science leaders, tabling at KID Museum in Bethesda, supervising a high school student's stormwater runoff simulation in the GaiaXus lab.

TOUCHING GRASS (WELL, WATER)

This is not just a software job --- this is a job that touches electronics and takes me outside! I am grateful to be working on a product whose primary impact is not in front of a screen, but out by the river or stream. The real-world impact of my work keeps me grounded and reminds me why I am here.