Kien Dang · lab notebook, vol. 2

Kien Dang

Software engineer, biochemist on paper. From undergrad wet labs to web platforms to hospital data, catalyzed by curiosity.

Toronto, Canada · est. 2018 · currently: frontend → data

contents  01 abstract · 02 materials & methods · 03 reaction pathway · A appendix · 04 correspondence

Kien Dang
fig. 0 — subject
C8H10N4O2 · primary catalyst
Abstract

An unconventional synthesis

I've built software that has to hold up in public: a sportsbook frontend under game‑day traffic at theScore Bet, enterprise admin tooling at Coveo, and now the pipelines that turn a hospital's EMR extracts into numbers clinicians act on.

The path here was unconventional: biochemistry at Waterloo, then a self‑taught pivot into software by way of automating Excel with VBA. Seven years on, the same restlessness is pulling me from frontend into data engineering, reasoning about trade‑offs across the whole stack.

AI tools are part of how I work day to day. Pairing with them lets me ship faster and refactor smarter, and the space I'm drawn to is bridging older systems, hospital records, legacy pipelines, with modern tooling, where there's still real friction worth untangling.

keywords: React · TypeScript · PySpark · Microsoft Fabric · developer experience · healthcare data

Materials & Methods

Specimens, catalogued by discipline

fig. 2 — tools in active use, ordered by acquisition

2.1

Frontend development

Interfaces that are fast, accessible, and pleasant to use.

  • TypeScript
  • React
  • Next.js
  • JavaScript
  • Node.js
  • Redux
  • Zustand
  • GraphQL
  • Tailwind
  • Apollo
  • Figma
2.2

Platform & reliability

Tooling, CI, and observability. Keeping teams fast and systems honest.

  • CircleCI
  • Vite
  • Docker
  • Datadog
  • Bugsnag
  • PostHog
  • Testing Library
  • Playwright
  • Git
2.3

Data engineering

Hospital data from EMR, MOH, and CIHI sources into unified analytics platforms.

  • MS Fabric
  • Power BI
  • SQL Server
  • PySpark
  • MEDITECH
  • Azure DevOps
Reaction Pathway

Biochemistry → software → data

fig. 3 — read top to bottom, substrate to product

  1. b.sc.

    Biochemistry · University of Waterloo

    Wet labs, assays, and the habit of writing everything down.

  2. self-taught pivot into software · activation energy: high

    2020 – 2023

    Software Developer · Coveo

    Built trial experiences and platform tooling for Coveo's Admin-UI with React, TypeScript, and Redux, supporting frontend teams across the organization.

  3. 2023 – 2025

    Software Developer · theScore

    Led initiatives that improved CI efficiency, test reliability, and application stability. Mentored developers, enhanced mobile usability, and built real-time observability with Datadog and Bugsnag.

  4. 2025 – 2026

    Software Developer · Penn Entertainment

    Joined via theScore's migration under the Penn umbrella. On the Sportsbook Experience team for ESPN BET's web platform (since rebranded theScore Bet): UI revamps, performance tuning, and feature delivery across the sportsbook web app.

  5. frontend → data engineering · catalyst: healthcare

    2025 – present — in progress

    Data Engineer · Collingwood General & Marine Hospital

    Transforming healthcare data from EMR, MOH, and CIHI sources into unified analytics platforms on Microsoft Fabric, supporting better patient outcomes.

Appendix

Side experiments

selected personal work · full record on GitHub

  • A.0

    [redacted]

    Quietly cooking up something at the intersection of data and craft. The shape of it will become clearer soon.

  • A.1

    Personal blog kiendang.me ↗

    Reflections on programming and Pomodoro-fueled learning sessions, since 2019.

  • A.2

    Canadian Recalls canadianrecalls.ca ↗ writeup ↗

    A better UX for Canadians checking product recalls.

  • A.3

    fuelwise fuelwise.app ↗

    AI-powered predictions for tomorrow's gas prices in Ontario, so drivers can time their fill-ups.

Correspondence

Open to interesting problems

replies typically within a day or two