WWCode Podcast #18 — Alex Fox, Software Engineer, Warby Parker
Written by WWCode HQ
Women Who Code Podcast — Episode 18 | Available on: Spotify — iTunes — Stitcher — YouTube | Podcast Page
In this episode of the Women Who Code Podcast, WWCode NYC Lead Jesse Barnes interviews Warby Parker engineer Alex Fox, who discusses the path to professional happiness, the importance of challenges to growth in tech, and ways to continue developing in your career over time.
My name is Jesse Barnes, I’m a Full-stack Software Engineer. Alex is a product leader and Software Engineer with Warby Parker, as well as a speaker committed to building an inclusive tech community. She’s passionate about racial equity in Oakland. What a great background.
Can you tell us more about your journey, Alex?
I started working in San Francisco and started out my career in tech. I felt like Product was the thing to do. When I joined tech, it was seen as a way to influence an organization and a key in building products. I’ve always done freelance software engineering on the side. I actually enjoy doing coding a lot more than having meetings and doing other Product things. Recently, I have transitioned from Product Manager at my current company, Warby Parker, into a full-time Engineer.
Oh, that’s awesome. What do you like the most about coding, day-to-day?
I’m someone who likes to dive in and understand where I’m at and then figure out what is the best way for me to come up with a solution, or to solve a problem. Product was more hands-off. It was more big-picture and relying on engineers to do the implementation. I really enjoy the satisfaction of solving things, being able to work through an issue, or build something and seeing it run and come together. It feels really satisfying and fulfilling.
I’ve wondered which pathway to take in my career, and within the industry, if I want to go into management, or if I want to go into infrastructure. What is your advice to engineers like myself and others?
I highly encourage people to take time to figure out what areas they can really show up with their personal talents and gifts and have that match a need in a company, or a need in the industry. A lot of companies will pay for their employees to spend the time for development, learning new skills, and finding interests. I really encourage people to do this. If you’re exploring different areas that you haven’t before, it’s a good opportunity to take a class, or maybe advocate for a project that you might be interested in and see how it meshes with what you’re looking for, and what you enjoy.
We spoke a little before the interview, and something you said you wanted our audience, or women to know is to find a company that celebrates you, your intentions, your personal values. Can you tell me more about that?
This is so important. One thing that makes me sad is people unhappy in their jobs. They’re switching careers because they don’t feel valued or they don’t feel like their work is really aligning with either personal intention, goals, or values.
The key areas that I have discovered that make work more meaningful is one, do I feel like I’m working on a product, or do I feel like I’m working for a company that is doing something that I think is positive or impactful and is creating something new or valuable for whoever their customers are? And then two, am I working for people that I actually like to be around and respect and show up with and interact with every day.
When we start to understand the ways in which we want to show up in the world and use our talents to help be in service of others or to help build something that is going to have a positive impact on people, that can help direct you toward companies, opportunities, or teams where you’re going to really feel like, even if the work gets difficult or you’re having a hard day, you’re there for a reason.
Warby Parker is an eyewear company. Can you tell us more about the software engineering side?
People thought of Warby as a pioneer in direct-to-consumer, and that was also my impression. We are a direct-to-consumer brand, but we’re also a healthcare company. We also provide eye exams. We’re really focused on the question of how can we help people to see?
It’s exciting because there’s a lot of ways in which as an industry, not eye-wear, but e-commerce, commerce in general, there’s a lot of interplay between offline and online. Warby Parker, we have our websites, we have our retail stores, and we have our mobile app. How do we connect these experiences for customers and build ways that makes it easy for you to shop for eye-care, but also makes it easy for an optician to make an assessment and take care of your eye appointments? What’s been really cool for me, that I didn’t expect, was having an opportunity to rethink this critical piece of healthcare in this way.
Would you like to talk more about any technical projects at Warby Parker?
We launched our virtual vision test. We released an app recently where you can do a virtual vision test, where if your vision hasn’t really changed much, we can essentially extend your prescription or use your prescription until your next in-doctor visit.
Warby Parker is hiring, what is the process like for an engineer?
We are hiring. If there are people who are interested in working at Warby, they can reach out to me. I’m happy to chat about Warby Parker any time. Most of our available positions will be on our jobs page, it’s warbyparker.com/jobs. Definitely reach out to me if you do have questions, if there are women who are watching this interview and want to know more about a specific role or a specific team, otherwise, the process you can apply.
One thing I like about interviewing at Warby and something that I think we really emphasize in our interview process is, is this a good opportunity for this person as much as this person is going to fit in with our team? We think a lot about what types of projects you’ve worked on, what your goals are as well, more so than, can you do this arbitrary equation.
I also encourage people to reach out to somebody on the team. Message and ask them about a specific team and see what they’re looking for. I think a lot of times if people are ambitious and excited and energetic for a specific opportunity or role but they don’t meet all of the things that were listed, that’s fine. If you don’t have experience in a specific language, but you know front-end really well, you can learn, react or whatever it is pretty quickly.
What do you think Warby Parker’s culture is like? Can you give us a little insight?
When I joined Warby, I really felt like it was the first tech team I was a part of that really valued my sanity. My manager was very adamant about taking time off and vocal about, how is the role meeting your needs? As much as, how you are feeling in the role. That’s so important.
Another thing I’ve really appreciated is I’ve definitely worked on teams where I’m the only woman of color or even the only person of color. It can be really frustrating and difficult. One thing that I’ve appreciated about working at Warby is we by no means don’t have challenges of representation, but as a team, we’re very open about how we discuss and address and highlight where we could do better with hiring, with programs for employees, etcetera. The attitude is different. It’s one of more humility and of how we can make sure that we’re providing a culture and environment that supports and celebrates the inclusion of all our employees. That makes a big difference in feeling like you are valued and heard.
Where along your journey did you see a paradigm shift within yourself where you realized it’s not about what’s on your resume but going to work and being of service every day. Do you remember that shift?
It was a combination of seeing the difference between how I felt in situations where I didn’t feel like I was doing work that was impactful. When I was doing freelance software development, I felt like I had a lot more agency to choose who I worked with. I was like, “Okay, I only want to work with founders of color, I only want to work on projects that are serving, helping communities that I really care about.” Work doesn’t have to be a place where you feel unseen and you feel like you’re kind of a cog. Sometimes it’s work, but sometimes it can be really exciting and energizing and motivating.
