Kenneth Yung

About Kenneth Yung

Senior staff software engineer (backend) with 20+ years of experience designing and operating large‑scale, distributed systems across consumer platforms, e‑commerce, and mission‑critical applications.Deep background in search, data analytics, and high‑throughput services, with a track record of owning core backend systems from architecture through production and leading cross‑team initiatives.Enjoy turning ambiguous product and platform problems into simple, reliable solutions, and mentoring teams on system design, performance, and operational excellence.Specialties: backend development, distributed systems, large‑scale data processing, vertical search, computer networking, metrics & analytics, Python, Java, PHP, C++.

Experience

1. Senior Staff Software Engineer

   Houzz

   Sep 2011 — Present

   Led design and evolution of core backend services for a platform serving over 40M users and 2M home design professionals, with a focus on reliability, performance, and developer productivity.Owned critical services and data flows across growth, search, and marketplace experiences, driving architectural decisions and operational standards across teams.Collaborated with cross-functional teams to deliver new features and enhance system scalability and latency.Mentored engineers on backend and distributed system design, fostering a culture of excellence in code quality, productivity and operational standards.

Education

• UCLA

  Bachelor of Science, Computer Science and Engineering

  1998 — 2000

• UCLA

  Master of Science, Computer Science

  2001 — 2002