Welcoming Cassio Zen, our new Software Engineer

We're excited to share that Cassio Zen is joining our software engineering team.

Cassio Zen has been a software engineer for the last 15 years. He has worked on a wide range of exciting projects, collaborated with open-source libraries, and written books. His most recent roles were at StackBlitz, Microsoft, and Google.

Here's more about him in his own words.

More about Cassio

How did you get into software?

I got my first computer as a kid in the 80's, and back then computers booted directly into the BASIC programming language interpreter — you essentially had to learn to code just to use a computer. I remember reading "BASIC for Kids" and carefully copying source code for small applications and games by hand from magazines.

In many ways, I didn't so much "get into" software as follow a natural progression: learning to code as a child eventually led me to become a software engineer, despite having studied an unrelated field in college.

Why are you at Resend?

I'm happiest as an engineer when what I build makes someone else's day easier, and Resend lets me do exactly that. I've kept an eye on the company since it started and have always been impressed by the polish and thoughtful touches.

When it came time for my next career step, Resend offered everything I was hoping to find: a product that matters, a culture that takes craft seriously, and colleagues who care as much about the small details as the big picture.

Where do you find #inspiration?

I find inspiration in music. There's something magical about how a song can completely shift my mood or spark an idea out of nowhere.

If you weren't programming, what would you be doing?

Cue the stereotypical software engineer hobby: I love electronics and 3D printing. I've built a couple gizmos and trinkets, including the keyboard I'm typing on right now.

What does your desktop/home screen look like?

Favorite tool?

Recently, I've been enjoying Raycast—a scriptable app launcher. It can be very convenient to use and fun to tweak and customize.

Favorite hotkey?

Alt+Space (Launches RayCast, refer to the previous question 😅)

Favorite place to visit?

San Diego. I love its perfect balance of beautiful beaches and city life.

Advice for ambitious software engineers?

Read code. Our roles often require us to write lots of code, but reading code is a great way to learn and improve.

Reading code exposes you to different architectural approaches that you might not discover on your own and broadens your perspective. Start with open-source codebases known for quality, and observe how experienced developers structure solutions to complex problems.