During my time at Google X, I learned far more than advanced numerical methods or large-scale PDE solvers. What shaped me most was the philosophy that Astro Teller often emphasized – “deal with the monkey first.” At X, people don’t shy away from the hardest problems; they run toward them. The culture encourages you to tackle the most uncertain and technically daunting challenge at the very beginning, because solving that unlocks everything else.
That mindset changed me. I learned to become someone who does not fear the hardest question in a project, but instead chooses to face it directly.
I joined a team working to invent what we hoped would become the future of chip technology. My role focused on designing high-performance PDE solvers to support next-generation chip design and optimization. Although the project was confidential at the time and I cannot disclose the technical details, the experience profoundly strengthened my confidence in taking on the most difficult parts of a problem and pushing through them.
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