Why I Work at Redfin: Kevin Lu, Developer - Redfin Real Estate News

Why I Work at Redfin: Kevin Lu, Developer

by
Updated on October 5th, 2020
Redfin developer Kevin Lu
Kevin with Luis Scott-Vargas, commonly known as LSV, at a Grand Prix tournament for professional and casual “Magic: The Gathering” players in Portland. LSV is a consummate pro; Kevin is more of a casual player.

It’s a good time to be a software developer. Tech companies compete for developers by offering everything from free lunches to cool offices and state-of-the-art tech. Redfin has all of these, plus sharp co-workers and affable managers. But, believe it or not, this is not why I chose Redfin.

For me, Redfin stands out because of our dedication to customer satisfaction and commitment to workplace diversity.

1. Redfin is 100 percent pro-customer.

Like a stereotypical  programmer, I have zero fashion sense. Therefore, shopping at the mall is my worst nightmare. I shop at stores like Nordstrom, because I can rely on the sales reps to pick out clothes for me and explain to me how it all comes together. They effortlessly take the stress out of my shopping experience.

Buying a home with Redfin feels exactly the same way. The dedication to customer satisfaction permeates throughout the company. Even as developers, my team and I can scrutinize and refine any feature that might annoy or frustrate our customers.

Our dedication to customers has a huge payoff. I work on a brand that people know and love. My family, my friends and even my doctor all bought houses using Redfin.

2. Redfin has a more gender-balanced engineering team.

After interviewing at other companies, I noticed that much of the software industry is heavily male dominated. Of the more than 50 engineers who interviewed me in person, only four of them were women. That’s less than 8 percent.

In Redfin’s Seattle office, our engineering workforce, which includes product managers and quality assurance engineers, is 26 percent women. That number goes up to 29 percent if you count our summer interns.

Why does it matter to me? Because I think diversity is important. Working with people who are different enables me to collaborate, gain new perspectives and grow as a person.

3. It all starts at the top.

Redfin’s values stem from our leadership team. They strongly believe in collaboration and fighting for homebuyers. As a result, everyone at Redfin treats one another with respect and works toward the same goal. Quite often, you can even catch one of the execs loading and unloading the dishwashers in the kitchen. It’s great to work where the management is this down to earth.

About Kevin Lu
Kevin is a software developer on the Commerce Team at Redfin. He loves deleting stale code and eating bagels in the office. During football season, he spends his Saturdays being disappointed by the California Golden Bears. The only thing he wants in life is a win against the Huskies.

This post is part of a series titled “Why I Work at Redfin.” Check out other posts in the series to learn more about what it’s like to work at a growing customer-first real estate brokerage. For more information on Redfin, and to check out open jobs at the company, visit Jobs at Redfin.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Be the first to see the latest real estate news:

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By submitting your email you agree to Redfin’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Scroll to Top