katie zhu

I started at Medium as a product engineer in 2013. I transitioned into product management a little over a year after I joined. In this transition time, I balanced engineering and product in a hybrid role for a little while, before deciding I wanted to prioritize my growth in product and then took on the PM role full-time. During my time at Medium, I wore a variety of hats and did whatever it took to get the job done – whether it was building new features, helping my colleagues, fixing bugs (even as a PM to shepherd releases), meticulous tracking spreadsheets, writing high level vision documents and detailed product specs, or sketching with the engineering team if we didn't have a dedicated designer. I had the opportunity not only to lead product teams and ship features both big and small, but also contributed to the product and business at a high level, playing a part in shaping the overall strategy and direction for the company. As a Product Manager, I led cross-functional teams across Medium’s web, iOS and Android products, such as the Medium Partner Program, the initial subscription team, and exploratory projects to pioneer new content forms for the platform. I drove the vision, design and implementation of the Partner Program, audio, Series and native video, and magazine packages for themed editorial content. Other products I shipped include a shift in core content discovery to balance algorithmic recommendations with editorial voice and curation, a homepage redesign to reflect the new discovery model, improvements to Medium's world class editor, and responses (a core platform interaction). I was also responsible for the vision and execution of the initial Publications feature line, including custom domains and newsletters.

Rebuilt The Times' fashion runway app (from Flash to web).

Built full-stack, multiplatform web applications for interactive storytelling. Work comprised backend and frontend programming, wireframing, and deployment. Projects ranged from collaborations with shows like Morning Edition to NPR Music. Responsibilities varied widely, including data analysis and visualization, charts and infographics, audience engagement, and projects working with video, photography and sound.

Full stack development for upcoming launch of GOOD's new citizenship platform.

Continuing work with mobile website development, bug fixes and other small tasks.

Responsibilities include everything from the server side and database components to front-end HTML and CSS (with mobile development frameworks).

Worked on a team of trained consultants to provide support for classroom technology (computers and video conference software) through phone support, remote access and in-person assistance.

Member of the Groupscope project, assist with other administrative tasks in the lab as needed.

North by Northwestern is Northwestern University's only daily online newsmagazine of campus life, culture and entertainment. Started over the summer of 2006 as a channel for online journalism, NBN has quickly gained prominence as the best online newspaper at Northwestern. In three years, NBN has been awarded 32 Mark of Excellence awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the 2008 National Online Pacemaker Awards. Responsibilities: • Write articles for news, entertainment and opinion desks • Pitch story ideas at weekly meetings

North by Northwestern's print magazine was launched in spring 2008. The winter 2010 issue won the Society of Professional Journalists' Mark of Excellence award for "best student magazine." Responsibilities: • Pitch story ideas for the quarter's magazine • Conceive, lay out and design pages

North by Northwestern is Northwestern University's only daily online newsmagazine of campus life, culture and entertainment. Started over the summer of 2006 as a channel for online journalism, NBN has quickly gained prominence as the best online newspaper at Northwestern. In three years, NBN has been awarded 32 Mark of Excellence awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the 2008 National Online Pacemaker Awards. Responsibilities: • Conceive story pitches and overall direction for the features section • Manage a team of writers • Maintain a weekly budget • Editing, fact-checking as necessary

North by Northwestern is Northwestern University's only daily online newsmagazine of campus life, culture and entertainment. Started over the summer of 2006 as a channel for online journalism, NBN has quickly gained prominence as the best online newspaper at Northwestern. In three years, NBN has been awarded 32 Mark of Excellence awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the 2008 National Online Pacemaker Awards. Responsibilities: • Edit feature articles 1-2 times a week for grammar, structure, accuracy and overall flow • Attend weekly staff meetings for brainstorming and to pitch story ideas

North by Northwestern is Northwestern University’s best independent online publication, updated around the clock with stories about campus and culture. Started over the summer of 2006 as a channel for online journalism, NBN has quickly gained prominence as the best online newspaper at Northwestern. In three years, NBN has been awarded 32 Mark of Excellence awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the 2008 National Online Pacemaker Awards. Responsibilities: • Edit articles once a week for grammar, structure, accuracy and overall flow • Attend weekly staff meetings for brainstorming and to pitch story ideas • Write opinion articles at least once a week

nuAsian is Northwestern University's Asian American interest magazine and blog. The magazine covers on-campus cultural events as well as local, national and international issues of interest to the Asian American community, and aims to raise awareness of issues affecting the Asian American community and provide an outlet for discussion. The magazine is published once a quarter (three times a year) and is part of the Asian Pacific American Coalition at Northwestern. Responsibilities: • Recruiting and working with new writers • Recruit guest columnists • Assisting with magazine publicity • Editing, fact-checking as needed

nuAsian is Northwestern University's Asian American interest magazine and blog. The magazine covers on-campus cultural events as well as local, national and international issues of interest to the Asian American community, and aims to raise awareness of issues affecting the Asian American community and provide an outlet for discussion. The magazine is published once a quarter (three times a year) and is part of the Asian Pacific American Coalition at Northwestern. Responsibilities: • Brainstorm and pitch story ideas • Write articles ranging from shorter stories to feature-length pieces