Chris Tutor - Experience

Software Engineer Intern

Weibo, Sina Corporation

June 2025 – August 2025 — Beijing, China

I spent the summer in Beijing building an AI-driven auto-reply pipeline in Python, one of several running in parallel against millions of real Weibo posts. Most of the work was iteration: prompt and pipeline design went through weekly review cycles with the project manager and a cohort of fellow interns, and every round cut down another failure mode.

The part that stretched me most had nothing to do with code. Each week I co-authored technical reports in Mandarin, documenting what the pipeline got wrong and what we changed in response. Writing honestly about failure is hard enough in your first language.

Chris standing in the Weibo (Sina) office lobby in Beijing

Customer Service Representative

Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo

January 2024 – May 2025 — Palo Alto, CA

I led facility tours and answered whatever visitors threw at me, usually on the spot and usually with a crowd waiting. Between tours I worked with the rest of the staff in regular team meetings, aligning on initiatives and tracking how they were going.

The job taught me how to stay calm and think on my feet when people are waiting on an answer. I got comfortable being asked something I hadn't prepared for and working through it out loud instead of freezing.

Exhibit hall at the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo

Kindness Ambassador (Volunteer)

The Palo Alto Magical Bridge Foundation

May 2021 – June 2025 — Palo Alto, CA

Four years of weekends with Magical Bridge, a foundation that builds playgrounds and programs where everyone is actually included, not just accommodated. I started out attending community events and ended up running them: playground concerts, Super Family Sundays at the Junior Museum, culture nights, and field days. I also coached in the foundation's tennis program, running weekly practices and one-on-one sessions.

The best thing I learned there was how to improvise. When the usual approach doesn't land, you find a different way in. I use this all the time in my work and studies now.

Chris volunteering at a Magical Bridge Foundation event

Chris coaching tennis through the Magical Bridge Foundation