Rooted in Culture and Art, Rising in Tech: The Journey of Chloe Gao (Gao Xing)
Few people embody resilience, authenticity, and innovation quite like my dear friend, Chloe Gao (Gao Xing). A brilliant software engineer, Chloe combines technical expertise with a thoughtful and artistic spirit. From building cutting-edge SaaS solutions to embracing her Chinese heritage with pride, she is redefining excellence in tech. Her journey—from moving to a new country at 17 to forging her path in the industry—has inspired me at every step. Chloe reminds us that honoring your roots, following your passions, and embracing challenges are the keys to thriving. I’m so proud to share her story with the Tech She Secures community and to celebrate the incredible person I’m lucky to call my friend.
Journey and Background
I know you so well and am so proud to have an amazing friend like you. I’m excited for my readers to get to know the incredible person you are. Can you tell us a bit about your background and what inspired you to pursue a career in tech?
I was born and raised in Northwestern China to a family of an engineer dad and a dentist mom. I came to the States at 17 years old to pursue a bachelor degree in finance at University of Delaware. As anyone my age in China would tell you, studying was my first and only priority growing up. I didn’t have any idea of what I want to be or who I want to be after high school. I picked finance just because it was different from my parents’ careers (like a typical teenager disobeying the parents). I took a couple of computer science courses in my undergrad, which opened the door to tech for me. Not like the finance courses teaching me how to apply predefined formulas to solve problems, programming added a hint of creativity into formulas. The satisfaction after designing solutions to solve problems really made me fall in love with programming. So, for my master's degree, I picked Computer Information System (CIS) instead of finance. After graduating, I started my career at LexisNexis as an intern. I worked at a couple of small companies as a data analyst before getting promoted to data scientist at Equifax. I then transitioned to a full-stack developer building data science/AI driven solutions at a startup.
Tell us about the 'BADdest' challenge you’ve faced—the boldest, most authentic, and driven moment in your career or personal journey. How did it shape your outlook?
Studying abroad in the United States by myself when I was 17 years old is probably my ‘BADdest’ experience. I still remember the day when I left China. My parents sent me to Shanghai Pudong International Airport and I took the flight by myself with two huge international check-in luggages. As I arrived at my dorm, the reality came to me that I was in a different country with people around me speaking a totally different language which I understood only academically. Moving so far away for my college education was bold, but I knew if I wanted to earn my degree, I needed to be driven. Looking back, I am glad that I did it. I was young and fearless. I am thankful for the young me, the one who was bold, authentic, and driven, the one who brought a bright career to me, and the one who created today’s me. That experience taught me that sometimes in life we just need to be BAD and go for it.
Bridging Cultures, Building Innovations
You’re deeply proud of your Chinese heritage, which brings me so much happiness to know as someone who is proud of my own Pakistani culture and heritage. How has that pride shaped your personal and professional life?
Humbleness is one of the most important traits I learned through my Chinese heritage. As Confucius said “三人行，必有我师 (san ren xing, bi you wo shi)”, there is something to learn from almost anybody. Everyday, I am learning something new from my colleagues and my family. It could be an easy trick about an integrated development environment from a colleague; it could be a new library in a pull request; it could be an acronym about a product; it could also be an inspiring chat with a friend. I feel like the more I learn, the more I have to pass down to others. That is how I build a strong bond in teams and family.
You’ve also taught me so much about Chinese culture, language, and food (which I LOVE). It feels so nice to have someone who is as proud of their ethnicity and wants to share about their culture and learn about other cultures as much as I am. I felt we bonded more just by learning about each other’s culture. How does embracing your culture help you approach challenges in a global and diverse tech environment?
I am sure the wisdom is around in other cultures teaching people methods of handling difficult situations that I just don’t know. But in China, there are a lot of great quotes passed down through generations. Thanks to my solid Chinese literary education (laugh), when dealing with challenging situations, remembering those quotes often helps make things under control. Lately, the phrase “兼听则明 (jian ting zhe ming)”, the beauty of listening, has been playing in my head to remind me that rather than jumping into action, we need to be able to listen, acknowledge, and embrace other opinions to arrive at the best solutions.
The Creative Engineer: Where Art Meets Algorithms
Your work as a software engineer, building SaaS solutions, requires both technical expertise and problem-solving. How do you channel creativity into your professional work?
Creativity is very essential to a software engineer in my point of view. SaaS solutions can be very sophisticated. My work requires software engineering skill, statistical knowledge, cloud experience, and AI familiarity. On my team, there are different challenges everyday. All of them are new and exciting, but also complex. Not a single text book answer, a stack overflow post, or even a ChatGPT prompt could overcome those challenges. Oftentimes, multiple areas of expertises are required. We, as software engineers, need to be able to creatively piece together all the knowledge to come up with the most optimal solutions.
What’s been the most exciting or challenging aspect of building these SaaS solutions?
To me, innovation is the most exciting and challenging part of building SaaS solutions. Given the fast-paced nature of SaaS solutions, we need to keep pushing the boundary of what our system is capable of. The satisfaction of solving one more complex problem, the joy of seeing my hard work being put to good use, and the opportunity to consistently learn and apply new technologies are all very thrilling.
In your experience building SaaS solutions, how do you strike a balance between innovation, user experience, and robust security? Additionally, what role do you see SaaS solutions playing in addressing the evolving challenges in cybersecurity?
From the engineering perspective, there are some common practices that we could follow, like never using hard coded credentials, not exposing deprecated APIs, and last but not least, being aware of how to use AI especially when it’s not licensed.
A Humble Visionary: Leading with Curiosity and Care
You’ve made incredible contributions to tech, yet you’re so humble about it. What keeps you grounded?
It’s not that I am being humble, rather I know that there is a lot that I don’t know. Working in tech has made me realize that there are so many smarter people and newer technologies out there, so I am constantly learning. Maybe that’s why I appear to be “grounded”. My Chinese heritage is probably another thing that keeps me grounded as you would often hear the elders say “talk less and do more; the achievements will speak for themselves.”
If you had to give yourself credit for one major accomplishment, what would it be?
I don’t think I have made any major accomplishments yet, but I hope one day there will be some. I live and learn. One thing that being in tech taught me is that if we want to improve, we will need to seek and embrace challenges. Whenever I could overcome a complex problem, I always felt so accomplished. And, the bonus is I acquire knowledge through the process.
How do you think diversity of thought and background impacts innovation in the tech space?
Personally, I think that’s the key to success. Everybody has their strong suits. But, nobody is perfect, and no one can provide solutions to every problem. I would say it is very important to spot everybody’s strengths and properly leverage them to accomplish goals.
Empowering Through Knowledge
How do you see yourself mentoring others or empowering the next generation of tech professionals?
Be assertive and be confident about yourself and do not be afraid to speak up! When solving problems, there could be many good solutions. Different people come with different solutions from different perspectives. When you are brainstorming for a solution, come together, listen to other people’s thoughts, but if you find you have a different opinion then don't be afraid to speak up. You may have the piece which everybody is missing but is the key to solve the puzzle. Again, there could be different solutions but as a team we can come up with the most suitable/optimal solution and that could be yours. Personally, I have always applied the approach of being confident in expressing my thoughts. I do not shy away from sharing my perspective and being vocal on why the solution I have in mind may be a better one. Don’t be afraid to speak up.
What advice would you give to aspiring software engineers, especially women or minorities breaking into the field?
Take a breath and dive right in! Work towards your goal. Whatever you set your mind to, go for it. Reach out to people who are already in the field for help. The worst thing they would say is no. But, If you don’t give it a try, the answer is no. If you are in a different major and want to get into tech, go talk to people who have the same experience, find online courses, and find the schools offering relevant majors. I changed my career to tech from finance. And, if I can do it, you definitely can too!
Taking Care of You: A Path to Thriving in Tech
I am always so fascinated by how creative and smart you are. Your nail art talent is on the next level. I wish I could be half as good! Tell us about it and how it reflects your personality. Do you think creativity in hobbies contributes to innovation in tech?
Chloe’s creativity knows no bounds—just look at her stunning nail art!
Yang Qian, the 2020 Summer Olympics sport shooter gold medal winner who graduated from Tsinghua University, inspired me. She was practicing nail art to improve her concentration and hand steadiness. I started learning nail arts for that reason and then pleasantly found out that nail art was therapeutic. Nail art gives me an outlet to embrace my creative side and focus on something that draws my attention out of the day to day stress. Being able to let my mind calm down fully also helped boost my productivity at work. It just made me a pleasant person who doesn't spread negativities to others.
You introduced me to the importance of skincare and self-care. Why do you think taking care of oneself is essential? How does your skincare routine or other self-care habits help you?
From my perspective, it is part of taking care of yourself. I wanted to be responsible for myself in every aspect. Taking care of my skin is the most obvious and easiest routine that I can keep up. And as a woman, I enjoy the skincare ritual. Before bed time or when ready for the day, this brief personal time puts me in a good state of mind and helps me be my best self.
Future of Tech and Personal Ambitions
SaaS solutions are transforming how businesses operate. What’s your vision for the future of SaaS, and where do you think the industry is headed?
With the rise of AI, everyone is racing to incorporate it into their products and services. Integrating AI for additional insights in products is crucial. From a strategic perspective, once AI is fully adopted, the differentiator between SaaS solutions will no longer be the ability to solve problems but the intuitive user experience and the capability of identifying the market’s needs faster. Meanwhile, like you mentioned in AI in 2025: Challenges, Opportunities, and Lessons from My Journey, we will be facing AI-powered security attacks, such as AI-driven phishing and social engineering. I think there will be other kinds of attacks leveraging AI that SaaS solutions need to be prepared for fighting in the future as well.
Lastly, what are your future goals and ambitions, both professionally and personally?
I would love to make more Bold.Authentic.Driven contributions to the industry! But, maybe one day, you will find me somewhere on a beach with my AI powdered nail salon.
Closing Reflections
Chloe isn’t just an inspiring software engineer; she’s one of the most incredible people I’ve had the privilege to know. She was the first friend I made when I moved to the U.S. for my master’s back in 2016—the very first person I met at our masters’ program orientation—and we’ve been friends ever since. Her kindness, drive, and thoughtful spirit continue to inspire me every day.
Her journey is a powerful reminder that boldness, humility, and staying true to yourself can take you far. I hope her story encourages you to embrace your roots, face challenges with courage, and never stop learning. I’m so proud of everything she’s accomplished and know this is just the beginning for her. I will always be cheering her on and can’t wait to see the amazing things she’ll achieve next, including, of course, booking the first appointment at her AI-powered nail salon!
Maliha
Disclaimer: The content on this blog and website reflects a combination of my personal experiences, perspectives, and insights, as well as interviews and contributions from other individuals. It does not represent the opinions, policies, or strategies of any organization I am currently affiliated with or have been affiliated with in the past. This platform serves as a personal space for sharing ideas, lessons learned, and meaningful reflections.
