Terry Li

He/Him

Ex-Roblox Engineer | Backend APIs, Web Systems & Code Reviews

Columbia University
Roblox

Available Monday

Starting at 1:00 AM UTC

Coaching in English or Mandarin. From November 16, 2026: Monday-Friday 09:00-12:00, 13:00-18:00, and 19:00-22:00 (Asia/Shanghai, UTC+8). Weekends unavailable. Meal breaks: 12:00-13:00 and 18:00-19:00. These fixed UTC+8 hours also apply elsewhere in Asia. No new bookings November 11-14. Please check the calendar in your own time zone. Availability will be reviewed before my US return around January 20, 2027.

Questions?

You can start chatting with Terry before you get started.

Work with Terry

Backend API & Web Project Review
One 60-minute hands-on session to review a backend project, improve API design, debug code, or reason through performance and architecture trade-offs. Get specific feedback and a focused next-step plan. English or Mandarin.
$129

Protected by the Leland Experience Guarantee

About

I help students, career switchers, and working engineers prepare for software engineering interviews and turn ideas into practical AI projects. We focus on breaking down unfamiliar problems, writing clear code, explaining trade-offs, and building skills you can use independently. I'm Terry Li, with 8+ years of software engineering experience across Two Sigma, Addepar, Roblox, and DoorDash. I earned a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Tsinghua University and a master's degree in Computer Engineering from Columbia University. My background spans backend services, distributed systems, developer tooling, and data infrastructure in financial technology and gaming. I've also interviewed engineering candidates and mentored 40+ students and candidates across all my coaching areas. I also bring 3 years of experience in AI-assisted development and AI product building. I help learners use ChatGPT, Codex, and Cursor to scope projects, implement features, and review, debug, and test the results. Who I work with - Students and career switchers learning Python, data structures, and algorithm fundamentals. - New graduates and working engineers preparing for coding, system design, and behavioral interviews. - Experienced engineers improving how they explain project impact, architecture decisions, and technical trade-offs. - Learners and developers building projects and AI products with AI coding tools. How we work together We start with your current level, target role or project, and timeline. Sessions can include live coding, realistic mock interviews, code review, system design exercises, AI project guidance, or resume and project-story feedback. For beginners, I teach Python step by step through practical exercises, debugging, and problem decomposition. You'll leave with specific feedback and a manageable plan for what to practice or build next. My goal is to help you understand why a solution works and explain your thinking clearly. Coaching is available in English and Mandarin. Book a free intro call to discuss your goals and choose the most useful next step.

Terry also coaches for Software Engineering, Build with AI, Career Coaching, and Game Development. View all.

Terry’s Web Development Qualifications

Coaches professionally

Experience level: Associate

I bring 8 years of web development experience, with a focus on backend engineering: service design, APIs, data access, distributed systems, and performance. My broader engineering background includes Two Sigma, Roblox, Addepar, and DoorDash, and I have mentored 40+ students and candidates across all my coaching areas. I help aspiring developers strengthen their Python and programming foundations, understand how production web services fit together, debug code, and prepare for backend engineering interviews. Sessions can include project and code reviews, API design, and practice explaining implementation decisions and technical trade-offs. Coaching is available in English or Mandarin and is tailored to your current level and goals.

Terry can help with:

Backend Development

Skill Building

Technical Interview Prep

Web Development

Web Performance Optimization

Why do I coach?

My goal is to make software engineering preparation practical and approachable. I help learners turn uncertainty into a clear next step, whether that means writing their first Python function, improving a coding solution, or explaining a system design trade-off. I emphasize patient, hands-on practice, direct feedback, and the ability to reason independently so each session builds skills you can keep using.