ShipEngineer Spotlight: Mandy Hubbard

ShipEngineers is a regular series that highlights members of the ShipEngine team. See below to learn more about Mandy from our engineering team. Contact us anytime to speak to an expert about your business and its shipping needs.

What is your role at ShipEngine?

I work on our developer experience team building tools, documentation, and tutorials to help developers learn to integrate with ShipEngine. I also create automated tests to ensure that new features can be released with confidence.

What does your typical workday look like? 

My days vary based on the project I’m working on. Some days I’m writing documentation or blog posts for new features. Other days I’m writing automated tests to ensure new features work and don’t break any existing code. Regardless of the specific task, I’m always asking questions. Is this intuitive? Does it meet the needs of the developer? Does the documentation provide enough information? Should we include a code sample to make this feature easier to use? My job is to think about the developer who will be integrating with ShipEngine and make sure the product provides the best possible experience.

What tech do you get to work with? 

I mainly work in JavaScript/NodeJS. Our documentation site runs on NextJS. Creating new content involves using React and Markdown. When I’m writing automated tests, I get to work with Cypress and Jest.

How do you spend your free time? 

Most of my free time is spent in my yard. I really enjoy gardening, though I don’t grow vegetables. I love flowers but always plant things with beautiful leaves so that they are beautiful all the time, not just when they are blooming. My favorites are Canna Lilies, especially Cleopatra. The leaves are brown and green striped, and the blooms are yellow and red. I’ll be moving everything into the greenhouse for the winter! I also enjoy Kundalini yoga and try to practice daily. I have blended these two activities by creating a beautiful space in my backyard where I love to practice when the weather is nice.

What’s one feature of ShipEngine you want more users to discover? 

ShipEngine has a lot of great features, and you can integrate them into your own application. I am especially fond of the amazing rates you can get through all the Auctane products. I am a total geek! I create my own personal labels by calling the API directly via Postman and sending my husband the confirmation information in JSON format. If you aren’t quite as into APIs as I am, you can create your own personal labels using ShipBot!

How did you get into this type of work?

I kind of play two roles at ShipEngine, QA and developer experience, and I found them both by luck. I studied MIS at the University of Texas, where I had classes in all the business disciplines such as accounting, marketing, and management plus classes that taught me to write code and think like a developer. These skills aligned well with my personality and naturally led me to roles where I could bridge the gap between development and business. I’ve been working in QA most of my career and fell into developer experience/advocacy/evangelism once this role emerged in the software industry.

What did you want to be when you “grew up”?

That’s a tough question! The role of QA has changed so much since I started my career, and the developer experience role didn’t even exist. My goal is to continue to grow and change with the software industry. I’m also a Mom in Tech, and that role will be with me forever.

How long have you been working on ShipEngine?

Halloween 2021 was my 3-year anniversary! If you have never started a new job on Halloween, let me tell you it is quite an experience. I didn’t know who was themselves and who was a character.

What are you most excited about when it comes to the future of ShipEngine?

I’m excited about the ways Auctane is leveraging ShipEngine to offer new products and services to different types of customers. ShipBot is a newer application that allows customers to create USPS and UPS labels without having to sign up with USPS, UPS or ShipEngine. They simply enter their credit card information to pay for the label with so little effort or commitment. On the other end of the spectrum, ShipEngine will be offering a similar application that companies can white label as their own shipping solutions and integrate with their own e-commerce applications. I’m excited that ShipEngine is capable of powering these solutions.

Do you have any hidden talents?

I have mad rap skills! I won second place in our “Auctane Idol” competition with my rendition of Ice Ice Baby.

What is one of your proudest achievements?

My proudest achievement from a professional standpoint is earning my college degree. I am the first person on either side of my family to attend college. I paid for my education while working and carrying an impressive GPA. This taught me how to balance multiple responsibilities and not to let obstacles or limiting beliefs keep me from pursuing my dreams.