Cyan Yan
Chenxin Yan (aka Cyan) is a junior at NYU studying Computer Science and Philosophy. He is a full‑stack software engineer focused on building fast, reliable, and type‑safe web applications. He’s shipped production systems across startups and is an active contributor to the open‑source community. Outside of coding, he’s also a music producer and sound designer.
Background
2025
Dev Team Lead
2025
Dev Team Member
Why tech@nyu?
As a solo developer for a year, Tech@NYU is the community I wish I had when I first started. It’s one of the few places on campus where a large group of genuinely passionate builders can come together. I joined because I wanted to build and ship with people who really care, and to become a better software engineer through that process. Now, as a Dev Team Lead, Tech@NYU gives me the chance not only to keep building, but also to help other builders level up.
What do you look for in program members?
I look for people who are genuinely passionate and willing to go deep on the things they care about, whether that’s a technical problem or a niche interest. People with a proactive mindset, strong curiosity, and a desire to explore, build, and continuously sharpen their craft will thrive on the Dev Team here.
What do you do outside of work?
Outside of work, I spend my time making music and doing sound design, experimenting with all kinds of synthesizers and resampling techniques. I’m especially drawn to electronic music because it sits at the intersection of audio engineering, sound design, and songwriting, giving me a level of creative and technical control that’s hard to find in other genres.
Favorite tech@nyu event of all time?
It’s definitely the Dev Team final showcase.
What's your journey into software engineering?
I first got into coding in middle school, messing around and becoming fascinated by how you could build deterministic systems and the elegance behind that. That sense of clarity and control over complex behavior is what pulled me into software engineering and made it obvious this is what I wanted to do. Since then, I’ve gravitated toward startups where I can ship features end-to-end, learn fast, and see the impact of what I build.
What can you nerd out about?
I use neovim.
