Tianrun Qiu

He/Him/His
MSSM, 2027

This is how to say my name:

 

Why MSSM?

The AI era is fundamentally changing the software industry, shifting the bottleneck from technical side to product vision. I chose the CMU MSSM program because I want to cultivate a sharper product sense to navigate and lead this change. My goal is to become a product engineer who seamlessly blends technical execution with deep user understanding. Studying in Silicon Valley will also immerse me in the industry's rapid evolution, giving me the tools to design and engineer intuitive, AI-powered software that truly solves human problems.

Education

Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering with Highest Honors, Southern University of Science and Technology

Experience

Most recently, I was an AI product engineer intern at MetaGPT, a startup specializing in AI development platforms to enable vibe business. Concurrently, I have worked as an independent software developer for over six years, building productivity apps and maintaining open-source projects.

What career achievement are you most proud of?

I am most proud of developing and maintaining "wnr," an open-source, cross-platform productivity app, as I have navigated the entire software lifecycle independently, pushing over 80 versions and scaling the project to earn over 1,000 stars on GitHub.

What type of role are you looking to obtain after you graduate?

Upon graduation, I intend to pursue a role as a Product Engineer, a position where I can blend hands-on technical development with my product sense. As AI reshapes how software is built, I want to utilize AI-assisted workflows and autonomous agents to build efficiently and address complex user needs. Pairing my engineering background with the product principles from the MSSM program will allow me to design, build, and scale AI-native applications that solve real-world problems effectively.