Fueling Your Passions in the Software Engineering Systems Program
Ashmiya VijayaChandran, MS’25, software engineering systems program, earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from the prestigious College of Engineering, Guindy, at Anna University. After graduation, she worked as a full-stack developer at Standard Chartered Bank (Fintech) for nearly three years. Realizing she wanted to advance her skills, she chose a master’s program that would help deepen her understanding of software and fuel her passions.
As part of a newly formed team, Ashmiya VijayaChandran had the opportunity to dive straight into large-scale projects and full-fledged development from the ground up, rather than focusing on smaller tasks. She reflects that while the work was challenging, that was exactly what she loved about it. The experience accelerated her learning, deepened her skills and fueled her passion for software engineering even further.
After several years in industry, VijayaChandran realized she wanted to take her skills to the next level and explore the more advanced side of software engineering. That motivation ultimately led her to pursue a master’s degree. Northeastern stood out for its strong co-op program and the way it balances rigorous academics with real-world experience. She was looking for a place where she could continue building innovative projects while also deepening her technical foundation, and Northeastern felt like the perfect fit.
Classroom Experience
The software engineering systems program really resonated with her, and courses like “Web Design and UX Engineering”, “Network Structures”, and “Cloud Computing” were particularly exciting because they aligned directly with the areas she wanted to develop. The hands-on, project-based approach allowed her to build on her previous experience while pushing into new technical areas. VijayaChandran credits the curriculum as being a perfect match for her career goals. Coming from a full-stack development background, she was eager to dive deeper into advanced topics such as cloud computing, database management and design and software design principles.
VijayaChandran shares that her favorite course was “Web Design and UX Engineering” with Professor Amuthan Arulraj. She particularly enjoyed the practical approach, as lectures were paired with hands-on labs. This made concepts like responsive design, user interactions and frontend architecture easier to grasp and directly apply to real projects. Frontend and web design have always been her passion, so this course resonated deeply with her. She excelled in the class, and Professor Arulraj recognized her performance by inviting her to serve as a graduate teaching assistant. This role gave VijayaChandran the opportunity to mentor other students while further honing her web development skills.
Co-op Experience
The co-op program has served as an invaluable bridge between classroom learning and real-world application. It allowed VijayaChandran to take the theories and techniques she learned in class and apply them to large-scale, real-world projects in industry. This experience not only showed her practical skills but also strengthened her confidence in solving complex problems and collaborating with cross-functional teams.
VijayaChandran secured her co-op at CrowdPlat in California as a full-stack developer. During her time there, she worked on two major projects; an “AI-powered LymeX platform for HHS” where She built the frontend from scratch using JavaScript/React and integrated AI/ML models (LLMs) to deliver advanced features. She collaborated closely with backend and data science teams, delivering solutions quickly while adhering to best coding practices, earning high appreciation from her team. The other project was an “Extensible Job Portal” where She developed both frontend and backend components and integrated AI-powered candidate matching algorithms into user-facing features. This enabled employers to find optimal candidates while maintaining clean, scalable and reusable code adaptable for different hiring workflows. She worked both independently and collaboratively, consistently delivering high-quality solutions recognized by her team.
VijayaChandran credits her co-op success to persistent effort and learning from setbacks. She highlights the guidance of her co-op advisor, Ariana Brody, as instrumental in refining her resume and strategically approaching opportunities that aligned with her career goals.
Projects and Innovations
Among VijayaChandran’s notable group projects was “locAll”, a platform designed to connect and support local communities. She contributed to both the frontend and backend, collaborating closely with her team to implement features efficiently. This project provided valuable experience in teamwork, version control and building a full-stack product that serves real users.
On an individual project, she developed “CloudGuard”, a cloud security monitoring tool using Google Cloud services. She designed the architecture, implemented cloud-based functionality and focused on robust security features. This project allowed her to explore cloud technologies independently while strengthening her problem-solving and full-stack development skills.
Every project came with challenges. For “locAll”, one challenge was designing features that would be intuitive and useful for a diverse set of community members. To address this, the team conducted informal user testing with peers, iterated on the UI/UX based on feedback and prioritized simplicity and accessibility in the design. This taught her the importance of user-centered design and iteration. For “CloudGuard”, as a solo project, the biggest challenge was creating secure and scalable cloud architecture on Google Cloud. She approached this by breaking the project into smaller milestones, researching best practices for cloud security and iterating quickly based on testing. Through this, she gained deep insights into self-driven problem-solving, planning, and technical research.
Outside of the Classroom
VijayaChandran also gained hands-on experience as a web application developer (research assistant) for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). There, she built a multi-level survey platform and a feedback dashboard with infographics. She was responsible for the design, development, and deployment of the application, ensuring it was scalable, user-friendly and visually insightful.
Future Perspective
VijayaChandran shares that her journey at Northeastern has been transformative. The combination of a hands-on curriculum, challenging projects and the co-op program allowed her to bridge the gap between theory and real-world application. This experience strengthened both her technical skills and problem-solving abilities, giving her the confidence to tackle complex software engineering challenges. Overall, it has prepared her to pursue advanced roles in full-stack, AI-integrated software development, and cloud solutions.
Looking ahead, she aspires to build scalable, innovative software solutions that make a tangible impact, particularly at the intersection of full-stack development and AI. In the long term, she aims to take on technical leadership roles where she can mentor teams, drive architecture decisions and contribute to products that solve real-world problems efficiently and intelligently.