Coworking: Julie Wang keeps the trains running on time

Coworking is a weekly segment where we spotlight Tech Brew readers who work with emerging technologies. Click here if you’d like a chance to be featured.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in tech?

We’re chopping up the freight train and making each container capable of routing itself from Point A to Point B. Why, you may ask? Intermodal freight—those shipping containers you see coming in on big boats—is overtaking bulk freight as the moneymaker, and this sort of traffic is typically going shorter distances in smaller batches. So it doesn’t make as much sense to build up one long train going across the country. By splitting the train up, we’re able to provide a better service and open up corridors where trains were losing business to trucks. Also, because of the modular architecture, we’re able to both electrify the vehicle and greatly reduce the stopping distance. Finally, by making them autonomous, now you have something akin to a self-routing packet on a network. It’s a safer, greener, and more flexible architecture.

What I’m doing is figuring out the self-driving bit. Our problem in some ways is much simpler than solving the full self-driving problem—we don’t make left or right turns, and the rail is a much more tightly controlled environment. But in other ways, it’s harder—our stopping distance is higher, requiring longer-range sensors, and we have to deal with an entirely different set of “roadside” signs and signals. There’s also a lot of work inherent in making a safety-critical vehicle—things like ensuring our processes don’t fail in unsafe ways and have the correct expected behavior. It’s an interconnected challenge that spans many disciplines of engineering.

What’s the most compelling tech project you’ve worked on, and why?

I’ve had the good fortune to work on a lot of really compelling tech projects. Right out of college, I joined SpaceX as a firmware engineer and got to see my code go to space as part of the vehicle flight computer, the telemetry recorder, the radio receiver, and more. I also worked on the fairing recovery project and rode a very fast boat with a very big net trying to catch a fairing. I also wrote code for the space lasers project. I didn’t think it could get cooler, but then I got into trains.

Rail has such a rich history. For example, the first transcontinental railroad was built more than 150 years ago and opened the American West. That same line is still owned and operated by Union Pacific. At the same time, we’re bringing the technologies of today—electric motors, modern controls, deep learning networks, ABS braking—to this hugely influential system. It is really a compelling juxtaposition of the past and the future: What could a railroad look like today, and what could it look like 20 years from now?

What technologies are you most optimistic about? Least? And why?

My first answer is I’m very optimistic about AI, but I notice a lot of responses talking about this, so my second answer is nuclear fusion. I don’t think it’ll be quick, and I don’t think it’ll be easy, but if we can get energy-positive nuclear fusion, then we unlock a huge capability as a species. With clean, infinite energy, we can start to explore really energy-intensive operations like carbon capture and desalination. And there would be no excuse for the continued use of fossil fuels.

I’m least optimistic about headset-based virtual reality (notably not augmented reality, which I think makes sense). I just struggle to see a future where we fully abandon our beautiful, tactile world for a complete digital one. In many ways, we already have a non-visual virtual reality—everything that happens on the internet is sort of a second reality. But I think humans will always need the in-person experience.

What’s the best tech-related media you read/watch/listen to?

I love a good blog by someone in tech. Some ones I’ve been enjoying recently are Lil’Log and Paul Graham’s essays. It’s like reading a textbook filtered through someone who has been working or learning in that space, and you get a little mix of humor and advice.

What’s something about you we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile?

Here’s a list, in no particular order: I love Halloween and learned to sew to create my own costumes. My favorites are a full-size Dune sandworm and a subtle yet playful octopus hoodie. I tried to brew my own kombucha during the pandemic but ended up with a large jar of rubbery mush. I am not lactose intolerant, which I feel is rare as an adult, but I am very sensitive to caffeine and really can’t have coffee. It’s a fair trade-off.

What do you think about when you’re not thinking about tech?

I am pretty obsessed with rock climbing. I started climbing outside back in 2016, and it’s been a passion of mine since. Last year, I was lucky enough to achieve a lifelong goal of climbing the Nose of El Capitan. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life—I remember being up there belaying one of my best friends and being overcome with tears by the sheer beauty and joy of it all. I’ve gotten to know such inspiring people and see such beautiful places through climbing—it’s something that I feel really grateful to have in my life.