About

Hi, I'm Tuan

I'm a Senior Software Engineer at NashTech in Hanoi, and what I'm best at is learning whatever the work needs next. That habit took me from barely knowing how to use a computer at 18 to front-end, then full-stack, and now AI engineering. I read for a few hours every day and share what I learn on Cẩm Nang AI.

667 words · about 3 min read

Tuan Tran Van standing by a lake

What I'm working on

Updated October 2026

Moving into AI engineering. This is my main focus: going from using AI tools to building with them, agents included, and learning where they really help.

Growing Cẩm Nang AI. I collect the best sources on AI and turn them into guides for Vietnamese readers. It is how I learn in public.

Bringing AI into my team's work. At NashTech I set up our AI development guidelines, and AI is now part of how we ship.

Reading, a lot. A few hours a day, mostly on AI, so I can keep up with how fast it changes.

Some history

  1. University

    PTIT

    • At 18 I had no interest in computer science. University wasn't my choice either. A friend picked PTIT (Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology) for me and I went along with it.
    • In my second year I started learning web development, and it turned into the career I have now.

  2. 2019 – 2021

    Blameo

    • Halfway through that year I got my first break: a web developer internship at Blameo, a startup founded by a senior from my university's IT club.
    • As a part-time front-end intern I worked on outsourced client projects in ReactJS, AngularJS, MobX, Redux, and Context API, and spent most of my hours on reusable UI components built to still make sense a year later.
    • I picked up the backend as well, in Node.js, Express.js, and NestJS, enough to carry a project end to end as a full-stack intern.

  3. 2021 – now

    NashTech

    • In September 2021, after almost three years, I left for NashTech, one of the largest global outsourcing companies in Vietnam. I hadn't graduated yet.
    • I joined NashTech as a Middle Software Engineer. My English was weak at the time, and it took deliberate work before I was comfortable on calls with clients abroad.
    • At NashTech I went deep on front-end: design principles, patterns, performance, and a habit of reading how things work under the hood instead of trusting the abstraction.
    • Promoted twice in four years, to Senior Software Engineer (Sub-level 2).

  4. 2026

    Cẩm Nang AI

    • Then AI coding tools got good enough to change how I work. I went back to the full stack, started building agents instead of only using them, and in 2026 shipped Cẩm Nang AI on my own. AI engineering is where I'm heading.

  5. Today

    Still learning

    • Today I'm still learning and still writing about it, usually from a coffee shop.

Outside work

I like

  • Cafe
  • Gym
  • Dogs
  • Billiards
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Winter
  • Traveling
  • Podcasts
  • Writing
  • Reading

My daily.dev card only counts one platform.

Tuan Tran Van's daily.dev card

Podcasts

I dream of

  • Traveling around the world. I haven't been abroad once.
  • Becoming fluent in English.
  • Being useful to people earlier in this industry than me, the way other people's writing was useful to me.
  • Being inspired, and inspiring people in turn.
  • A future that isn't gated by where someone was born or what their parents earned.
  • Treating people well without needing a reason.
  • Staying curious.
  • Getting better at this every year.

Fun facts

  1. I had no interest in computers at the start. My friend registered me for university.
  2. Staying at home all day makes me restless, so I work from coffee shops daily.
  3. My lowest university score was 0.63. I failed most subjects in my second year, second semester, and almost quit.
  4. I once needed four attempts to pass a single subject.
  5. I was terrified of English throughout school. I chose the same answer for every question on the national high school graduation exam and scored 5 out of 10.

Websites that help me grow

“I don't need to know everything, I just need to know where to find it when you need it.”

Albert Einstein