In our second podcast episode, we sat down with Je Hyeon Baek, a multidisciplinary project coordinator now working at Zubatkin Owner Representation, a Cumming Group company.

Je's story is one of rethinking the role of design after architecture school, and learning how to thrive in a new space—one where relationships, coordination, and curiosity matter just as much as drawing skills.

From Design Studio to Military Barracks

While Je studying architecture at Cornell, he took a two-year break to complete his mandatory military service in South Korea. The experience exposed him to people and perspectives far beyond the design bubble—and helped him see life, career, and collaboration through a new lens.

“Living with people so different from me taught me how to interact, how to listen. That skill still holds true today.”

When he returned, the contrast between life inside the studio and life outside was impossible to ignore. His curiosity about what else was out there only deepened.

When Drawing Buildings Isn’t Enough

After graduation, Je joined KPF in New York, where he worked on high-end residential and hospitality projects. The scale was massive—his Miami tower project recently hit $800 million in sales—but he felt removed from the impact.

“I laid out every unit in that building. But I’ve never been to Miami. I wanted a more personal relationship with the projects I worked on.”

This desire to know the site, to connect with the place and people, sparked a quiet shift.

Coffee Chats, Side Classes, and Career Clarity

Rather than pivot dramatically, Je started small: taking evening real estate classes at NYU and reaching out to friends and mentors who had explored opportunities outside of traditional architectural practice. Through these conversations, he discovered the world of owner’s representation.

“I didn’t even know what a lot of job titles meant. The only way to figure it out was to talk to people—friends, colleagues, people doing what I was curious about.”

He now works as a project manager on educational and cultural developments, coordinating architects, engineers, contractors, and clients. His days range from budget reconciliations to site walks and troubleshooting building problems.

Why the Office Culture Matters Just as Much as the Work

Je credits his current sense of fulfillment not just to the projects, but to the supportive, collaborative office culture.

“When something goes wrong, no one’s blaming anyone. You sort it out. You learn. That’s not something I was used to—but it makes all the difference.”

For Je, this environment—one that celebrates learning and trust—has been a game-changer.

Advice for Young Designers Exploring What’s Next

Je doesn’t sugarcoat it: transitioning into new fields like development or project management can be hard without the right experience or degrees. But there are ways to start small: online classes, certificates, and reaching out to people in adjacent roles.

“You just have to talk to more people. You don’t lose anything by asking. Worst case? They ignore you. Best case? You learn something that opens a new door.”

Whether you’re happy in your current role or thinking about change, Je’s story is a reminder that careers don’t move in straight lines—and sometimes, the most important step is simply asking better questions.

Je is currently working on a range of cultural and educational projects across NYC, and continues to support young designers navigating their next steps in the AEC industry. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.

This article accompanies our second podcast episode featuring Je Hyeon Baek. You can listen to it here on Substack, or find us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In our first podcast episode, we sat down with Alexander "Alex" Kyaw, an interdisciplinary researcher bridging architecture and computer science at MIT.

When Alex arrived at Cornell for his undergraduate, he had barely heard of 3D printers and had never seen a laser cutter. Today, he's pioneering research at MIT that makes complex technologies like AI, VR, and robotics accessible to everyone. His journey offers great insights on navigating the intersection of design and technology.

Breaking Out of Prescribed Path

While his classmates followed the rigorous architecture curriculum at Cornell, Alex was fascinated by the technology that enabled design tools and filed petition after petition to take computer science and information science courses. His advice? If you want to do something interdisciplinary or unconventional, try to advocate for your case even if it might get denied.

"The rules and policies they set up work for the average [person], but if you need a catered path that you want to explore on your own, it's totally an option."

Alex’s quote extends far beyond getting departmental permissions — for anyone working across disciplines, you must get comfortable with navigating ambiguity. Walking the less trodden path can be highly rewarding, but you must have a clear goal in mind and be ready to tackle unexpected challenges along the way.

Finding Motivation Through Purpose

Working across fields means confronting an overwhelming amount of potential knowledge to acquire. Alex's solution? Start with the problem, not the technology.

"The hardest thing when going through a class or learning something new is if you don't know why you're learning it."

Rather than focusing on mastering specific technologies, Alex recommends a question-focused approach - identify problems you want to solve first, then learn the technical skills needed to address them.

Creating Accessible Technology with AI

Alex's most provocative insight concerns how AI is transforming design itself:

"AI is essentially undercutting a lot of the execution part of design. The role of designers will soon become going from ideas to output."

Where designers once spent years mastering technical skills—CAD modeling, rendering software, post-processing—AI tools are increasingly handling these execution elements. This shift liberates designers to focus on conceptual thinking and ideation, potentially democratizing design by removing technical barriers.

This vision resonates deeply with Alex's personal mission to create technologies that augment human capability. His current research focuses on making complex technologies like robotic arms more accessible to those without programming skills. In the past, he has built Curator AI, a platform that uses vision-language models and AR to help people furnish spaces with contextual product recommendations.

"Most of my projects are about designing in a more natural way," Alex explains. "Thinking about how we might bring a computer into the process without changing how we would normally design or make something.

The Courage to Stay on Course

Pursuing interdisciplinary research has made Alex highly comfortable with ambiguity, including uncertainty in his own future: "People often say, 'have a 5-year plan,' but I feel like maybe I have a direction of the work that I want to do, not exactly the stepping stones."

He has faced his fair share of rejections (broadly speaking, and especially very recently, as he was interviewing for internships in tech), and emphasizes the importance of knowing your worth rather than completely reinventing yourself after each setback:

"Every time you face a rejection, you feel like you have to do something different. But oftentimes, if you're changing every single time, you're spending a lot of time reinventing yourself."

While others might view rejection as a signal to transform themselves, Alex sees it differently. Not every rejection is a judgment on your worth—sometimes it’s simply a mismatch of timing, team, or context. It’s important to identify the reason behind the rejections, and stay true to the path you've fought so hard to create.

Alex's story reminds us that true innovation happens at the edges—where architecture meets computer science, where technical knowledge meets human-centered design, where ambition meets humility. It's in these tension points that we find not just new solutions, but new ways of seeing. As we navigate our own creative careers, perhaps the most powerful tool isn't a particular software or skill, but the confidence to stand in uncertainty, to advocate for unconventional paths, and to recognize that our unique perspective is precisely what makes our contribution valuable.

Alex Kyaw recently presented at TEDx Cornell on designing with AI, robotics, and AR, and will be working at Microsoft this summer on AI and human-computer interaction projects. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.