I’m Carter Kawaguchi, a Japanese American, avid concert‑goer, and language nerd (currently at 6.5 languages and counting). I'm currently pursuing a B.S. Computational Linguistics at USC, with minors in Business and Designing for Digital Experiences. That mix of language, systems, and business is where I find the problems I'm most passionate about: between how people communicate, how technology works, and how we turn that into products that build community.

I actually started college planning to be a software engineer. But after joining a creative services design club and co‑founding a startup through USC’s LavaLab incubator, I realized the work I loved most wasn’t just writing code—it was understanding users, defining the problem, and designing how a product should feel and function end‑to‑end.

Since then, I’ve leaned into product design and early product work: talking to users, mapping out flows, prototyping, and collaborating closely with engineers and stakeholders. I’m now steering my path toward roles at the intersection of product and design, owning the journey from problem discovery to shipped experience.

Right now, I’m focused on early‑career Product Management and Product Design roles where I can help teams understand users, shape product direction, and bring thoughtful experiences to life.