Former Meta tech lead shares how he went from DJ to coding before being laid off after 13 years

Henry Chen, a former Meta tech lead, has shared his career journey from being a DJ to becoming a software engineer after working at the company for over 13 years. Chen joined Facebook as a contractor in 2012 and later moved into a full-time engineering position. He was among the employees affected by Meta's latest round of job cuts on May 20, Business Insider reported.

Chen described his time at Facebook as mostly positive, but he noted that the workplace changed significantly after the major layoffs in late 2022 and early 2023. During this period, teams had more resources and freedom to pursue ambitious projects, but later, the emphasis shifted to "doing more with less." Chen also observed another shift, with the company placing greater emphasis on building products and projects.

Chen's return from paternity leave made the transition particularly challenging, as the organization he returned to was very different from the one he had left. Meta was increasingly using AI, and teams and leadership structures had changed. Chen was informed of his layoff on May 20, and he had been searching for a job before being laid off.

The latest layoffs were not entirely unexpected, as Meta had announced job cuts earlier. However, Chen was surprised that he was among those affected, despite believing his work was important to the company. He had started exploring other opportunities in the weeks before the layoffs, as growing uncertainty about his position prompted him to consider moving into a new phase of his career.

Chen had initially planned to pursue a career in education, but he left university before completing his degree for personal reasons. Instead, he began working as a DJ and eventually transitioned to AV engineering, where he developed skills in audio and video equipment. His background in this field helped him secure a contract position in Meta, where he worked on collaboration technologies for conference rooms.

Chen's programming skills developed over the years, leading him to teach himself Python and create a script that significantly reduced the time required to update conference room technology.

After four months away, Chen returned to Meta in late 2025 and was immediately struck by how much the organization had changed. Leadership had changed, and the emphasis had shifted towards building products and projects. Chen was laid off in May 2026, along with several of his colleagues. He had begun exploring job opportunities before being laid off, as his job had become increasingly uncertain due to Meta's evolving priorities and leadership changes. Despite being laid off, Chen remains optimistic about his future.