Eric Paguirigan is a photo editor on Zulily’s Studio team in Seattle. As a Filipino-American who grew up in a military family in Honolulu, he finds personal significance in celebrations of both Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month and Military Appreciation Month in May. Eric recently met with us to share more about his career journey and his experiences as a parent balancing the demands of work and family life.

Tell us about your life prior to joining Zulily.

I was a stay-at-home father for four years before Zulily. Prior to that I was a graphic designer and illustrator for the retail brand Tommy Bahama, based here in Seattle. In my early years after college, my brother had a graphic design company in Olympia, Wash. He lured me to come work for him with fancy business cards. So, I began my career as a graphic designer working for my brother before moving to Seattle, where my son was eventually born.

What inspired you to join Zulily?

I’m a parent, and my son is the most important thing to me. I really wanted to find a company that was flexible enough to accommodate my schedule and enable me to be there for my son. Zulily really impressed me with their focus on caring about families and encouraging working parents to join the team. I’ve been here for eight years now!

That’s great to hear! What would you say is your favorite thing about your job?

I’m a production photo editor, and my job is to prepare product images for Zulily.com. I take images shot by our in-house team or vendors and clean them up, resize, crop, and publish them on our site. Sometimes I combine multiple images when we have bundled items for sale. Photoshop is a vital tool I’ve used throughout my career, but in my current role, I use it in a different, more technical way. My favorite thing about my job is that it allows me to expand my skills and knowledge and develop additional competencies.

Can you tell us more about your family heritage?

I’m of Filipino descent and my parents are from the province of Ilocos Norte in the northern Philippines. We are "Ilocanos". My father served in the U.S. military, which allowed him and my mom to move to the U.S. They were stationed in multiple places and eventually ended up in Hawaii, where I was born and lived for 22 years. Before it became a state, my grandfathers worked on the sugarcane plantations in the Kingdom of Hawaii and my maternal grandmother was born there! Because of my parents’ experiences as immigrants, they really wanted my siblings and me to blend into American culture and chose not to teach us our native language--a regretful yet understandable decision.

You must be proud of what your father accomplished. What can you tell us about his military experience?

Yes, I am very proud of my father, who passed away about a year ago. When he was a young man in the Philippines, there was a program where men could enlist in the U.S. military and become American citizens. My father joined the U.S. Navy and served in the Vietnam War, where he was deployed three times. As an immigrant in the 1960s and 1970s, opportunities to move up in the ranks were limited. He served as a cook and took a lot of pride in his work. He was particularly proud that he was a much sought-after chef by the admirals, which my siblings and I always thought was endearingly quaint. I miss him very much.

We are sorry to hear of your loss. Before we wrap up, what’s something interesting people may not know about you?

As a creative person, I like to design and invent things. In a different life I probably would have been an industrial designer or mechanical engineer! Some things I’ve built are a custom stand up paddle board, a two wheeled all-terrain skateboard, and even a robotic hand.