:)

MS Physics, Software Engineer

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Résumé

Highlights

Physics: fluid dynamics, computational methods, teaching

Software dev: embedded systems, Scaled Agile

Languages: Python, C++, MATLAB, un poco Español

Other: Linux, Docker, communication, honesty

Check out my résumé above for the standard rundown, or delve as deep as you’d like in the interactive exposition below.

Summary
Work Experience
Education
Other/Extracurricular

As short as possible:

In my Physics education I was fascinated with the tools computational methods provide for solving the otherwise unsolvable, and in my work as a software engineer I have retained my curiosity while gaining an appreciation for security and safety in programming.

My professional experience includes interning at a hardware startup, lecturing at a state university, developing embedded applications for jet planes, and creating data analysis tools and pipelines for text logs and raw bytestreams.

My education includes a BS in Physics with minors in Optics and Mathematics, MS in Physics with a thesis in computational fluid dynamics, and taking over 300 hours of evening programming courses over two years while employed full time.

In teams I am a quick learner and adept teacher, always looking to reciprocate knowledge and improve communication. I am a strong proponent of admitting when one is wrong and not being afraid to fail. I believe a strong team is a diverse one, and I strive to use my privilege to elevate folks who are underrepresented and unappreciated, and to shut down discrimination. Trans rights are human rights and black lives matter.

Software Engineer, Boeing (January 2020 – March 2022)
St. Louis, MO

At Boeing I went from having nearly zero experience as a C++ software developer to being a key contributor in 2 years. In addition, due to my extensive previous Python experience I became the Python SME on my team.

Programmed C++ services for the DTPN, a real-time embedded system on the F/A-18, using in-house HW & OS isolation layers with support for Linux and VxWorks. I was the SME for several embedded services, as well as the primary coordinator of the Control Document (ICD, essentially an API) for my teams’ subsystem. I also performed bug fixes and helped implement features in other services.

Bootstrapped post-flight data analysis tools in Python with Pandas. Features included extracting and parsing logs, unpacking raw C++ structure data based on API documentation, and formatting output for developer and stakeholder presentation.

Other duties included creating software design documentation, assisting in requirements development, and supporting HW integration testing.

I joined Boeing at the start of a transition from Waterfall to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). I received training in SAFe for Teams, worked in a scrum team that averaged 7 developers, and utilized the Atlassian suite of products and other in-house tools to track work.

I saw the Agile Release Train (ART) transition from being one Train of over 500 heads to an ART of ARTs organized by value streams.

I also participated in Software Requirements writing workshops, led and assisted in two Subject Knowledge Transfer workshops and attended many more.

Lecturing at SFSU (Fall 2015 – Spring 2019)
San Francisco, CA

While working on my Masters in Physics I was a Graduate Teaching Associate, and then I spent a semester as a Lecturer while my wife finished her Math Masters thesis.

Taught conceptual physics (Phys 101) to 140 students, taught one section of and co-coordinated all five sections of the optics & thermodynamics laboratory course (Phys 242).

I taught a total of 11 sections of undergraduate laboratory courses from:

  • Conceptual Physics (Phys 102)
  • General Physics (Phys 112)
  • Electricity & Magnetism (Phys 232)
  • Optics & Thermodynamics (Phys 242)
  • Intro Astronomy (Astr 116)

By Spring 2018 I was the resident expert for Phys 242 and worked closely with lecturers in coordinating curriculum tweaks.

Engineering Intern, SVXR (Summers 2013 and 2014)
San Jose, CA

I was the first intern at semiconductor hardware startup Silicon Valley X-Ray (SVXR) in 2013, and came back for more in 2014. SVXR was acquired by Bruker Nano in 2021.

In 2013 I bootstrapped a LabVIEW interface for an x-ray microscope, the central component of the prototype semiconductor device inspection tool at SVXR.

I served as the Intern Coordinator for 3 other interns, and developed image analysis routines for the x-ray microscope using Python and the OpenCV library. I was also the grill master for social gatherings.

SLU Programming Courses, through Boeing LTP
St. Louis, MO

While at Boeing I took 324 hours of courses in the evenings at Saint Louis University (SLU) through the Boeing Learning Together Program (LTP).

  • Software Design & Architecture Certificate – 7 classes, 16.2 CUs
    • Classes in C++, OOAD, UML, (micro)services, multithreading, and network programming
  • Containerization Certificate – 4 classes, 6.6 CUs
    • Classes in Docker and Kubernetes for developers and administrators
  • Non-certificate – 5 classes, 9.6 CUs
    • Classes in Linux, VxWorks, Python, and software testing

Graduate Student, SFSU (August 2015 – December 2018)
San Francisco, CA

Received my Masters in Physics with a thesis in computational fluid dynamics, taught undergraduate laboratory courses, and participated in student organizations promoting diversity in STEM. GPA of 3.60.

In my thesis, Application of thermal wind equations to the Jovian troposphere & stratosphere, under the supervision of my advisor, Dr. Joseph Barranco, I developed computational methods in MATLAB to numerically integrate differential equations from fluid mechanics using infrared temperature data of Jupiter’s atmosphere. For the last 8 months of the project I spent 1-2 days per week learning and collaborating at Dr. Phil Marcus’ Computational Fluid Dynamics Lab at UC Berkeley.

If you care about my experience beyond the GPA number, here are some fun anecdotes:

  • I started out thinking I wanted to get into solid state physics, but found my place in Computational Physics in Spring 2016. I also got married that summer. Then the election ruined the year.
  • Don’t ask me about cosmology; it gets me all existential and depressed. There’s some really cool physics involved, though.
  • I got the highest final exam score in Jackson Electrodynamics (in the first, and the only required, semester on the book), with a class size of about 15. If you know Jackson, you know.
  • Statistical mechanics sure has some wild math, and that’s saying something next to Jackson Electrodynamics, but renormalization? Don’t ask me about this one, either.

Student, Calvin University (2011 – 2015)
Grand Rapids, MI

Graduated with a BS in Physics and minors in Optics and Mathematics. Performed research in stelar Astronomy. Worked as a TA for laboratory classes. Went on a month long tour in the southwest, visiting astronomical observatories and Navajo landmarks. GPA of 3.40, last two years GPA of 3.62.

In the Summer of 2012 I was a Research Fellow under Dr. Larry Molnar at Calvin. I analyzed image data from the Calvin University Observatory and other sky surveys to find contact binary stars, then used software tools to determine their type and model the systems.

I assisted in teaching and grading the laboratory sections for Mechanics & Gravity, Electricity & Magnetism, and General Physics.

Homemaker, Home Server Admin

In 2022 I have kept busy as a househusband, hobby sysadmin, homebrewer, and coffee roaster.

This website is served from a computer running Ubuntu Server with a 48 TB ZFS pool (6 x 8 TB striped mirrors, 24 TB usable space) in my home office. Beyond this site, I run (as of Feb. ’23) 23 always-on containers with Docker Compose, and I continue to tinker with new containers and technologies.

Services I run include Nginx Proxy Manager, Nextcloud, Wireguard VPN, Pi-Hole DNS, WordPress, and Umami web analytics.

I also run a Sagemath notebook server for my wife’s mathematics research.

Ask me why Docker sucks at IPv6.

Academic Extracurricular Activity

While at Calvin University and SFSU I participated in student organizations and other extracurricular activities, largely focused on celebrating and supporting underrepresented folks in STEM.

I was a member of the student organizations Mathematistas and Women In Physics And Astronomy (WIPAA), both of which strive to support and celebrate women and other gender minorities in STEM.

I attended the SACNAS National Diversity in STEM conference in 2017 and 2019, supporting my wife and friends in mathematics.

In my senior year I co-led the physics and astronomy student organization.

I participated in, and got to know my wife through, the Mega Menger Project, where we helped build a model of a 3D fractal called a Menger Sponge.

I served as a Multicultural Activities Coordinator for my dorm in my sophomore year.

I volunteered in an elementary student afterschool program my freshman and sophomore years through a partnership with my dorm.

4H Youth Development

Wayyy back in my teens I was very active in the 4H youth development program in Santa Clara County, where I held many leadership roles and participating in various projects. I never raised animals though, go figure ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I was a County All Star Ambassador for one year and a Club Leader for 2 years. I served in leadership roles at many summer camps and leadership conferences at the county and regional levels, and attended the California State Leadership Conference twice.

In 4H, Projects are like once or twice a month classes. I attended and co-led many projects, but some of the ones that stood out to me were Cooking & Baking, Game Development, and Household Electricity.

I entered competitions in public speaking, baking, and various other crafts at the county and regional levels, and gave back to the community through cleanup work, facilitating e-waste disposal, and volunteering in Habitat for Humanity projects.