zacharytamas
/notes /cv
Side profile of Zachary looking to the left

Hi, I'm Zachary.

Summary

I'm a multidisciplinary problem solver with 20+ years' experience.

I craft digital solutions that are usually, but not always, on the Web and use modern tools with an emphasis on tool-building and efficiency.

In my career I have operated in several capacities around the craft of software engineering. I've worked on almost every layer of the web stack at some point in both junior and senior roles including architecting and leading projects.

Along the way I've helped teams and colleagues grow their skills through better documentation and my own personal style of mentorship, which is generally in the form of patient, individual teaching (with books/docs recommendations) based on my observations of their work. Usually these opportunities surface non-judgmentally and organically through code reviews. I also enjoy AV production so I've also made screencasts in the past for broader knowledge sharing or occasionally "lunch and learns".

Elsewhere
zacharytamas.comgithub.com/zacharytamaslinkedin.com/in/zacharytamasx.com/zacharytamas

Skills

Languages

TypeScript/JavaScriptHTML/CSSPythonGoJavaKotlinJavaScriptSwiftScala

Frameworks/Tools

Node.jsReactWebpackProtobufDjangoJestBazelReact Testing LibraryReact RouterMySQLAngularGulpAndroidiOSBrowser ExtensionsRollupReact NativeTanStackTailwindLangChain

Skills

GCPTerraformAWSLanguage Server ProtocolStatic AnalysisLLMsMentoringCryptographyAI AgentsInternet of ThingsHardware

Experience

Staff Full-Stack Software Consultant

The Thorough Company

2023 - Present
  • Worked with companies of various sizes to improve their software stacks and processes, especially in the context of modernizing in an increasingly AI-driven world.
  • Exploring and learning new technologies and approaches made available for software development, including AI Agents, blockchains, and more.
AI Agents Django HTML/CSS Hardware Internet of Things Jest LLMs LangChain Node.js Python React React Router Tailwind TanStack TypeScript/JavaScript

Senior Software Engineer (contract)

Google Checks

• Code Compliance
2023 - 2024
  • Built code analysis tools and IDE integrations (VSCode, IntelliJ, IDX etc.) utilizing conventional AST static analysis approaches mixed with LLM-enhanced approaches using Gemini.
  • Was the lead engineer on the initial implementation of the Go CLI tool used for on-device analysis, which was announced during the Google I/O 2024 Developer keynote.
Angular Bazel GCP Go HTML/CSS LLMs Language Server Protocol Protobuf Scala Static Analysis TypeScript/JavaScript

Staff Software Engineer (L6)

Block

• Platform Infrastructure Engineering
2020 - 2022
  • Built a platform using React, Node.js, and Go used by nearly all Block engineers to deploy, manage, and observe their services.
  • Coordinated with multiple teams at Block to build an extensible platform which could be improved or built atop by other teams.
  • Personally led the effort to migrate the UI library to a more adaptable system more aligned with the Block design system. Used and taught an AST transform approach to iteratively migrate safely.
AWS Go HTML/CSS Jest Language Server Protocol Mentoring Node.js React React Router React Testing Library Static Analysis Terraform TypeScript/JavaScript Webpack

Staff Software Engineer (L6)

Block

• Payments
2020
  • Worked on the payment gateway which would power the integration between Square and Cash App to allow users to use their Cash App wallets to at merchants using Square, both online and in-store on-device.
  • Assisted Square Web team with adding 3D Secure support to their SDK, following closely the industry standard specification.
Java Kotlin Protobuf Terraform TypeScript/JavaScript

Software Engineer II

Opendoor

• Home Operations
2018 - 2020
  • Was a founding member of the Atlanta office and Home Operations engineering group.
  • Built internal tools used by Opendoor employees and their partners to manage everything that happens between Opendoor purchasing a home and finding a new owner for that home.
  • Used a variety of technologies to achieve the goals of the project, including Node.js, React, and React Native.
AWS HTML/CSS Jest Node.js React React Native React Testing Library TypeScript/JavaScript Webpack

Web Application Developer (contract)

Google Fiber

• Training
2017 - 2018
  • Built and managed an alternate environment of the Google Fiber customer portal which CSRs could use for practicing customer interactions in a safe, interactive training environment.
  • Used a variety of technologies to achieve the goals of the project, including React, Node.js, and GCP.
Angular Bazel GCP HTML/CSS Node.js Protobuf Python React Rollup TypeScript/JavaScript Webpack

Full-Stack Software Consultant

Independent Consultant

2016 - 2017
  • Built a multi-platform privacy-focused software suite: a browser extension, a mobile app, and a serverless backend.
  • Used a variety of technologies to achieve the goals of the project, including modern cryptographic primitives, React, Node.js, Swift, and Java/Kotlin.
Android Browser Extensions Cryptography HTML/CSS Java Kotlin Node.js React Swift TypeScript/JavaScript iOS

Web Application Developer (contract)

Google

• People Operations
2014 - 2016
  • Was engineering lead for a training tool used ultimately by every "Noogler" at Google to identify their incoming skills and knowledge and to help them learn how to be effective at Google.
  • The platform also played a key role in the onboarding process of data center employees who needed to be especially trained on Google's security policies and procedures.
  • Used a variety of technologies to achieve the goals of the project, including Python/Django, GCP, and Polymer.
Bazel Django GCP HTML/CSS MySQL Protobuf Python TypeScript/JavaScript Webpack

Software Engineer

Cerner

• Lights On Network
2013 - 2014
  • Built a full-stack metrics/analytics dashboard using Django/Python, JavaScript, and an Oracle-based data warehouse.
  • The platform was used by medical personnel to track provider effectiveness with Cerner's EHR system and surface training opportunities.
  • The platform was also used by high-level executives at Cerner by providing them with software performance metrics which informed product development and could be used as a measure of customer experience.
Django Gulp HTML/CSS MySQL Node.js Python TypeScript/JavaScript Webpack

Full-Stack Software Consultant

Independent Consultant

2010 - 2013
  • Worked with a range of companies and industries developing custom software while attending the University of West Florida for Computer Science.
  • Built a custom financial advising software suite for a local financial advisor to license to other financial advisors.
  • Built a resilient task queue system for a client to effectively move terabytes of data between multiple IMAP servers.
  • During school, identified as a top performer by a CS professor and invited to work study in the CS department computer lab. Assisted Computer Science students with their coursework involving data structures, algorithms, and related topics.
Django HTML/CSS JavaScript Node.js Python