zacharytamas
Side profile of Zachary looking to the left

Hi, I'm Zachary.

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".

Skills

Languages

HTML/CSSTypeScript/JavaScriptPythonJavaGoKotlinJavaScriptScalaC/C++Swift

Frameworks/Tools

Node.jsReactWebpackProtobufDjangoJestBazelReact Testing LibraryReact RouterMySQLAngularGulpRollupReact NativeTanStackTailwindLangChainAndroidiOSBrowser Extensions

Skills

GCPTerraformAWSMentoringLanguage Server ProtocolStatic AnalysisLLMsAI AgentsInternet of ThingsHardwareTeachingData Structures and AlgorithmsCryptography

Experience

Staff Full-Stack Software Consultant

The Thorough Company

2023 - Present

Working with companies of various sizes to improve their software stacks and processes, especially in the context of modernizing in an increasingly AI-driven world. I excel at root cause analysis and finding the connections and patterns between things and hidden points of leverage that others often miss. 🧩

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

Google Checks

Code Compliance
2023 - 2024

I worked with the Google Checks team on code analysis tools and IDE integrations (VSCode, IntelliJ, IDX etc.) utilizing conventional AST static analysis approaches mixed with LLM-enhanced approaches using Gemini.

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

My team at Block built a platform used by nearly all Block engineers to deploy, manage, and observe their services. We coordinated with multiple teams at Block to build an extensible platform which could be improved or built atop by other teams.

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

My first team at Block, I 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.

Java Kotlin Protobuf Terraform TypeScript/JavaScript

Software Engineer II

Opendoor

Home Operations
2018 - 2020

I worked in the Home Operations engineering group building the 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.

AWS HTML/CSS Jest Node.js React React Native React Testing Library TypeScript/JavaScript Webpack

Web Application Developer (contract)

Google Fiber

Training
2017 - 2018

I worked on a team which built training tools for Google Fiber's customer service representatives. I 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.

Angular Bazel GCP HTML/CSS Node.js Protobuf Python React Rollup TypeScript/JavaScript Webpack

Full-Stack Software Consultant

Independent Consultant

2016 - 2017

Dispensed technical guidance and developed custom software for a range of companies and industries, particularly around the privacy and security industries. I was a main contributor to a multi-platform privacy-focused software suite.

Android Browser Extensions Cryptography HTML/CSS Java Kotlin Node.js React Swift TypeScript/JavaScript iOS

Web Application Developer (contract)

Google

People Operations
2014 - 2016

I worked on the People Operations team at Google, where we aspired to change the way learning is done at Google, to a world where learning software doesn't just help you learn, it learns about you to help you learn better.

Bazel Django GCP HTML/CSS MySQL Protobuf Python TypeScript/JavaScript Webpack

Software Engineer

Cerner

Lights On Network
2013 - 2014

Worked with the LightsOn team to create software to help medical personnel work more efficiently.

Django Gulp HTML/CSS MySQL Node.js Python TypeScript/JavaScript Webpack

Full-Stack Software Consultant

Independent Consultant

2010 - 2013

Dispensed technical guidance and developing custom software for a broad range of companies and industries.

Django HTML/CSS JavaScript Node.js Python

Computer Science Tutor

UWF

School of Sciences and Engineering
8/2011 - 12/2011

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.

C/C++ Data Structures and Algorithms HTML/CSS Java JavaScript Mentoring Teaching