About
Hello there! My name is Zaina Qasim. I am an ambitious, highly-motivated, and excellence-driven Software Engineer who formally kick-started her career after graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science from the University of Cincinnati in May 2023.
Full-Stack Software Development & Machine Learning
Although I love all things code (yes, even Assembly and BASIC), I thrive on full-stack projects intertwined with machine learning.
- Degree: BS Computer Science
- Specialization: Intelligent Software Development (Data Science)
- YOE: Approximately 3 years (including full-time internships)
- City: St. Petersburg, FL
- Minor: Mathematics
- Industries: Automotive, Semiconductor Manufacturing, Telecommunications, IT Support
- Email: qasimza@mail.uc.edu
- Availability: Now
I thoroughly enjoy crafting intuitive client-facing interfaces as well as highly performant backend systems along with the necessary APIs to deliver the best possible digital experience to customers. Leveraging machine learning solutions to enhance user engagement and satisfaction adds another exciting layer of innovation for me to enjoy!
Education
I attended the University of Cincinnati from Aug 2018 until May 2023, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, a minor in Mathematics and a Specialization in Intelligent Software Development. In addition, I have also received certifications in Azure from Microsoft and Machine Learning from IBM.
Skills
My core competencies include Python, Go, Java, C++, SQL, Redis, MongoDb, ReactJS, SolidJS, TypeScript, Bash, Git, and Linux CLI tools. Additionally, I am familiar with Azure (Microsoft Certified), AWS(EC2), Machine Learning Algorithms, and Agile & Scrum Methodologies.
UI/UX Design and Development
Server-side Logic, Databases, and Cloud Computing
EDA, Regression, Classification, Neural Networks, and some NLP
Firmware, ASIC Verification and Validation
- Programming Languages: Python, Go, C++, Java, Matlab, LabView
- Web Development: HTML, CSS, Tailwind, ReactJS, JSON, XML, TypeScript, JavaScript, SolidJS, Electron, Flask, Django, Gin-Gonic
- Communication Protocols: REST, gRPC
- Cloud Technologies: AWS (EC2, Lambda), Azure (Micorsoft Certified)
- Database: SQL, MongoDB, Redis
- Version Control: Git, Perforce
- OS: Linux (Ubuntu, KaliLinux, Redhat), Windows, MacOS
- Machine Learning: Scikit-learn, Keras, PyTorch, TensorFlow
- Tools: Atlassian (Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket), MS Office (Excel, Powerpoint, Word)
- IDEs: Visual Studio, VS Code, PyCharm
- Containerization: Docker
- ASIC Libraries: Broadcom, TSMC
- Design and Wireframing: Figma, Adobe Creative Suite (XD, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop)
Experience
I have about three years of professional experience (including full time internships) working as a Software Engineer within both, early stage startups as well as establish corporates in the automitive, telecommuncations, semiconductor manufacturing and IT support (education) industries. Click the button below to download the summarized pdf version.
Blue Innovations Group
Software Development Engineer
St. Petersburg, FL
Jun 2023 - Feb 2024
Full-stack development in a dynamic, seed-level, electric boat startup founded by ex-Tesla executive. My role involved developing the HMI management software for their electric boats’ infotainment systems (similar to Tesla’s touchscreens). I collaborated with multi-disciplined senior engineers to deploy several full-stack features.
- Fine-tuned polynomial machine learning model for estimating the boat’s real-time range and runtime using sensor data aggregates. Rigorously tested for physical world scenarios, achieving accuracy of about 91%.
- Independently engineered a real-time, location-specific dashboard to provide intuitive visualizations for relevant weather phenomena. Detailed evaluation of APIs ensured 95% reliability despite budget constraints.
- Implemented both server-side (Go gin-goinc) and client-side (React, TypeScript) logic along with REST APIs for seamless transmission of over 20 different sensor and control signals between the boat control unit and the application user interface.
- Architectured system design for unit conversion to handle multiple data sources, data formats, and high-volume traffic with near-zero performance degradation.
- Ensured project quality via unit, integration, manual, and end-to-end tests using Vitest and Go testing packages.
Infinera Corporation
Software Engineering Intern - Firmware Team
San Jose, CA
Jan 2022 - Aug 2022
Two consecutive semesters with the Firmware Team at Infinera, a silicon-valley based semiconductor products manufacturing company. My role involved developing
- Utilized digital workflow management software, ServiceNow to create, and track tickets for IT-related issues.
- Assisted faculty and students with virus/spyware removal, software installation, and troubleshooting network connectivity issues.
- Set-up and maintaned lab/classroom maintenance multimedia equipment.
Software Engineering Intern - ASIC Team
Sunnyvale, CA
Remote (COVID)
Jan 2021 - Apr 2021
May 2020 - Aug 2020
Aug 2019 - Dec 2019
Three non-consecutive semesters with the ASIC Team at Infinera. My role involved working closely with senior engineers to develop software solutions for enhancing the ASIC Design, Verifcation (simulation) and Validation phases of the Atlantic and WAA400 projects.
- Significantly optimized chip validation workflow by automating test script generation and developing a System Verilog constraints parser. Saved 75+ hours of manual testing effort and increased test coverage by at least 20%.
- Optimized ASIC library analysis tool through multi-processing, reducing runtime from 2 hours to 2 minutes.
- Refactored post-route health check and hierarchy analyzer tools, reducing 300+ lines of code and 4 bugs.
- Boosted productivity across Infinera’s ASIC teams globally by delivering a full-stack scheduling platform for reserving emulation boards using Python Django, AdminLTE, and Apache.
- Delivered software for handling, testing and logging multi-level interrupts, ensuring system reliability and stability.
Lindner@IT, University of Cincinnati
IT Consultant
Cincinnati, OH
May 2019 - Aug 2019
Summer Internship with the IT Department at the Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati. My role was that of a Level 1 (L1) IT Support Technician for providing in-depth technical support in a variety of issues to university staff, faculty, and students. This included tasks like software installation and configuration, multimedia equipment setup and troubleshooting, virus/spyware removal, remote IT assistance, and service-request workflow management via ServiceNow. Notable achievements include:
- Developed a web scraper using Python's BeautifulSoup4 library to extract crucial printer data from the Wepa website. This enabled the IT Team to seamlessly integrate printer-related information, including ink levels, printer monitoring, paper availability, errors, etc., into their client-facing application utilized by professors and students.
- Setup over 120 computer workstations across three Lindner College of Business labs, including monitor mounting, OS, device driver, and software installation, and user permissions configuration for students, faculty, and IT staff.
Projects, Leadership, and Volunteering
During my free time, I enjoy working on personal projects. In college, I was heavily involved with on-campus organizations as the Meetings Chair for IEEE and the Treasurer for WiT. I participated in several competitions such as MHacks Beta 13 where my project won in 5 different categories! I am also a big believer in giving back to the community and have been volunteering with different organizations. My volunteer-work impact is valued at about $3800.
- All
- Projects
- Volunteering
- Leadership
Blogs
Discovering my Dream
Wow, it is true that time speeds up with age. I am already a pre-junior, midway through ny academic journey! It is amusing how my 5-year-old-self thought that a week of vacation was endless!
I began my sophomore year with a co-op at Infinera Corporation, CA. Nervous and not knowing what to expect, I was assigned a data-mining project to analyze ASIC cell libraries and frankly speaking, it was quite challenging. From learning all about different types of ASIC cells and library syntaxes, to making sure that my code was not just functional but also efficient, I had a lot on my plate. Moreover, I had to balance this with another project involving high level chip-testing which itself demanded a whole lot of learning and research!
But I’m not complaining; in fact, this co-op was one of the most enriching experiences this year. I discovered both my strengths and weakness – I found out that I was good at visualizing and organizing code, and critical thinking but I lacked confidence and needed to be more outspoken. I also realized that I should start planning for the future. Of course, I’d pursue a career related to my major, but the field is vast, and I wanted to pick a concentration – something specific that I’d be really good at.
The following semester, I worked on two goals – one was to figure out what I wanted to do in the future and the second was to overcome my timid personality. Since my freshman year was fairly easy, I challenged myself to 19 credit hours and also worked part time as a Teaching Assistant for the Engineering Design course at UC. Admittedly, this was quite the risk and it wasn’t just me who felt that I might be setting up myself for failure. But I’ve always believed that complacency leads to mediocrity (maybe I should add learning how to play basketball to the list of things I want to do next semester) and if I want to be really good at something I’d have to take on tougher challenges. And this decision definitely pushed me to my limits. Instead of trying to work on most projects by myself, I was forced to work in teams and divide the tasks and ask more questions during class. My job as TA also helped me become a much better communicator, since I was interacting with a diverse group of students, with varying skills and backgrounds. Before I realized, I’d grown more comfortable in expressing myself. In fact, during a discussion in one of my classes, I spoke up about my experiences in the US as international student. I didn’t think much of it at first, but it wasn’t until my professor reached out to tell me that I had a powerful voice did I realized that I had improved, and could even aspire to make a strength out of one of my weaknesses! Taking higher-level mathematics classes rekindled my passion for numbers and analysis. That combined with my previous experience in data mining made me discover the appeal of a career in data science.
If I had to start over, I wouldn't chose to do anything differently. I’ve learned and grown so much over the past few semesters, but there’s much more in store for next year – I’ll be taking much more advanced classes, I’m the Treasurer for WiT and the Meetings Chair for IEEE@UC, I have honors experiences to plan and look forward to, I hope to go an exchange program or get involved in research on campus! I’ll also be completing a minor in Mathematics! And I have found myself a career goal - l want to become a Data Scientist!
Contact
Feel free to reach out to me if you want to get to know me better, have any questions, requests or challenges for me to take on.
Location:
St. Petersburg, Florida
Email:
qasimza@mail.uc.edu
Call:
+1 513 739 4757