— a wanderer descends —

Ali Shahzad

Computer Engineering @ UWaterloo

I build software that holds up under pressure, and the tests that prove it.

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ExperienceForgotten Crossroads

Beem Solutions

May – Aug 2025

Software Engineering Intern (Forward-Deployed)

  • Adapted a B2B AI voice-agent platform to each client's workflow with Python integrations into their databases, CRMs, and scheduling tools.
  • Worked directly with client engineers and stakeholders to review codebases, gather requirements, and plan integrations.
  • Merged email, phone, and social interactions into unified customer profiles for the voice agents.

Python ◆ SQL ◆ AWS

Punjab IT Board (PITB)

Jun – Aug 2024

Mobile Development Intern

  • Halved app startup time by moving blocking initialization work to asynchronous operations.
  • Built and documented React Native screens with designers, wired to APIs, databases, and server components.
  • Wrote Laravel MVC backend code for apps handling national ID (CNIC) data; senior review found no security issues or bugs.

React Native ◆ Laravel

ProjectsThe Archives

Fraise

Browser workspace for training & testing language models

Launch training runs, compare checkpoints, and try models through streaming as-you-type autocomplete.

Validated forms, live loss charts and logs, and a graceful stop that saves a resumable checkpoint.

127-test suite, zero skips: exact checkpoint replay, compiled-model correctness, evaluation behaviour.

Python ◆ FastAPI ◆ JavaScript ◆ SSE

Shale

Local-first personal knowledge base

Captures notes, email, and browsing into searchable local storage with a plug-in system for new sources.

Chrome extension with an offline IndexedDB outbox and backoff retries that survive network loss and restarts.

Safe AI-agent edits: scoped views, transactional writes, idempotency keys, dry-run preview, audit log.

TypeScript ◆ React ◆ Bun ◆ SQLite

Deal or No Deal

Tested simulation & analysis CLI

Found, documented, and fixed three bugs in the original simulator.

Added 8 Rust and 26 Python tests, linting, an end-to-end demo, and Windows checks to CI.

Packaged an installable Python CLI for reproducible runs, plots, and model verification.

Rust ◆ Python ◆ GitHub Actions

watworks-mcp

MCP server that lets an agent find the WaterlooWorks jobs that suit you best

TypeScript ◆ MCP

lobot-lang

A toy language built on Brainfuck with real conveniences, running on a stack-based VM

Rust

uwhpc-onboarding

UW High Performance Computing onboarding challenge

C++

Skills & SchoolingThe Old Forge

Languages

TypeScript

JavaScript

Python

SQL

Rust

Applications

React

React Native

Laravel

FastAPI

Bun

SQLite

AWS

IndexedDB

Chrome extensions

Quality & Tools

Git

GitHub Actions

pytest

Cargo

Regression testing

CI

Root-cause analysis

University of Waterloo

BASc, Computer Engineering · 2026 – 2031

IB Diploma ◆ SAT 1600/1600 ◆ 100% Merit Scholarship