Chicago, IL · Software Engineer

Hi, I'm Zaara Javed.

I'm a senior at DePaul University studying Computer Science. I like building things across the stack, from backend infrastructure to applied AI and agents.

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01

About Me

Zaara Javed

I'm a senior at DePaul studying Computer Science with a concentration in Software Development. I work across full-stack development, backend infrastructure, and applied AI/agents. I'm always looking to learn and try new things!

Outside of code, I'm probably getting a matcha, at a concert, or trying a new restaurant. I am also the biggest Chicago lover ever, I am so proud to be born and raised here!

02

Education

DePaul University

B.S. Computer Science · Concentration in Software Development

GPA 3.9 / 4.0 Sept 2023 – Dec 2026

Relevant Coursework

  • Distributed Systems
  • Database Systems
  • Design & Analysis of Algorithms
  • Software Testing
  • Agile Software Development
  • Fundamentals of Information Assurance
  • Object-Oriented Enterprise Application Development
  • Computer Systems
  • Data Structures

03

Experience

Software Engineering Intern @ McDonald's

June 2026 – August 2026 · Chicago, IL
  • Developed backend and frontend enhancements for the Category Microservice within McDonald's Restaurant File Manager (RFM), supporting menu and restaurant configuration across ordering channels including Digital, POS, Kiosk, and the global mobile app (GMA) at the market and local level.
  • Contributed to the migration of the Category Microservice from Layered to Hexagonal Architecture, an ongoing initiative improving maintainability and scalability across existing and future ordering channels.
  • Refactored 95 files and 5,000+ lines of Java code as part of the architecture migration, restructuring core service logic without disrupting downstream consumers in UX and deployment.
  • Completed 8 refactoring tickets (17 story points), approximately 30% of tickets opened during the internship, collaborating through code reviews and Agile development.

Software & Security Engineer @ Millennium IT Solutions

June 2024 – August 2025 · Remote
  • Developed a Python-based network scanning tool to automate system checks, improving infrastructure reliability by 45%.
  • Debugged client-facing applications integrated with Azure threat detection modules and optimized ticket ingestion throughput by 25%, streamlining incident-handling workflows.

Software Engineering Intern @ Communify

May 2023 – August 2023 · Chicago, IL
  • Enhanced search functionality for an event management application using Algolia and built unit tests for the Flutter application, improving user experience by 30%.
  • Implemented real-time notifications with Firebase Cloud Functions to deliver event updates and alerts within the application.

04

Projects

ExaminerAI

AI-Powered Adaptive Assessment Platform

  • Led a 9-person team as Project Manager, coordinating sprints and authoring 200+ pages of documentation.
  • Built a student regrade system, a guardrailed AI exam chat assistant offering hint-only guidance, and adaptive difficulty logic that adjusts questions based on performance history.
  • Designed defensive LLM pipelines with Pydantic-enforced output and retry/fallback logic, plus SM-2 spaced-repetition flashcards and misconception-based remediation, with Together.ai powering question generation and grading.
FastAPIPostgreSQL / SupabaseTogether.aiPydantic
View on GitHub

Agentic Test Generation Platform

MCP-based autonomous testing agent

  • Extended a Spring Boot LLM chatbot with multi-session management, persistent history, and summarization; authored 25+ manual tests covering functional correctness and edge cases.
  • Collaborated on an MCP-based testing agent that autonomously generates, executes, and iterates on tests using JaCoCo coverage feedback to close gaps across multiple generations.
  • Integrated Git automation via MCP tooling to enforce a trunk-based workflow, keeping all agent-generated changes tracked, reviewable, and auditable.
JavaSpring BootMCPJaCoCoGit Automation
View on GitHub

IMC Prosperity Trading Competition

Global algorithmic trading competition

  • Developed a Python trading algorithm using statistical modeling and pandas, achieving a top 10% ranking in the global competition.
PythonPandasStatistical Modeling
View on GitHub

AWS Web App

Serverless cloud-native web application

  • Designed and deployed a serverless web application using AWS Amplify, Lambda, API Gateway, IAM, and DynamoDB.
  • Built RESTful APIs with API Gateway and Lambda functions to handle backend logic, and integrated DynamoDB for data persistence.
  • Used Amplify to host the frontend, managing permissions and access control with IAM roles, demonstrating end-to-end understanding of cloud-native app development.
AWS AmplifyLambdaAPI GatewayIAMDynamoDB
View on GitHub

Wildfire Tracker

Real-time wildfire monitoring app

  • Developed a React-based application that leverages real-time data from the NASA Open API to track and monitor wildfires, enhancing situational awareness.
  • Integrated the Google Maps API to dynamically visualize wildfire locations globally using precise coordinates.
  • Applied Iconify to generate a detailed, accessible data list of wildfire activity.
ReactNASA APIGoogle Maps APIIconify
View on GitHub

More on GitHub →

05

Skills

Languages

JavaPythonC/C++JavaScriptTypeScriptHTML/CSSSQL

Frameworks & Libraries

Spring BootReactNode.jsHibernateJPAJUnitpandas

Platforms & Tools

AWSAzureMySQLPostgreSQLGitDockerLinuxPostmanCI/CD

06

Let's Connect

Open to full-time software engineering roles. Feel free to reach out, I'd love to talk.

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