waterfall

So much to learn,

so little time

Academic settings feel like home to me, with a sense of wonder in learning something new. Math has always been my best subject, although my passion is for design and artistic creation— so I’ve tried to find ways to fold these together. Through classwork, research, professional experience, and volunteer opportunities, I aim to build, create, and tell stories.

Josiah Zacharias

Frontend Engineer and UX/Graphic Designer

MEADOWBROOK ·  SEATTLE, WA

Experience

2023 - 2024

Research Engineer

Meta

Working for Reality Labs on Project Aria, both to update frontend architecture and develop new models to train machine learning on 3D data. Ultimately the hope is to accelerate AI to engage more in how humans see.

2021 - 2022

UX Engineer

Microsoft

Updating the design system for MS Azure, SharePoint, Teams and more, including page authoring functionalities and publicly-consumable git repos with node packages, React, and Typescript.

2015 - 2021

Web Developer and Graphic Designer

Electric Pen

Creatively pushed boundaries of frontend with novel tech for non-profit and multinational clients, building trust through active listening. Incorporated psychology of design in all strategy to make complicated ideas approachable and digestible, learning new tools in for data visualization and organization

I also managed a bridge between design and engineering teams by knowing limits and possibilities of each, insisting on the highest standards. Through my self-enrichment, I helped create over $300k in new business offerings for the company with web development and email strategy / campaigns.

Versed in animation, illustration, UI / UX design & engineering, and researching new ways to provide exceptional visual solutions for clients

2013 - 2015

Laboratory Research Manager

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Expanded a high-functioning research environment and coordinated the creation of a $30k cell culture laboratory in three months. Also devised a novel 3D skin model to study cancer. Other duties included training PhD candidates, budgeting and fast-paced project management.

Volunteer & Leadership

2019 - 2020

Volunteer research/developer/designer on the EYE Team to provide immersive AR experiences for vision-disabled youth in the Native American community, working under Dr. Bill Erdly

2016 - Present

Photographer and woodworking volunteer at the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle

2014 - 2015

Docent and assistant animal caretaker at the Nashville Zoo

Education

2025 (exp)

Master of Computer Science and SWE

University of Washington

Study with emphasis in computer vision & graphics, cybersecurity, cloud-based services, and machine learning. 

Graduate Certificate in Software Design & Development (GPA 3.94)

Graduated in June 2020, accepted and transitioning into the UW Master of Computer Science and Software Engineering program thereafter. Relevant coursework — Data Structures and Object-Oriented Programming I and II, Systems Programming, Software Development Processes, Software Modeling Techniques, Software Testing and Quality

2016 - 2018

UX Certificate

School of Visual Concepts

Self-motivated interest to pursue design courses and understand the human psychology of layout and color to create better user experiences. Various classes including Typography, Graphic Design, UX/UI, Web Design, and Screen printing

2016 - 2018

Bachelor of Arts

Trinity College

Double-majored chemistry and biology in Honors program with emphasis in biomedical research; summa cum laude

Skills

Languages & Software

Adept in ReactJs, JavaScript / TypeScript, NodeJS, and HTML / CSS for versatile user interfaces. Trained on REST APIs and GraphQL microservices. Solid full-stack foundation in C++ and Java

UX/UI & Design

Proficient in Figma and Adobe Creative Suite (esp. Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects).
Methodologies to innovate ideas into elegant user experiences using the latest tools

Processes & Tools

Qualified in build automation and security pipelines for CI/CD (devops), code reviews, Jest unit testing frameworks, performance monitoring, and other software engineering processes

Interests

SRT rock climbing, guitar, piano, illustration, photography, exploring the new, and merging opposites like art and science.

The fun stuff

to round me out

If you thought my professional skills seem unpredictable, let’s talk hobbies. Passions, skills, vocations… at some point passions coalesce to produce new sparks of new ideas. 

Photography

I love to capture the world and show others. Lenses offer new perspectives and require focus to compose a scene. I experiment with moving photos, long exposure, and drone photography. I converge these skills in my overall pursuit of good design and desire to tell stories.

Travel & Exploration

Being born in a different country than where I grew up set the foundation for my life— to travel and experience all the world has to offer. Across four continents (so far) I’ve explored architecture, sought unfamiliar cuisine, rock-climbed into caves, and enriched myself with new culture.

Music

From living rooms to auditoriums, playing and performing music has been a part of me my entire life. Piano, percussion, and guitar are my focuses, but I aim to learn as many instruments as I can. Crossover from music to design and even computer science has fascinated me, as similarities appear in ways you wouldn’t expect.

Reading

Books are invaluable to me. I soak up classic fiction (Alexandre Dumas and Jules Verne being a couple of my favorites) and love falling into novels that whisk me away to a far off universe. I aim to enrich my mind with wisdom from the collective experience of humanity, studying philosophy, ecology, and psychology.