Welcome!
Hi, I'm Zayn, a passionate software engineer currently studying Computer Science at The University of Southampton! I'm currently trying to figure out what area of backend development I want to specialise in, with my interests lying in making efficient systems for use in real-world problems, as well as to make things I find cool.
I'm also happy to say that I'll be working as a SWE intern at NatWest this summer! If you'd like to get in touch, feel free to reach out on any of the below:
CoLeague
Full-stack web-app for a live workplace league table with semantic analysis of Discord and GitHub data. Made for SotonHack 26'
Shuriken Showdown
Top-down 2D shooter made for my A-Level CS NEA, inspired by Enter the Gungeon and Binding of Isaac.
Locker
Reusable service for ensuring secure login and authorisation
My Personal Website
What you're on right now! Inspired by the aesthetic of retro JRPG menus (specifically the Final Fantasy series)
NatWest SWE Internship
I'll be interning at NatWest as an engineering intern this summer!
Education
University of Southampton
BSc in Computer Science- First Class Honours in 1st Year - Final Grade 75%
- Modules: Programming (1 & 2), Mathematics (1 & 2), Data Management, Computer Systems, Algorithmics, Networks and Security, COMP Laboratory Programme
- Technical report completed on the prospect of LLM-based transcription – Scored 70%
- Took on the lead role in a group project on technology in healthcare – Scored 80%
The Heathland School, Hounslow
Secondary Education- A-Levels: Computer Science (A*), Mathematics (A), Physics (A)
- GCSEs: 9 A* equivalent grades, one A equivalent grade, including A*s in Computer Science, Mathematics and English
Projects
Locker | Backend Authorisation Service
- Spring Boot framework implemented for user authorisation and safe data transfer
- Role Based Access Control and JSON Web Tokens utilised to secure registration and login
- Built to be versatile and reusable for future applications
- Crafted REST controllers to handle HTTP requests and responses
- Applied PostgreSQL DBMS for data storage with Flyway Migration handling schema changes
Shuriken Showdown | Twin-Stick Shooter
- A-Level NEA Project (Scored 91%)
- Integrated the Pygame library for pixel-by-pixel collision detection and game state management
- Application of Object-Oriented Paradigm's core concepts (abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism)
- Designed a locally stored leaderboard & login system via SQLite
CoLeague | SotonHack 2026
- Developed a workplace Fantasy Football Flask application with Discord and GitHub integration
- Crafted a dual-stream analysis engine using the Gemini API to quantify social sentiment from Discord logs and technical productivity from GitHub commit history to calculate user scores.
- Deployed on the Google Cloud Platform for higher scalability and capability for large userbases
- Implemented OAuth verification protocols for heightened security and smooth third-party synchronisation
- Dynamic generation of real-time AI-commentary scripts using Elevenlabs API and sentiment analysis data
Chess Fragments | MiniMax Chess Engine
- Developed a high-throughput Chess Agent utilising MiniMax, Alpha-Beta Pruning and Iterative Deepening Search
- Tactical use of bitboards and bitwise operations for highly-efficient storage, increasing reachable depth by 6+ plies
- Utilised Zobrist Hashing for a Transposition Table allowing for faster calculations using a memoization approach
Technical Skills
Programming Languages: Python, Java, C, Haskell
Database Management: SQLite, PostgreSQL, MongoDB
Frameworks: Pygame, Spring Boot, Flask, JavaFX
Developer Tools: Git, Docker, Maven, WireShark
Other: LaTeX