Software engineering
UNC Wilmington, class of 2028

I build software end to end, from a renderer's shaders to the installer someone double-clicks. Looking for a summer 2027 internship.

GabeAlvarado

Projects

Released

Python

sharkpad.net

SharkPad

A desktop app for taking notes, drawing, and capturing a lecture by voice, all at the same time.

I got the idea from a friend's organic chemistry class. He had to draw structures by hand while keeping up with everything the professor said. SharkPad lets you run voice dictation while you type notes and draw in the same window, so you don't have to pick one.

  • Designed, built, and shipped it solo, from the first prototype to public release. It has passed 100 downloads.
  • Added AI features through LLM API integration: voice dictation that runs alongside note-taking and drawing, and one-click summarization of your notes.
  • Packaged native Windows, macOS, and Linux builds in pure Python with no cross-platform framework. I handled each OS's packaging quirks, the release builds, and distribution through the website myself.

In progress

C++, OpenGL, GLSL

Source on GitHub

RunBun Sandbox

A real-time 3D model viewer and editor, built from scratch, heading toward shared multiplayer scenes.

  • Wrote a custom OpenGL rendering pipeline with GLSL shaders that renders the scene to a framebuffer shown inside a live, dockable viewport.
  • Imports FBX, glTF, and GLB through Assimp, with per-object textures, an object hierarchy, and transform controls for multi-object scenes.
  • Built a docked Dear ImGui editor with scene, objects, properties, and console panels, plus a first-person camera.
  • Designed the networking plan: a Scene Host holds the authoritative scene and syncs edits to clients as event-based deltas instead of resending the whole scene.

Built with GLFW, GLM, Assimp, Dear ImGui, MSYS2/MinGW

Completed

Ansible, Linux, SSH

With 45Drives

Enterprise Linux migration

Moved 45Drives' Windows-based work environment to Zorin OS Linux on a six-person team.

  • Ran configuration from a central Ansible control node that reached target machines over SSH and Tailscale.
  • Wrote playbooks that install the team's tools, create user accounts, and verify that each run leaves machines in the same state.
  • Helped build an idempotent setup: enrolling a new machine means adding it to the inventory and rerunning the playbook, with no manual setup.

Built with Ansible, YAML, Zorin OS, SSH, Tailscale

Experience

Aug 2026 to now

Wilmington, NC

Digital Maker Space Assistant

UNC Wilmington

  • Support students and faculty on 3D printers, laser cutters, and other fabrication tools.
  • Troubleshoot hardware and print failures, and walk people through design software.

Summer 2026: groundman at Asplundh Tree Expert Co. A different kind of tree traversal.

Education

Expected May 2028

Wilmington, NC

B.S. in Software Engineering

University of North Carolina Wilmington

Certificate

Spindale, NC

Programming and Game Design

Isothermal Community College

Skills

Languages

  • Python
  • C++
  • Rust
  • Java
  • SQL
  • JavaScript
  • HTML
  • CSS

AI-assisted development

  • Claude and Claude Code
  • OpenAI Codex
  • LLM API integration
  • Prompt design for agentic coding workflows

Graphics

  • OpenGL
  • GLSL
  • Assimp
  • Dear ImGui
  • GLFW
  • GLM

Infrastructure and tools

  • Ansible
  • Linux
  • SSH
  • Tailscale
  • Git
  • VS Code
  • PyCharm