Daniel Gerst
Pasadena, CA +1 (626) 710-8361 linkedin.com/in/daniel-gerst dgerst99@gmail.com
EDUCATION
Santa Cruz, CA
Computer Science, B.S.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Software Engineer I (Internship)
July 2024 – Sep 2024 | San Jose, CA
Codebase Analysis: Restored functionality to a critical internal dashboard used by senior leadership to monitor code quality metrics across multiple systems. The neglected codebase required comprehensive analysis, bug fixes, and documentation. Implemented automated database reset processes, enhanced error logging with intelligent email notifications, and removed deprecated code to optimize server resources. Integrated multiple enterprise tools including defect tracking systems, code analysis platforms, and CI/CD frameworks.
Production Environment Testing Infrastructure: Redesigned Jenkins-based Build Acceptance Test scripts used to certify software deployments to customer production environments. Created user-friendly dropdown interfaces for common deployment strategies (Deploy/Canary/Failover), developed Groovy automation scripts to eliminate manual configuration steps, promoting failure-resistant architecture. These improvements enabled seamless ownership transfer to support teams while maintaining deployment validation integrity.
System Integration & Architecture: Worked with enterprise-scale integrations including defect tracking systems, static code analysis tools, agile planning platforms, and automated testing frameworks. Gained experience with cloud infrastructure, container management, and production monitoring systems while supporting IoT team operations.
Impact: Restored critical visibility for senior leadership into code quality metrics, eliminated manual processes prone to human error, and created comprehensive documentation enabling future maintenance and development. Delivered solutions that improved operational efficiency and reduced system downtime risk across production environments.
Associate Engineer
Orbee, Inc. (Venture-backed Automotive Marketing Startup)
July 2022 – May 2023 | Remote
Developed back-end services using Ruby on Rails and AWS Lambda to asynchronously process and transfer large volumes of customer data to and from an outside organization. Adhered to internal standards for secure and compliant data handling.
Implemented Docker containers to streamline application deployment and ensure consistency across environments.
Automated developer workflows through custom Bash scripts, improving development speed and operational efficiency.
PROJECTS
UXly Blockchain Analytics - Sybil Attack Prevention for Web3
In collaboration with UXly Software
Developed a comprehensive blockchain security platform that helps developers and analysts secure blockchain networks by protecting token airdrops from Sybil attacks. The platform visualizes wallet interactions, detects fraudulent patterns using clustering algorithms, and provides tools for identifying suspicious accounts in real time.
Node Details Interface Sybil Attack Visualization Transaction Log Interface
Technical Implementation: Applied the Louvain clustering algorithm for community detection to identify suspicious wallet clusters and potential Sybil attacks. Built interactive pages for transaction log history and suspicious node analysis with enhanced error handling and visual aids for better user understanding.
System Improvements: Removed sample data to bring the application to market-ready status, created enhanced graph visualizations with color-coded communities and directed edges, implemented risk analysis scoring based on graph context, and added advanced user quality-of-life features including node selection insights and automated analysis capabilities.
Key Achievements: Successfully flagged potential fraudulent airdrop claims on Web3 networks, improved token distribution fairness by identifying genuine users, and created a transaction log detailing the latest ETH transactions and block information. Simplified blockchain analysis through detailed visualization tools.
Frontend:
React TypeScript Material UI D3.js
Backend & Database:
Python Flask FastAPI Neo4j Moralis
Pac-Man Adversarial AI (UCSC AI Class)
Based on the resources provided by the UC Berkeley Pac-Man projects, implemented depth-first, breadth-first, and A* search algorithms in a Pac-Man competition directly against other students using adversarial AI models.
Interna (UCSC Software Engineering Project)
Problem & Solution: Developed "Interna" to address the difficulty college students face when searching for internships across multiple platforms. Created a Tinder-like mobile application that makes the internship search process enjoyable and organized by allowing users to swipe through tech internship opportunities.
Key Features: Implemented user account management, internship loading and display system, intuitive swiping interface, and storage functionality for roles swiped right on. Built with multiple fragments including Login, Home, List, Settings, and About Us screens for a comprehensive user experience.
Team & Process: Collaborated in a team of 5 developers using Agile methodologies with 3 Scrum meetings weekly, pair-programming sessions, Jira task tracking, and comprehensive version control through GitHub. Utilized effective communication channels including Discord and iMessage for coordination.
Technical Challenges: Successfully resolved emergent issues, configured and interfaced with Firebase backend, addressed "looping cards" functionality, and overcame version control complexities while switching technologies due to time constraints and knowledge gaps.
Technologies:
Frontend & Mobile:
React Native JavaScript Expo Go
Backend & Database:
Firebase Firestore Python
Development Tools:
GitHub Jira Scrum Pair Programming
BirdWatch (UCSC Web Applications Project)
In a group of four, built a web platform using Py4Web backend and Firebase to catalog rare bird sightings with real-time location mapping via Google Maps API. Included advanced statistics, data visualization, and user leaderboard features.
SKILLS
Programming Languages & Databases:
Python Ruby Java JavaScript HTML CSS C TypeScript Haskell SQL Apache Groovy Bash Scripts MongoDB Firebase
DevOps Tools:
Jenkins Ansible Playbooks SonarQube Docker AWS Lambda Selenium
Operating Systems:
Windows Linux (Ubuntu, Kali) MacOS
Frameworks & API Tools:
React Ruby on Rails Py4Web Flask Angular Postman RESTful APIs
Other Tools:
Wireshark Ghidra Splunk VirtualBox OpenSSH

Are you a recruiter?