Ryan Pham
Software and systems engineer who turns flaky hardware and manual workflows into automated, reliable systems.
About
I'm a software and systems engineer with an M.S. in Software Engineering, working at the seam between hardware and software. Day to day that means Python and PowerShell automation, root-cause analysis on embedded-Linux and firmware failures, and SQL dashboards that turn test data into something people actually act on.
Before writing the automation, I spent two years repairing and validating the hardware itself — field returns, UART debugging, data recovery — so I tend to build tools that hold up on a real test bench, not just in a demo.
Experience
Software Engineer · Trace
- Built Python and PowerShell automation for device testing and quality-verification workflows, increasing daily test throughput 96% (100–130 to 220–230 devices) and cutting verification cycle time 40%.
- Performed root cause corrective action (RCCA) on hardware, firmware, and embedded-Linux failures, investigating kernel and firmware logs to identify failure modes and implement fixes that prevented defect recurrence.
- Designed automated test-execution and data-collection systems with documented procedures for consistent product validation prior to customer shipment.
- Created cross-platform CLI tools for remote device administration over SSH, managing Linux file permissions, user access, and configuration across the test fleet.
- Built SQL-driven reliability and quality dashboards integrating cloud databases, object storage, and APIs; modeled data with dbt and eliminated manual data entry via spreadsheet and Slack API integration.
Hardware Technician · Trace
- Led quality verification and troubleshooting of camera devices and sensors, reducing warehouse backlog 87% (550 to 70 devices) through optimized repair and test workflows.
- Diagnosed and repaired field-returned hardware — component replacement, firmware updates, corrupted SD-card recovery, and USB-C connector failures — using UART debugging and data-recovery tools.
- Served as Tier 2 escalation for customer support, resolving complex hardware and software failures, documenting nonconformances with root cause analysis, and implementing corrective and preventive actions that reduced recurring defects.
- Deployed a Linux-based network file server with Samba to centralize test data and logs across Windows and macOS systems, managing OS configuration, storage mounting, and user access.
Education
M.S., Software Engineering
California State University, Fullerton
B.S., Cognitive Science — Design & Interaction
University of California, San Diego
Projects
Naval Intelligence Platform
Full-stack fleet-monitoring system for real-time situational awareness of vessels — live tracking, system-health dashboards, and fleet analytics, driven by AIS WebSocket streams and NOAA marine weather APIs. Built with React and Node.js. CSUF capstone, 2026.
Student Information System
Full-stack web application delivered by an Agile/Scrum team through sprint planning, standups, retrospectives, and Jira-based tracking. Features include authentication, transcript viewing, and course management. Team project, 2025.
How this site is built
A write-up of the architecture running this server: a single Caddy instance, static and reverse-proxied projects under one address, and an AI agent that maintains it over a chat interface.
Contact
Open to software and systems engineering roles. The fastest way to reach me is email — I read everything.