Yidi Zhao
Computer Science at the University of Maryland · Expected May 2028
[email protected]
(301) 401-9768
yidizhao.dev
Education
University of Maryland
College Park, MD
B.S. in Computer Science · Minors in Physics & Robotics
Expected May 2028
Relevant Coursework
Data Structures, Algorithms, Computer Systems, OOP II, Organization of Programming Languages,
Web Development, Discrete Structures, Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus, Statistics,
Physics, Differential Equations
Experience
Freelance Software Developer
2019 – Present
Luau, Roblox Platform
- Delivered 12+ Roblox games and developer tools for independent developers, including a game with 9,000+ visits.
- Implemented client–server communication and state replication to support real-time multiplayer gameplay.
- Applied procedural generation and physics-based simulation to create gameplay systems and interactive mechanics.
Moge Tee
Jun 2026 – Aug 2026
Barista
- Coordinated drink preparation and in-person, phone, and online orders with coworkers during peak service.
Projects
Python, Playwright, SQLite, discord.py, pytest
- Built an internship assistant that discovers listings, fills browser forms, and checks readiness for submission.
- Added a SQLite-backed queue with listing deduplication, crash recovery, and persistent application tracking.
- Integrated a Discord bot to collect missing answers, resume paused applications, and reuse verified responses.
TypeScript, Next.js, React, Git, Vitest, Playwright
- Developed a local-first planner with tasks, notes, and branching Claude chats stored as Markdown in Git.
- Centralized writes in a transactional log with byte-exact undo/redo, automatic Git commits, and secret scanning.
- Validated policy guards through mutation testing; the suite includes 744 unit tests and 76 browser checks.
TypeScript, Chrome MV3, esbuild, IndexedDB
- Created a Chrome extension that reconstructs Claude chats as prompt–response trees from intercepted network data.
- Implemented request rewriting to modify outgoing message payloads and fork conversations from earlier prompts.
- Embedded note content in conversation prompts to avoid maintaining a separate local store for those notes.
Python, Beautiful Soup, Requests, PyInstaller
- Built a Windows system-tray application that periodically polls UMD Testudo to monitor course-seat availability.
- Enabled persistent local state, system-theme integration, and configurable launch-at-startup behavior.
- Distributed a standalone executable with PyInstaller, requiring no separate Python installation.
React, TypeScript, OpenRouter, Gemini APIs
- Led a team at a 24-hour hackathon to deliver a React/TypeScript app for analyzing incidents in dashcam footage.
- Developed a video analysis pipeline using Monte Carlo estimation to identify potential collision timestamps.
- Connected multiple vision-language models through OpenRouter to support configurable provider selection.
Unity Engine, C#, Microsoft Azure
- Published a Unity platformer with gravity-redirection mechanics, reaching 600+ sessions and 20+ users.
- Integrated Azure-backed authentication and persistent data for cross-device progress sync and global leaderboards.