Zakaria Kerouani

Software engineering · Montréal

I build software that holds up in the real world.

Software engineering student at Polytechnique Montréal building reliable systems, real-time applications, and interactive products.

Seeking backend, platform, and full-stack roles.

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Based in
Montréal, QC
Studying at
Polytechnique Montréal
Expected graduation
December 2026
Building
Backend / Platform / Full-stack
Status
Open to engineering opportunities

Selected work

Systems with real users, real constraints, and clear ownership.

Three projects that span live-event infrastructure, cross-platform multiplayer, and coordinated exploration.

01 / Individual project · Completed live-event deployment

Fika, Sip & Sync

Internship Bingo in the source repository · Completed event

A networking bingo experience for an Ericsson community event inspired by fika, the Swedish tradition of taking time to connect.

  • Owned the product, architecture, backend, frontend, deployment, and live-event operation.
  • Built a FastAPI backend and a real-time Next.js interface backed by Supabase, then containerized the system with Docker.
  • Supported 160+ concurrent active users with zero downtime during the afternoon event, measured through my event dashboard.
  • Next.js
  • TypeScript
  • FastAPI
  • Python
  • Supabase
  • Docker
View repository
Problem, decisions & outcome
Problem
Give participants a shared set of networking activities and a way to track progress during one afternoon at Ericsson.
Engineering decision
The interface updates completed activities optimistically, then reconciles them with the API response. The backend remains the source of truth while the board responds immediately to a participant’s action.
Outcome & ownership
The afternoon event served 160+ concurrent active users with no downtime. I collected these results through the dashboard I built for the event. The repository link targets main-simplified, matching the version linked in my résumé.
Fika activity board showing networking tasks and completion progress with sample data
Fika board · local interface preview with sample activities

Ericsson community networking event · measured through my event dashboard.

02 / Team project · Cross-platform turn-based RPG

Age of War

GDA / GameDungeonAdventure in the source repository

A shared multiplayer game platform connecting Angular web and native Android clients to one real-time backend.

  • Owned the complete Express, Socket.IO, and MongoDB backend architecture while contributing to the Angular web client.
  • Owned the Kotlin and Jetpack Compose mobile architecture and frontend implementation.
  • Kept Firebase Authentication and Firestore user data separate from the core multiplayer game-state path.
  • Angular
  • TypeScript
  • Express
  • Socket.IO
  • MongoDB
  • Kotlin
  • Jetpack Compose
  • Firebase
View repository
Problem, decisions & outcome
Problem
Let web and Android players participate in the same turn-based multiplayer game.
Engineering decision
Express and Socket.IO handle shared game state, with MongoDB persistence. Firebase Authentication and Firestore handle identity and user data separately from the multiplayer path.
Outcome & ownership
A shared backend supports Angular and Kotlin/Jetpack Compose clients. My scope covered the backend architecture, the Android architecture and interface, and contributions to the Angular client; the game is a team project.
Age of War Angular map editor rendering sample water and wall terrain
Angular map editor · local component preview with sample terrain

03 / Team hackathon · Multi-agent exploration

PolyHack

PolyHack2025 · Team hackathon simulation

A coordinated exploration simulation in which autonomous sonar bots map an unknown environment together.

  • Contributed procedural node generation for environments that could vary from run to run.
  • Combined heuristic search, hive coordination, and sonar-bot observations to expand a shared map.
  • Worked in Python with NumPy and OpenCV on real simulation assets and computer-vision utilities.
  • Python
  • NumPy
  • OpenCV
  • Heuristic search
  • Multi-agent coordination
View repository
Problem, decisions & outcome
Problem
Explore an unknown environment with multiple sonar bots and combine their observations into a shared map.
Engineering decision
Procedural node generation lets the environment vary across runs. The team’s heuristic search and hive coordination operate over those generated environments.
Outcome & ownership
My contribution was procedural node generation. The team simulation visualizes coordinated exploration; the displayed frame comes from the original repository.
PolyHack exploration simulation with procedurally generated paths and multiple agents
PolyHack simulation frame · static frame from the original repository

Experience

Engineering across prototypes, platforms, and products.

Software internships at Ericsson, Intact, and FivesquareDesign.

01

Software Developer Intern

Ericsson

  • Reduced real-time AI assistant processing latency by 50% using Pipecat and TypeScript for concurrent data streams.
  • Built the assistant prototype with a hybrid TypeScript and Java architecture and network protocols to validate emerging-technology interoperability within Ericsson’s infrastructure.
  • TypeScript
  • Java
  • Pipecat
02

Backend Software Developer Intern

Intact

  • Sped up API responses by up to 15× by designing and implementing a high-performance GraphQL data layer.
  • Improved policy processing time by 15% by developing Kotlin and Spring Boot REST APIs for policy updates.
  • Reduced policy-service regressions by 20% through JUnit and Mockito unit and integration tests covering business rules and edge cases.
  • Kotlin
  • Spring Boot
  • GraphQL
  • JUnit
  • Mockito
03

Full-stack Software Developer Intern

FivesquareDesign

  • Developed and maintained Angular components for a complex web application, contributing to a 20% increase in user satisfaction through improved UI/UX.
  • Refactored REST endpoints, added Redis caching, and optimized database queries, lowering cloud database infrastructure costs by 30% and average API response latency by 50%.
  • Angular
  • TypeScript
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • Redis

Public repository archive

The workbench, in public.

More projects and experiments, with public source code.

More repositories Browse source code and experiments

11 repositories

PUBLIC

neetcode-submissions

An automatically maintained archive of accepted algorithm and data-structure solutions, organized by topic to document consistent interview preparation.

Language
Python
Updated
GitHub repository
PUBLIC

PixelPilot

A conversational AI designed as an integrated arcade assistant transforms the solitary nostalgia of retro gaming into a dynamic, two-player experience. Positioned either within the physical cabinet, the AI functions as a real-time copilot, strategy advisor, and interactive character tailored to the coin-op atmosphere.

Language
Python
Updated
GitHub repository
PUBLIC

google-task-mcp

A local MCP server and Codex plugin for securely managing Google Tasks.

Language
JavaScript
Updated
GitHub repository
FORK

bingo-interns

A full-stack event bingo platform built with Next.js, FastAPI, PostgreSQL, and Supabase, with authentication, proof submissions, progress tracking, and leaderboards.

Language
TypeScript
Updated
GitHub repository
PUBLIC

Woracle

A modern C++20 Wordle solver built around iterative constraint filtering, CMake, unit tests, and a compact dependency-light architecture.

Language
C++
Updated
GitHub repository
PUBLIC

NG-Battles

A real-time multiplayer strategy platform built with Angular, NestJS, WebSockets, and MongoDB, featuring AI opponents, map tooling, and two game modes.

Language
TypeScript
Updated
GitHub repository
PUBLIC

AgeOfWar

A cross-platform real-time system connecting Kotlin/Compose and Angular clients to an Express, Socket.IO, and MongoDB backend with Firebase identity services.

Language
TypeScript
Updated
GitHub repository
PUBLIC

Live-discreteChat-App

A multithreaded Java client-server chat system using TCP sockets, per-client concurrency, authentication, message broadcasting, and persistent history.

Language
Java
Updated
GitHub repository
PUBLIC

Pixelated-Chess

A C++ and Qt6 chess application implementing polymorphic piece logic, move validation, check detection, promotion, and a pixel-art desktop interface.

Language
C++
Updated
GitHub repository
FORK

PolyHack2025

A Python multi-agent exploration simulation using procedural graphs, heuristic search, hive coordination, NumPy, and OpenCV to map mineral deposits efficiently.

Language
Language not reported
Updated
GitHub repository
FORK

StarHack2025

An Arduino robotics prototype integrating RFID access, environmental sensing, LCD feedback, RGB status, and servo-controlled mechanisms for StarHACK 2025.

Language
C++
Updated
GitHub repository

Education, leadership & capabilities

A software foundation with embedded range.

01 / Education

Polytechnique Montréal

Bachelor of Engineering in Software Engineering

August 2022 — Expected December 2026 · Montréal, QC

Coursework

  • Data Structures & Algorithms
  • Database Design
  • Software Principles
  • Operating Systems

02 / Leadership

HEKA

Embedded Software Tech Lead

April 2024 — June 2025

Led C/C++ firmware development for a robotic arm, implementing STM32 motor control, PID regulation, encoder feedback, and UART communication; improved precision and efficiency by 25%.

  • C/C++
  • Java
  • Python
  • STM32

03 / Involvement

HEKA

Machine Learning Member

June 2025 — Present

Built a small language model orchestration pipeline with Ollama, local Llama inference, and TensorRT for embedded deployment, achieving 85–90% intent-classification accuracy and 98% JSON parsing success across 100+ evaluated natural-language commands.

  • Python
  • TensorRT
  • PyTorch
  • Ollama

04 / Involvement

Polyorbite

Electrical Engineering Division Member

Developed Python-based Raspberry Pi arm control, integrated a user-friendly remote, and optimized the connection for low-latency operation.

  • Python
  • Raspberry Pi 4B

Capabilities

My engineering toolkit.

Backend and APIs

  • FastAPI
  • Spring Boot
  • GraphQL
  • JUnit
  • Mockito

Frontend and mobile

  • Angular
  • Next.js
  • Kotlin
  • Jetpack Compose

Databases and messaging

  • PostgreSQL
  • MongoDB
  • Redis
  • Supabase

Cloud and DevOps

  • AWS
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • Git
Languages and embedded systems

Languages

  • Java
  • JavaScript
  • TypeScript
  • Python
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • SQL
  • C/C++
  • Kotlin
  • C#
  • Ruby

Embedded systems

  • C/C++
  • Java
  • Python
  • Raspberry Pi 4B
  • STM32
  • TensorRT
  • PyTorch
  • Ollama

About / Contact

Let’s build something dependable.

I’m Zakaria, a software engineering student in Montréal. I like turning ambiguous problems into dependable systems—from backend services and real-time infrastructure to embedded control software. I’m seeking backend, platform, or full-stack engineering roles and expect to graduate in December 2026.

Résumé / PDF

The concise version.

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