{
  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsonresume/resume-schema/v1.0.0/schema.json",
  "basics": {
    "name": "Zach Howard",
    "label": "Embedded & C++ Developer | ESP32 Firmware, Audio DSP & IoT",
    "email": "zachdhoward@proton.me",
    "url": "https://resume.zachtech.ca/embedded/",
    "summary": "More than a decade of hands-on work across IT, custom development, QA and DevOps for multiple companies and studios (freelance since 2013).",
    "location": {
      "city": "Oshawa",
      "region": "ON",
      "countryCode": "CA"
    },
    "profiles": [
      {
        "network": "GitHub",
        "username": "zdhoward",
        "url": "https://github.com/zdhoward"
      }
    ]
  },
  "work": [
    {
      "name": "ZachTech",
      "position": "Owner / IT Services",
      "location": "Oshawa, ON area",
      "period": "March 2026 – present",
      "highlights": [
        "Founded ZachTech, a local IT services business, and am building its client base."
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Eterio Realities",
      "position": "QC Lead",
      "location": "Victoria, BC",
      "period": "March 2025 – March 2026",
      "highlights": [
        "Worked directly with developers to integrate testing and quality practices throughout development."
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Electronic Arts",
      "position": "Associate Quality Designer",
      "location": "Vancouver, BC",
      "period": "March 2024 – June 2024",
      "highlights": [
        "Created and maintained QA test passes for Frostbite engine changes and validated new features and workflow changes."
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Keywords Studios",
      "position": "QA Specialist, embedded at Electronic Arts",
      "location": "Vancouver, BC",
      "period": "April 2020 – March 2024",
      "highlights": [
        "Embedded QA on the Frostbite Build Tools team, working directly with software engineers on internal developer tools and workflows used across AAA game projects.",
        "Validated changes to internal build systems and developer workflows and created testing strategies for complex engineering systems."
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Mountain West Studios",
      "position": "IT Coordinator",
      "location": "Vancouver, BC",
      "period": "September 2018 – April 2020",
      "highlights": [
        "Developed backend systems for automated video rendering and delivery, and automation for business workflows."
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Saved By Technology (now Long & McQuade Pro)",
      "position": "Product Specialist",
      "location": "Toronto, ON",
      "period": "January 2016 – August 2018",
      "highlights": [
        "Delivered workshops on audio programming and Max/MSP."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "projects": [
    {
      "description": "Built AIUsageMonitor (open source, v1.14.1): an ESP32 touchscreen desktop display with C++/Arduino firmware, fed over USB serial by a Python collector, showing AI subscription quotas and live system telemetry.",
      "url": "https://github.com/zdhoward/AIUsageMonitor"
    },
    {
      "description": "Founded ZXAudio (zxaudio.ca): VST3 audio plugins built in C++ with JUCE, including the PHASE//ZERO phaser, plus open-source DSP and UI component libraries.",
      "url": "https://zxaudio.ca"
    },
    {
      "description": "Home network on UniFi gear connecting two Unraid servers, a Raspberry Pi OS host, and other single-board computers and IoT devices."
    }
  ],
  "skills": [
    {
      "name": "Embedded",
      "keywords": [
        "ESP32",
        "Arduino",
        "C++ firmware",
        "USB serial",
        "TFT touch displays",
        "Raspberry Pi"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Also Used",
      "keywords": [
        "Additional languages used in past work and projects: C#",
        "C++",
        "C",
        "PHP",
        "Java"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Languages & Tools",
      "keywords": [
        "Python",
        "JavaScript",
        "TypeScript",
        "SQL",
        "REST APIs",
        "Git",
        "GitHub"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Scripting",
      "keywords": [
        "Bash and PowerShell scripting"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "education": [
    {
      "institution": "Seneca College",
      "area": "Computer Programming & Analysis, 2011 – 2014"
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "variant": "embedded",
    "keywords": [
      "embedded",
      "firmware",
      "ESP32",
      "Arduino",
      "C",
      "C++",
      "IoT",
      "Raspberry Pi",
      "DSP",
      "JUCE",
      "serial"
    ],
    "source": "claims verified or confirmed by the candidate"
  }
}