{
  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsonresume/resume-schema/v1.0.0/schema.json",
  "basics": {
    "name": "Zach Howard",
    "label": "Software Developer | Python, TypeScript & AI-Assisted Development",
    "email": "zachdhoward@proton.me",
    "url": "https://resume.zachtech.ca/software-developer/",
    "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": [
        "Built an automated Playwright test suite for the company's web application: 153 tests in 22 files (118 UI, 28 API, 7 visual) with 10 page objects, as of March 2026.",
        "Developed internal tooling using Claude Code to improve product knowledge access and debugging workflows.",
        "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 & Internal Tools Developer",
      "location": "Toronto, ON",
      "period": "January 2016 – August 2018",
      "highlights": [
        "Developed internal software tools and utilities for sales and operational workflows.",
        "Automated product listing and order-processing workflows and managed online sales systems and integrations.",
        "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": "Built and deployed tools.zachtech.ca: a Next.js and React portfolio with an MDX blog, a 13-theme engine and unit-tested client-side crypto and networking tools, on Cloudflare Pages with automatic deploys from GitHub.",
      "url": "https://tools.zachtech.ca"
    },
    {
      "description": "Built an embeddable, zero-dependency TypeScript web component (Shadow DOM, Tailwind CSS) that gives real-time B2B automation quotes and validates lead capture.",
      "url": "https://tools.zachtech.ca/projects/quote-calculator/"
    },
    {
      "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": "Design and run multi-agent AI development workflows with Claude Code and Codex, assigning models to tasks by strength and managing context to keep output reliable."
    }
  ],
  "skills": [
    {
      "name": "Languages & Tools",
      "keywords": [
        "Python",
        "JavaScript",
        "TypeScript",
        "SQL",
        "REST APIs",
        "Git",
        "GitHub"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Also Used",
      "keywords": [
        "Additional languages used in past work and projects: C#",
        "C++",
        "C",
        "PHP",
        "Java"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Automation",
      "keywords": [
        "Playwright browser automation",
        "API testing",
        "test framework development",
        "workflow automation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Scripting",
      "keywords": [
        "Bash and PowerShell scripting"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Infrastructure",
      "keywords": [
        "Linux",
        "Docker",
        "Docker Compose",
        "reverse proxies",
        "networking",
        "DNS",
        "VPNs",
        "monitoring with Grafana and Prometheus",
        "Cloudflare",
        "Tailscale",
        "Authentik"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "education": [
    {
      "institution": "Seneca College",
      "area": "Computer Programming & Analysis, 2011 – 2014"
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "variant": "software-developer",
    "keywords": [
      "software development",
      "Python",
      "TypeScript",
      "JavaScript",
      "Node.js",
      "SQL",
      "REST APIs",
      "C#",
      "C++",
      "testing"
    ],
    "source": "claims verified or confirmed by the candidate"
  }
}