Ntsay Zacarias

About me

Being able to have an abstract idea, a random thought, and bringing it into life, is what drives my love for writing software. Knowing that the only limit is my imagination, keeps me constantly looking to learn and be more.

I'm a Software Developer pursuing a Master's in Computing Engineering. I specialize in mobile app development but enjoy exploring new technologies and ideas. When I'm not debugging, you'll find me diving into economics, politics, astrophysics, or in a motor vehicle with no destination in mind.

What i'm doing

Mobile apps

Professional development of apps for iOS and Android.
Physics Simulator

Developing a physics simulation tool to model and visualize Newtonian mechanics in the vaccum of space.
Web development

Building dynamic, user-focused websites backed by structured and efficient server designs.

Resume

Education

Integrated Master's in Informatics and Computing Engineering
2021 — Present
Universidade do Porto - Faculdade de Engenharia (FEUP)
Colégio Kitabu
2015 — 2019
Maputo, Mozambique

Experience

Software Developer - CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos
11/2023 — Present | Porto, Portugal
- Developing a mobile application for coastal environmental data collection and analysis, allowing researchers to retrieve data from proprietary environmental sensors
- Building a scalable ecosystem to manage and store collected data, leveraging Kubernetes (K8s) for deployment, RabbitMQ for inter-service communication, and managed database instances for enhanced reliability.
- Significantly improved app performance by designing and implementing a native NFC communication module in Swift (iOS) and Java (Android), replacing third-party solutions.
- Optimizing the app's UX to adapt to real-world field conditions faced by biologists, enhancing usability across diverse and challenging environments.
- Building a specialized biodiversity cataloguing app, allowing researchers to document and annotate species in the field with photos, videos, notes, and recordings.
- Managing a Linux ERDDAP server, ensuring smooth operation with maintenance, updates, and custom scripts to improve QOL, allowing researchers to interact easily with the servers.
Co-Founder & Lead Software Developer - Lurio Group
07/2023 — Present | Maputo, Mozambique
- Strategically built a multidisciplinary team, hiring collaborators based on their strengths and how they could drive the company’s growth, ensuring each hire contributed to our long-term success.
- Collaborated closely with the CFO and COO to align business objectives, optimize resource allocation, increase client acquisition, and maintain a unified vision across all departments.
- Expanded beyond personal expertise by bringing in talent from diverse fields, fostering an environment of continuous learning, innovation, and cross-functional growth.
- Focused on growth and adaptability, consistently seeking opportunities to streamline operations and stay ahead in a rapidly changing landscape.
- Built a full SaaS platform with a stack including Express, React, Tailwind, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, GraphQL, and REST, tested using Docker Compose. Implemented CI/CD, deployed services on AWS Fargate and Railway, managed resources with AWS S3, email system via SES, and databases on RDS and DigitalOcean.
Junior Software Engineer - PYNKIWI
05/2021 — 11/2021 | Lisbon, Portugal
- Developed authentication for a mobile application (iOS) using Swift and Firebase as the BaaS.
- Continued development of the application with React Native to expand features and improve functionality.
Intern - PYNKIWI
03/2021 — 05/2021 | Lisbon, Portugal
- Served as a liaison between management and third-party mobile application developers to ensure smooth project execution.

Projects

Vacuum Rigid Body Simulation
05/2022 — Current | Simulation
- Developing a desktop application using C++ to simulate rigid body physics in a vacuum.
- Designed to provide accurate simulations for possible academic and experimental purposes.
Voz Local
11/2024 — Present | Web Development
- Developing a high-performance web platform using Svelte, Tailwind, Express, and PostgreSQL.
- Planning to make scalable data pipelines for actionable analytics
- Designing for social impact, addressing community challenges and optimizing engagement strategies.
Calorie Estimation App
11/2024 — Present | Computer Vision
- Currently in development, being made with Swift and leveraging Apple Vision Core ML Kit.
- Using YOLOv3 object detection model as a foundation for calorie estimation based on food recognition.
Near Earth Object Classification
02/2024 — 05/2024 | AI
- Developed machine learning models (Neural Networks, SVM, Random Forest) to classify asteroids.
- Used NASA datasets to predict hazardous versus non-hazardous objects.
- Analyzed models based on metrics like precision-recall and AUC to compare the performance of all algorithms.
Temperature Sensor with LED Matrix
10/2024 — Present | Embedded Systems
- Designed an Arduino-based system to display real-time temperature data using an LM35 sensor.
- Programmed a 16x2 LED matrix to show readings dynamically.
- Designed and built the circuits, integrating hardware and software seamlessly.
Game Server
02/2024 — 05/2024 | Distributed Systems
- Developed a game server using Java and virtual threads to manage load efficiently.
- Focused on understanding system architecture and optimizing performance under heavy usage.
Sports Matchmaking App
02/2023 — 05/2023 | FEUP
- Used Flutter to design and implement a user-friendly mobile app interface.
- Integrated Firebase for real-time messaging functionality, enabling group chats.
- Followed Agile methodology, ensuring iterative releases with continuous improvement.
- Performed unit and acceptance testing to maintain code quality and robust functionality.
Ticket Management System
04/2023 — 05/2023 | FEUP
- Developed a responsive and accessible website using (HTML+CSS+JS) on the front-end, PHP and SQL on the backend.