Based in Seattle, WA — Currently in Pittsburgh for NSF REU
Rafay Farah
Software Engineer
Computer Science student at the University of Washington, going into my second year. Currently in Pittsburgh conducting NSF-funded research in AI and educational technology at Pitt's LRDC lab. I build software at the intersection of AI, developer tools, and full-stack engineering.
About
Education
B.S. Computer Science
University of Washington GPA 3.99 / 4.0
University of Washington GPA 3.99 / 4.0
Currently
NSF REU at Pitt LRDC
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
CS Interests
I'm interested in developer tools, AI in software engineering, distributed systems, and LLM systems design. I'm drawn to the gap between how developers actually work and what tools assume they'll do, and building things that actually ship.
Beyond Code
Outside of coding I spend my time playing video games, making apps, attending hackathons, and doing some video editing. I also post content online and have built up 50K+ followers and 34M+ combined views across platforms, alongside a 750+ member Discord community.
Languages & Tools
Primarily work in Python, Java, and C++. On the web side I use React, Next.js, and Tailwind regularly. Comfortable across the full stack and familiar with most major APIs and cloud deployment tools.
Relevant Coursework
Data Structures & Algorithms · Object-Oriented Programming · Software Engineering · Discrete Mathematics · Calculus I, II, III · Technical Writing
Experience
NSF REU Undergraduate Research Intern
Jun 2026 — Present
LRDC FACET Lab, University of Pittsburgh
- Selected as 1 of 7 students from a nationally competitive NSF-funded REU program to conduct research in AI, intelligent tutoring systems, robotics, and human-computer interaction under the mentorship of Dr. Erin Walker
- Developing a configurable multi-agent LLM platform in Next.js where students teach Cora, an adaptive AI persona with swappable models and customizable prompts, enabling structured learning-by-teaching interactions
- Designing agent-style prompting systems for controlled dialogue progression and adaptive student input handling
- Contributing to a gestural entrainment study on a NAO robot by engineering prompt-based NLP methods to isolate gesture-likely words, evaluating how synchronized human-robot interactions affect student engagement
Software Engineer
Feb 2026 — Present
Startup Club, University of Washington
- Developed the core chatbot orchestration layer, coordinating user requests, conversation-state management, and company-enrichment workflows to automate company discovery and personalized LinkedIn/email outreach
- Shipped TextbookFinder, a React/Vite app integrating Open Library API to help students find affordable textbooks, contributing search, filtering, and book detail features on a team of 10+ engineers
Undergraduate Researcher
Apr 2026 — Present
Sensors, Energy, and Automation Laboratory (SEAL), University of Washington
- Conducting undergraduate research at UW Seattle's SEAL Lab, developing and evaluating LLM-powered automation workflows for research proposal generation, document processing, and academic task orchestration
Technical Lead
Jan 2026 — Jun 2026
Beta Alpha Psi, University of Washington
- Architected and deployed chapter web platform with 20+ pages and integrated member portal serving 200+ members; engineered multi-method payment system driving 40% engagement increase
- Sole technical lead managing deployment, features, and production issues for 200+ active members
BASC Paraprofessional
Sep 2023 — Present
Issaquah School District, Sammamish, WA
Projects
Full-stack resume platform with customizable templates, visual editing, and LaTeX PDF generation. Engineered a server-side LaTeX rendering pipeline enabling code-free resume customization and export. Integrated authentication, ATS analysis, subscriptions, and AI-assisted content generation.
iOS and web calendar app with Claude API integration for natural language event creation and smart scheduling suggestions. Built the full iOS app and shipped a companion web version, both publicly accessible via TestFlight and Vercel.
Interview practice app simulating technical and behavioral interviews with STAR-based feedback. Integrates Claude API with dynamic resume parsing to tailor questions to your background.
Full-stack analytics bot serving a 750+ member Discord community. Tracks engagement metrics, generates real-time activity leaderboards, and runs automated moderation with persistent SQLite storage deployed on Railway.
Hackathons
SWECCathon / Mesocosm · June 2026
A deterministic 3D Jenga physics benchmark built on the Mesocosm platform, evaluating multimodal AI reasoning about physical stability and spatial structure. Built with PyBullet for rigid body dynamics and collision resolution, with a constrained action space for camera control and directional block pushes. Tested GPT-4, Claude, and Gemini, with a replay-driven WebGL viewer reconstructing full episodes from exported traces.
Designathon · May 2026
Job hunting tool designed to simplify and organize the job search process for students navigating early career applications.
UWB Hacks · April 2026
Gamified social accountability app where Claude verifies quest completions, users earn XP and rank up through 9 tiers, and compete with friends and squads on live leaderboards. Built end-to-end in under 24 hours.
Resume
Contact
I am currently in Pittsburgh through the summer and always open to talking about research, software, or anything interesting. Feel free to reach out.