Hello, I’m Rafael! I’m a software engineer with several years of professional and volunteer experience. I enjoy breaking things apart, understanding how they work, and rebuilding them better. My work is primarily done in C, C++, and Python. I use Python when I have to, and I’m learning to accept Rust into my life. On this website, you’ll find the projects I’m involved in, the things I enjoy working on, and whatever I feel like posting on my blog or gallery.
The opinions expressed on this website are my own, and they may not always be correct. This website is mostly for me to think out loud, document what I’m learning, and refine my understanding over time. I am by no means an expert on any subject matter aside from very niche things or what I have to do for work.
"[V]alue your freedom or you will lose it," teaches history. "Don't bother us with politics," respond those who don't want to learn.
— Richard M. Stallman, "Linŭ, GNU, and freedom". "LinŭWorld", May 2002.
About me
I am involved in several projects, spend a lot of time gaming (mostly simulators and anything with a good atmosphere), and enjoy listening to music and tinkering with hardware. I believe strongly in the right to repair — no one touches my computers but me. I also care deeply about the software I use from a FOSS and privacy perspective. Outside of all that, I have an original character named Sayouri, a pilot who loves napping between flights.
Background
I am a graduate of the University of Houston, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. My interest in embedded and real-time systems began with Dr. Cheng's graduate-level course, Real-Time Systems, for which he authored the textbook Real-Time Systems: Scheduling, Analysis, and Verification. I still keep it next to my other textbooks :). I was also an eSports coordinator for Coog Esports and a member of Code[Coogs].
My first two years of undergraduate study were at the University of Houston–Downtown, where I was part of the Scholars Academy as a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) grant recipient. I worked as a peer mentor and did undergraduate research under Dr. Jegdic, which allowed me (and 2 other peers) to present findings at the Health Physics Society Conference on applying data science methods to solve differential equations related to the study and safety of fluid flows in nuclear reactors. Our work won 3rd place and a cash prize :D!
Professional experience
My first computer science related job started with Code Ninjas. My job was to teach kids foundational programming concepts, help them build their own games and apps, and guide them through problem-solving and logical thinking exercises in a fun, hands-on environment.
While in university, I accepted an offer to join IBM as a software developer after graduating in 2024. I was hired specifically to work on the High Performance Storage System (HPSS) project, a widely used scalable hierarchical storage management (HSM) system developed collaboratively by four major U.S. Department of Energy national labs as part of the HPSS Collaboration.
My work at IBM on the HPSS project has involved a crash course into IBM Db2 and relational databases in the context of high performance computing, RESTful APIs, test and automation, and the systems that count and move small and large files around.
Volunteer and FOSS experience
I believe in Free Software as defined by the Free Software Foundation, not just Open Source software. I (try to) actively contribute to any project that aligns with these principles.
The project I am most involved in is Rigs of Rods, where apart from regular contributions I also act as the project's comptroller, sysadmin, and community manager. I also act as the project's liaison (and contributing member) to the Software in the Public Interest, Inc (SPI), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
About this site
This site has been created with Markdown and Zola. The theme is based on Zap, with changes to match the Catppuccin color palette and compatibility to support Internet Explorer 10 (at a best effort). The source is available on GitNeko.
Ways to reach out to me
You can reach out to me via e-mail (which I check regularly!) with rafael(at)zentro.codes.
Find me elsewhere: GitNeko · KDE Invent · GitHub
GitNeko is my self-hosted Git platform. Anyone is free to sign up and host their program source code as a mirror or as an alternative to GitHub. It is hosted on my own equipment in a data center in Dallas (but I plan to move it to Houston with Oplink soon) with regular backups offsite.