I like building software that is reliable under the hood and effortless on the surface — clean APIs, clear data flow, and interfaces that stay out of the way.
About
The longer version
I'm Sunny Gong — a computer engineering student at the University of Waterloo who builds software, takes photographs, and believes the two disciplines sharpen each other in ways most people don't expect.
Who I am
Engineer by training, photographer by instinct
I grew up curious about how things work and ended up studying computer engineering because it sits right at the intersection of hardware and software — where ideas become real systems. At Waterloo I've built everything from RISC-V emulators to full-stack media platforms, but I'm most drawn to projects where the interface matters as much as the architecture underneath.
Photography came later, but it stuck. What started as weekend walks with a camera turned into a genuine practice — landscape, portrait, street, and everything in between. Framing a scene and designing a screen use the same eye for composition, hierarchy, and timing. I keep both on one site because separating them would be dishonest about how I actually think.
What drives me
The kind of work I keep coming back to
My best projects start as tools I need myself: a gallery system, a cloud drive, a portfolio that actually represents how I work. If it solves my problem well, it usually helps someone else too.
Photography trains me to notice light, space, and small details. That patience carries directly into UI work, page layout, and knowing when something is almost right but not quite.
Experience
Professional work
Firmware Test Engineer
NETINT Technologies · Burnaby, BC
Sep – Dec 2025
Worked on VPU firmware validation at NETINT, a video processing semiconductor company. Focused on test automation, CI/CD infrastructure, and cross-platform tooling for the global QA team.
- Refactored Python-based regression suites and implemented parallel execution, reducing end-to-end test latency by 40% while maintaining full coverage across 50+ edge cases.
- Architected a scalable Jenkins CI/CD pipeline integrated with Kubernetes to manage 20+ heterogeneous servers, automating environment provisioning and load balancing.
- Developed a cross-platform GStreamer validation framework on Windows using C++ and Python, enabling standardized benchmarking of hardware-accelerated transcoding.
- Used Claude Code for rapid root-cause analysis and script refactoring, accelerating average ticket resolution time by 30%.
- Python
- C++
- Jenkins
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- GStreamer
Website & Media Designer
Platinum Roofing and Exteriors · Remote / Waterloo, ON
Jan – Apr 2025
Led digital strategy and web development for a roofing and exteriors company, focusing on SEO, performance, and responsive design to drive business growth.
- Spearheaded data-driven SEO and digital footprint strategies, driving a 25% increase in web traffic.
- Deployed and maintained responsive client web platforms with asset compression and performance optimizations, reducing page load times by 20%.
- HTML/CSS
- JavaScript
- SEO
- Web Performance
Software Developer
English Expansion · Port Coquitlam, BC
Feb 2023
Built internal tooling to automate administrative workflows at an English language education company.
- Engineered a JavaScript automation tool to generate receipts, eliminating manual data entry and ensuring 100% billing accuracy.
- Streamlined invoicing workflows, reducing manual administrative time by 2+ hours monthly and preventing all billing discrepancies.
- JavaScript
- Automation
- Node.js
Background
A few things worth knowing
I'm currently studying computer engineering at the University of Waterloo. Outside of coursework I spend most of my time on side projects — building out my photography platform at image.sunnygong.com, maintaining this portfolio, and experimenting with media tools and infrastructure.
I work across the stack but lean toward frontend and systems-level projects. My go-to tools are TypeScript, Astro, React, and Python, though I'll pick up whatever the problem needs. I care more about shipping something real than about the framework it runs on.
Quick facts
- Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo
- Based in Waterloo, Ontario
- Shooting with Sony & vintage glass
- Building image.sunnygong.com and blog.sunnygong.com
- Always looking for the next side project
Contact
Let's connect
Whether you want the resume version, project context, or just want to talk shop — I'm always happy to hear from people.
Email is the most reliable way to reach me. If you're from a university or professional context, my school address works too. I'm also active on LinkedIn and Instagram.
- Personal email
- [email protected]
- School email
- [email protected]
- fangxu-gong-7b9b26221
- @sunny.gong5
- Phone
- +1 (236) 869-3297
- Discord
- sunnygong
- sunny060214