Open to opportunities

Zann Anderson

@zannanderson

Message

I am a senior software engineer and researcher specializing in AI safety and HCI.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I’m seeking roles that apply my software engineering and HCI research to AI safety or policy—collaborative, mission-driven teams with opportunities to lead technical research, influence product safety, and mentor engineers.

I am a senior software engineer and researcher with over 10 years of software engineering experience and six years in academic research. I combine full-stack and embedded systems expertise with mixed-methods HCI research and have published in CHI, UbiComp, and VISIGRAPP.

I have led and mentored small engineering and research teams in industry and academia, developed safety-critical automation software, and owned API and integration projects. I am seeking to apply my software, research, and leadership skills to roles in AI safety and policy where I can influence product design, research agendas, and safety practices.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Instructor - Software Development

Current

Bridgerland Technical College

Feb 2024 - Present (1 year 6 months)

Design and deliver software development curriculum (C#/.NET, ASP.NET, Node.js, web fundamentals) and mentor students to meet industry career goals; modernize coursework to align with current employer needs.

C#.NET ASP.NET Node HTML CSS Curriculum Development Teaching Mentoring Git

Senior Software Engineer

Autonomous Solutions

Feb 2023 - Feb 2024 (1 year)

Developed front- and back-end software for safety-critical mining automation systems using C#/.NET and WPF, and coordinated team practices to streamline development workflows.

C#.NET WPF REST APIs Embedded Systems Distributed Systems Team Leadership Critical Systems

Integrations Engineer

Canvass/Ember

Mar 2022 - Dec 2022 (9 months)

Owned the design, specification, development, and deployment of a new Node.js API and collaborated with cross-functional teams to integrate backend services with NetSuite.

Node API Design REST NetSuite Backend Development JavaScript CI CD PostgreSQL

Assistant Professor

Utah Valley University

Jan 2019 - Jan 2022 (3 years)

Taught Human Factors and UX courses, designed and executed mixed-methods UX research (surveys, interviews, field studies), and published peer-reviewed results while chairing the CS Department Industry Advisory Board.

UX Research Mixed Methods Research Survey Design Statistical Analysis Teaching Publishing Stakeholder Engagement

Research Assistant/PhD Candidate

Brigham Young University

Jun 2016 - Jan 2019 (2 years 7 months)

Planned and executed independent research on technology in outdoor recreation, designed and prototyped mobile and embedded systems, and published findings in HCI venues.

Embedded Systems Prototyping Mixed Methods Research Data Analysis HCI Publishing

Senior Software Engineer/Software Engineer

Various Companies

Apr 2008 - Jun 2016 (8 years 2 months)

Owned full software development lifecycle across multiple projects, partnered with product and design to deliver user-centered solutions, and led a team through a content management system migration.

C#ASP.NET SQL Server PostgreSQL Content Migration System Design Mentoring

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

Brigham Young University

Doctor of Philosophy, Computer Science

Activities and societies: Publications in Human-Computer Interaction conferences and journals; peer reviewing for HCI venues.

Completed Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science at Brigham Young University in December 2019. Conducted research on the integration and impact of technology in outdoor recreation and developed mobile and embedded prototypes with publications in HCI venues.