Introduction

Hi! I’m Brian, a Master’s student at the University of Cambridge, focused on systems and mid-level programming in C++ and Rust.

Skills

Languages
Proficient in C++, Rust and Python. Experience with TypeScript, Julia and Haskell.
Areas
Low-latency systems, system design, concurrency, network protocols, computer architecture, algorithms and data structures, information theory, OOP.
Systems
Linux, Docker, CI/CD, cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure).

Education

  • BA (Hons) & MEng EngineeringTrinity College, University of Cambridge

    First Class Honours with Distinction. Ranked 1/309 in Year 3, and in the top 5% in Years 1 & 2.

    Modules: Computer Architecture; Algorithms and Data Structures; Information Theory and Coding; Communications; Networking.

    2023–2027

Internship Experience

  • Optiver Services B.V.Software Engineer Intern

    Designed, implemented and deployed new features and changes to production trading software in C++. Collaborated extensively with quantitative researchers and traders across multiple desks.

    Jun–Sep 2026

  • Arm Ltd.GPU Software Engineer Intern

    Contributed C++ and Python improvements to GPU driver tracing tooling, adding support for complex dynamic payloads while preserving backwards compatibility. Collaborated with other team members to deliver the feature improvements.

    Jun–Sep 2025

  • Roku, Inc.Software Engineer Intern

    Collaborated with two full-time engineers during the 12-week internship. Contributed to production middleware and frontend in Python and TypeScript. Delivered a scalable solution to automate content generation and verification using large language models, impacting millions of users.

    Jul–Sep 2024

Independent Projects

  • Project Mini-RPCLightweight RPC and serialisation library in C++

    A protobuf-like serialisation layer with near-zero encoding time, built on direct memory layouts and simple getter/setter APIs to make IPC and RPC fast and ergonomic for user-defined types.

    Aug–Sep 2025

  • Project RustyMovesCustom UDP protocol framework

    A lightweight UDP-first protocol for real-time use cases, implemented in Rust with tokio, focused on resilience to packet loss and minimal encoding overhead. Microbenchmarks show slightly lower latency than TCP; a C++ client port is in active development.

    Apr–Jul 2025

  • Project EnviameScalable full-stack app with Rust and SSR

    Full-stack app with a Rust backend that prioritises low-latency concurrent message delivery, with configurable email and calendar integration. MVP built and deployed in under a day, followed by QoL and scalability improvements and a formal write-up.

    Mar–May 2025

  • Project OpenifyLarge language models and blockchain integration

    Rapid 12-hour full-stack build integrating Polkadot and LLMs to handle transaction requests and account queries in natural language. Team placed first after a live demo and technical pitch.

    Jul 2024

  • Project EasyPassMachine learning and cloud web app

    Trained an open-source LLM on university exam questions and deployed a web backend to accept uploads and generate practice questions, integrating model inference into a cloud-backed web service.

    Feb 2024

Awards

  • Winifred Georgina Holgate-Pollard Memorial PrizeUniversity of Cambridge

    2026

  • Part IIA Engineering Area Prize: Best Student in Mechanical EngineeringDepartment of Engineering, Cambridge

    2026

  • Senior ScholarshipTrinity College, Cambridge

    2025, 2026

  • Junior ScholarshipTrinity College, Cambridge

    2024

  • Tripos Prize: Leslie Walshaw Prize for EngineeringTrinity College, Cambridge

    2026

  • Tripos Prize: Garrett (Richard and Valery) Fund PrizeTrinity College, Cambridge

    2024

  • Examination PrizeTrinity College, Cambridge

    2024, 2025, 2026

Publication

  • B Chen, C Xu, W Cai, and Y Xia. Narrowing Down the Secrets of the Internet — a Review of Privacy Leakages and Prevention Methods. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, peer-reviewed, 87–95.

    2023