[ UP ] region: san antonio, tx / build: cs · st mary’s university / release: may 2027

Juan Marco
Saca Dada

Computer Science × Observability & Security

I build and instrument software, then watch how it behaves under load — from phishing-resilience campaigns to tracing requests with OpenTelemetry and Prometheus. I care about systems you can actually see into.

req_rate · live

gpa 3.75 / 4.00

graduation 2027 b.s. computer science

minors ×2 math · business

mentoring 5yr coach · founder · RA

resume ↗ email ↗ github ↗ linkedin ↗

// service description

What I’m about

I’m a Computer Science student at St. Mary’s University, and what actually pulls me into a problem is figuring out how something works well enough to explain it to someone else: a system, a security gap, a stat that decides an F1 race. That curiosity is why I built a race outcome predictor from public telemetry data just to see if the model would hold up, and why I gravitated toward the unglamorous parts of two internships, things like monitoring, permissions, and the failure modes other people write off. I like leading, too. I ran a six person team through a research symposium and have spent years coaching and teaching, because I’d rather build something with people than around them.

// experience

Where I’ve run

I.T. Intern

Pentágono S.A. de C.V. · San Salvador, El Salvador

Migrated a legacy PHP client portal to ASP.NET Core (.NET 10) with EF Core and SQL Server, replacing in-memory mocks with a real database-backed architecture. I built OAuth login (Google, Microsoft) with invite-only provisioning and a role-based permission system that updates access across the UI without requiring re-login, then integrated Azure Blob Storage for document uploads and PDF generation for client financial statements. I also designed and built a RESTful API for a factoring (invoice-financing) platform — client, debtor, and bank-account data consumed by a client-facing portal — documented with Swagger and covered by unit and integration tests.

ASP.NET Core
EF Core
SQL Server
OAuth
Azure Blob Storage
REST APIs
Swagger

Systems Department Intern

Almacenes Siman · Central America

Designed and ran a fully simulated phishing campaign across the region using Windows Defender Campaign Builder to measure employee security awareness, then wrote a phishing-awareness manual to help staff spot fraudulent email. I instrumented the results — gathering metrics, identifying targeted users, and handing the Systems Manager a prioritized set of recommendations. I also researched, installed, and trialed observability tooling (OpenTelemetry, Prometheus) in Spring Boot services and delivered a comparative analysis for monitoring their enterprise stack.

OpenTelemetry
Prometheus
Spring Boot
Defender Campaign Builder
security awareness

// academic projects

Things I’ve built

Match-a-Fit

postgresql · lead architect

Project manager and lead architect for a six-person team building Match-a-Fit, an AI-driven wardrobe assistant presented at the St. Mary’s University Research Symposium. I designed the PostgreSQL schema and integrated the Gemini API to power personalized, context-aware outfit recommendations, then presented the technical methodology and a live demo to faculty and industry professionals — earning commendation for its commercial potential.

PostgreSQL
Gemini API
project management
full-stack
team leadership

Phishing Awareness Campaign Simulator

python · security tooling

A full-stack phishing-simulation platform built during my exchange at Tomas Bata University, modeling social-engineering vectors to measure human-layer attack surfaces. An asynchronous FastAPI backend processes real-time tracking webhooks and engagement telemetry — opens, clicks, credential submissions — while a PySide6 desktop GUI manages target lists, authors HTML attack templates, and schedules SMTP dispatch. Tokenized tracking payloads route interacting targets to contextual security-awareness pages.

Python
FastAPI
PySide6
SMTP
webhooks
security awareness

F1 Race Outcome Predictor

python · machine learning

An end-to-end predictive pipeline using the FastF1 API to pull telemetry, lap times, weather, and qualifying deltas across multiple seasons. I engineered 15+ features — driver Elo ratings, rolling momentum, qualifying-to-race pace conversion, constructor hierarchies — and evaluated Random Forest and XGBoost models under strict expanding-window temporal cross-validation to avoid lookahead bias. SHAP analysis quantifies how tire degradation, grid position, and pit strategy actually shape finishing outcomes.

Python
FastF1
XGBoost
scikit-learn
SHAP
feature engineering

VolleyPoints

java · data viz

A Java application for capturing and reviewing real-time volleyball match data. Users log events with buttons or hotkeys for fast in-match interaction; the app reads from the database, builds datasets, and renders bar-graph summaries for analysis. I worked directly with the team manager across monthly and ad-hoc meetings to refine requirements, scope features, and weigh their cost.

Java
OOP
databases
data visualization
client work

Tic-Tac-Toe & Pig Latin

c · algorithms

A Tic-Tac-Toe game in C built on two-dimensional arrays, pointers, and a clean method structure — playable head-to-head or against an opponent AI I designed myself. Alongside it, a parser that converts input sentences to Pig Latin, which grew my comfort with string manipulation and purpose-built algorithm design.

C
pointers
2D arrays
game AI
parsing

// instrumentation

The stack I work in

languages

Java
C
C++
C#
Python
SQL
JavaScript
HTML
CSS

frameworks & data

ASP.NET Core
Entity Framework Core
FastAPI
SQL Server
PostgreSQL

security & systems

Linux
Docker
Wireshark
OpenTelemetry
Prometheus
Azure

certifications

Sophos Central Endpoint — Certified Engineer
Sales Fundamentals

tools

Visual Studio
IntelliJ
VS Code
NetBeans
Adobe Lightroom
Office

key — fluent developing

// leadership · uptime since 2018

Leading & teaching

2025 — present

President’s Ambassador · St. Mary’s University

I represent the Office of the President at official university functions, alumni gatherings, and community events — greeting and engaging distinguished guests, donors, and prospective students, and representing the university’s mission in settings where first impressions matter.
2024 — 2026

Resident Assistant · St. Mary’s University

I build an inclusive, welcoming community in the residence halls — staying visible and approachable, challenging residents with new ideas, and running trust-building events. Active listening and a range of perspectives shape everything we plan, which keeps the hall supportive and genuinely collaborative.
2021 — 2023

Founder & Teacher, Photography Club · Colegio Lamatepec, El Salvador

I started a photography club to give students a place to pursue the craft, teaching around ten teenagers for two years — composition, technique, and writing captions — while pushing them to be creative. Juggling schedules and equipment taught me to seize opportunities and adapt when plans broke.
2018 — 2023

Karate-Do Coach · Dojo Lamatepec, El Salvador

I coached and supervised about fifteen teens at tournaments, developing their athletic skill and sportsmanship. Classes stayed fun and engaging while instilling discipline, self-control, and focus, and I tailored my approach to each student’s strengths and struggles — growing my own mentorship and adaptability in the process.

// background processes

Off-hours

What runs when I’m not at a keyboard.

Reading

A book is a lifetime of someone’s knowledge compressed into a few pages. Fiction or non-fiction, it’s how I learn, grow, and stumble into topics no class ever covers — there’s always something new in there.

Traveling

My favorite hobby, full stop. New people, new cultures, and the chance to explore the wonderful places on this planet — from deep caves to flying over a town in the middle of the Alps. It feeds my curiosity and my adventurous streak.

New experiences

Nothing beats the thrill of trying something for the first time — a new food, paragliding, horseback riding, whatever’s next. My bucket list keeps growing, and I like it that way.

Juan MarcoSaca Dada