Gary Hilares

Gary Hilares

All-rounded software developer

Principled, passionate, user-focused programming

Welcome to my website!

Technical skills

Languages:

  • TypeScript
  • JavaScript
  • Node.js
  • Python
  • R
  • CSS3
  • HTML5
  • Rust
  • C++
  • C
  • Java

Web frameworks:

  • Next.js
  • Express.js
  • React
  • ChromeAPI
  • Flask
  • RESTful APIs

Databases & other tools:

  • PostgreSQL
  • SQLite
  • MongoDB
  • Linux
  • Git
  • GitHub
  • Docker
  • Vercel

Personal technical projects

Liberty Arrow (Website blocker extension)

June 2024 - February 2025

Technologies: TypeScript, JavaScript, React, Sass, ChromeAPI, Python, Flask, MongoDB.

  • Prompted the user to choose distractive websites through a React controlled form.
  • Redirected the user away from distracting websites using the Chrome extension API.
  • Tracked verified emails and tokens in a MongoDB database using Python and Flask.
  • Published extension on the Mozilla add-ons marketplace, achieving a rating 5.0/5.0.

Links:

GitHub

3D Snake browser game

January 2025

Technologies: TypeScript, Jest, ThreeJS, HTML, CSS, Express.js, MongoDB, Vercel.

  • Rendered a 3D Snake game to the browser using ThreeJS in TypeScript.
  • Improved maintainability by implementing the Model-View-Controller design pattern.
  • Kept track of statistics in a MongoDB database through an Express.js back-end.

Links:

GitHub

Rubber Numbers (C++ arbitrary precision arithmetic library)

April 2021 - May 2025

Technologies: C++, CMake, GoogleTest, Doxygen, gcov, lcov, genhtml, gprof, GitHub Actions.

  • Automated testing in CI using GoogleTest and GitHub Actions for correctness.
  • Automatically rendered my Doxygen documentation to GitHub Pages and released to GitHub releases using CD with GitHub Actions
  • Measured test coverage using gcov and lcov and displayed it as a HTML graphical front-end using genhtml.

Links:

GitHub

Work Experience

Computer science teaching assistant

The University of British Columbia @ Vancouver, BC

September 2024 - April 2025

  • Worked with 1-2 other teaching assistants to hold 40+ 3-hour lab sessions on 10 topics related to systematic program design with 5-30 students each.
  • Assisted students to learn through one-to-one conversations held during my 1-hour-long and 2-hour-long weekly office hours.

Contests & Awards

1st place in the International Collegiate Programming Contest PacNW 2024 Div. 2 contest

Simon Fraser University @ Burnaby, BC

November 2024

  • Won 1st place out of 85 teams in the International Collegiate Programming Contest PacNW 2024 Div. 2.
  • Cooperatively solved challenging problems in topics like dynamic programming with two other UBC students.

IMES scholarship

The University of British Columbia @ Vancouver, BC

May 2023

  • Awarded the IMES scholarship, given to exceptional international students entering UBC.

Education & Certifications

Bachelor of Science, Computer Science

The University of British Columbia @ Vancouver, BC

September 2023 - May 2028 (expected)

  • GPA: 94.8% (73 credits so far).

Completion of CS50x course

HarvardX @ Online

2022

  • Completed HarvardX's CS50x course, including ten problem sets, eight labs, and one final project.