ANA MCCULLAGH

Software Engineer
Ana McCullagh
Chicago, IL
me@anamccullagh.com | LinkedIn | GitHub

Professional Summary

Software Engineer with B.S. in Computer Science (Dec 2025) and hands-on experience in backend development, machine learning, and full-stack projects. Proven ability to quickly learn new technologies and adapt to diverse technical environments. Maintained 7+ years of continuous employment while completing a rigorous technical degree (3.34 GPA), leading the SHPE-NEIU chapter, and pursuing an entrepreneurship minor. Trilingual professional (English, Portuguese, Spanish) with cross-industry background in communications and client relations, bringing exceptional time management, stakeholder communication, and proven ability to deliver results under pressure.

Technical Skills

Languages

  • Python
  • Java
  • C++
  • SQL
  • JavaScript
  • HTML/CSS

Frameworks & Tools

  • FastAPI
  • React
  • Node.js
  • Git/GitHub
  • Docker
  • VS Code
  • Hugging Face

Technologies

  • MySQL
  • PostgreSQL
  • SQLite
  • RESTful APIs
  • CI/CD Pipelines
  • Microservices
  • Azure Blob Storage
  • Machine Learning

Core Competencies: Data Structures, Algorithms, Machine Learning, System Design, Agile/Scrum, Project Management

Professional Experience

Software Engineering Intern | Backend Developer
Amezmo (Startup) | Chicago, IL (Remote)
  • Contributed to container-based PHP hosting platform serving 10+ developer accounts globally, implementing automated deployment workflows that reduced manual configuration time by 20%
  • Assisted in CI/CD pipeline implementation, integrating GitHub and GitLab, enabling zero-downtime deployments and improving deployment success rate from 85% to 93%
  • Collaborated on platform features including SSL certificate management, database backup automation processing daily backups, and real-time monitoring dashboards tracking performance metrics
  • Resolved 30+ customer-reported issues related to PHP hosting, Laravel frameworks, and MySQL configurations, maintaining average response time under 5 hours while delivering technical documentation
Key Skills: Python, PHP, Docker, MySQL, CI/CD, RESTful APIs, Technical Documentation
Journalist / Press Officer
Namoska Comunicação | São Paulo, Brazil
  • Managed external communications and media relations for 4 client accounts simultaneously, increasing combined media mentions by 15% over 18 months through strategic relationship-building
  • Authored and distributed 30+ press releases, pitches, and media kits, achieving 18% placement rate in targeted publications through compelling storytelling and audience analysis
  • Served as primary contact for 20+ journalists and media outlets, demonstrating exceptional cross-functional collaboration and professional communication skills
  • Monitored and analyzed 100+ media clips across print and digital channels; compiled weekly performance reports tracking reach, sentiment, and ROI
Key Skills: Stakeholder management, written communication, data analysis, strategic messaging, client relations
Professional Childcare Specialist
Private Family | Chicago, IL
  • Maintained 7+ years of continuous professional employment while simultaneously completing a rigorous Computer Science degree (3.34 GPA), demonstrating exceptional time management, stakeholder communication, and ability to deliver quality results under competing priorities
Key Skills: Time management, decision ownership, problem-solving, adaptability under pressure, multitasking

Technical Projects

PII Detection & Redaction System
Northeastern Illinois University - Independent Study Project
  • Self-initiated advanced project to deepen machine learning expertise after initial AI course challenges, demonstrating growth mindset and commitment to mastery
  • Engineered production-ready data privacy pipeline achieving 94.7% precision and 95% recall on 1,000+ test documents, processing 30+ documents per second
  • Designed hybrid architecture combining BERT-based NER with regex pattern matching to detect and mask 7 PII types (SSNs, emails, phone numbers, names, addresses, dates, locations) for HIPAA/GDPR compliance
  • Reduced manual data review time from 2+ hours to under 30 seconds per batch, achieving 99.2% automation rate
Sentinel Fire - Wildfire Risk Monitoring Platform
Innovation Challenge 2025 Hackathon
  • Served as backend developer on 5-person team building real-time wildfire evacuation risk API within 48-hour hackathon deadline
  • Developed 8 FastAPI endpoints that integrated 3 external geospatial data sources with Azure Blob Storage to process 500MB+ data and deliver sub-200ms query response times
Database Project - Parking Lot Management System
Northeastern Illinois University
  • Designed comprehensive relational database schema with 8 normalized tables (3NF) modeling vehicles, customers, parking spots, transactions, and billing
  • Implemented 15+ complex SQL queries for automated vehicle tracking, payment processing, occupancy reporting, and revenue analysis
  • Optimized query performance using strategic indexing, reducing average query execution time by 60% across JOIN operations

Education

Bachelor of Science, Computer Science
Northeastern Illinois University - Chicago, IL
GPA: 3.34 | IT Concentration, Minor in Entrepreneurship
Associate of Arts and Sciences and Certificate in Information Systems
City Colleges of Chicago - Harry S Truman College - Chicago, IL
GPA: 3.8 | Presidential Scholars List, High Honors, Dean's List
Bachelor of Arts, Communications
Universidade São Judas Tadeu - São Paulo, Brazil
GPA: 3.0 | Journalism & PR Concentration

Leadership & Community Engagement

President & Technical Lead | NEIU Chapter
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers - SHPE - Chicago, IL
  • Led 5-officer executive board managing $3k budget, increasing membership by 15% and operational efficiency by 20% through strategic planning and streamlined team operations
  • Facilitated monthly technical workshops on technical and professional development while mentoring incoming leadership on organizational management and professional skills

Professional Development & Certifications

Honors & Involvement