TWOK-TEKS ARCADE SYSTEM

> POWERING CRT DISPLAY...
> LOADING RETRO NAVIGATION ENGINE...
> EQUIPPING PROJECTS, XP, AND SIDE QUESTS...
> WELCOME, PLAYER.
> PRESS START TO ENTER KHANH'S WORLD

READY TO KHANH-QUER CHALLENGES

PLAYER 1 READY

WELCOME TO MY DOMAIN

Let’s get started!

Howdy! I’m Khanh Van. I build dependable software, enjoy solving complex problems, and I’m currently continuing my journey from UT Dallas into the M.S. in Computer Science program at UT Austin.

CURRENT ARC State Farm Software Engineer
NEXT EXPANSION Research Mode UT Austin M.S. CS and future AI/ML research goals
TWOK-TEKS

LEVEL 01 // ABOUT ME

CHARACTER LORE

ORIGIN STORY

STARTING ZONE 📍

Houston, Texas.

LEVEL UP ⭐

Studied Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas , where I built my foundation in algorithms, systems, and software engineering.

MAIN QUEST COMPLETE 📜

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

NEXT QUEST UNLOCKED ❓

I’m now returning to continue my unfinished mission — pursuing my M.S. in Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin .

OBJECTIVE❗

Continue leveling up as a software engineer, build meaningful systems, and eventually contribute to research in AI/ML.

Java Python C/C++ JavaScript Spring Boot Flask React Docker AWS PostgreSQL MongoDB Unix/Linux

SKILL TREE

Problem Solving95 XP
Backend Systems90 XP
Cloud + CI/CD82 XP
AI/ML Exploration76 XP

LEVEL 02 // PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE + EDUCATION

CAREER XP LOG

State Farm

Richardson, TX
Mar 2026 – Present
Software Engineer

Building and maintaining enterprise software within the PCAF engineering organization (Property, Casualty, Auto and Fire), focused on reliable systems and long-term modernization work.

  • Develop and support software solutions for large-scale enterprise platforms.
  • Contribute to modernization efforts that improve maintainability, scalability, and engineering efficiency.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver dependable production-ready systems.

Paycom

Irving, TX
June 2025 – Mar 2026
Software Developer II

Worked on scheduling-focused systems and production features that need to be dependable, maintainable, and easy to evolve.

  • Develop and maintain Scheduling module features including archiving systems, exception point calculations, and employee-facing interfaces.
  • Collaborate across development, QA, and DevOps teams to improve delivery quality.
  • Integrate code into CI/CD workflows to support smooth deployments and consistent releases.

QHung Management

Richardson, TX
Oct 2024 – June 2025
Full-Stack Developer

Built practical systems that helped real users manage leasing, communication, and day-to-day property workflows.

  • Designed and developed a responsive company website with tenant portal, rent payment support, and MLS IDX integration.
  • Built and deployed on AWS using Java, Spring Boot, and PostgreSQL.
  • Improved communication workflows and data management for smoother operations.

Computer Science Mentor Center • UT Dallas

Richardson, TX
Jan 2024 – May 2025
Mentor / Tutor

Helping students get unstuck, understand core concepts, and gain confidence in problem solving.

  • Tutor students in C++, Java, data structures, and algorithms.
  • Support discrete mathematics and computer architecture learning.
  • Guide students toward stronger coding habits and clearer thinking.

Alkami Technology

Plano, TX
Jun 2024 – Sep 2024
Software Engineer Intern

Explored fraud-focused backend engineering and production-ready service design.

  • Designed a Java backend service to flag suspicious transactions using rule-based and ML-augmented logic.
  • Integrated secure RESTful APIs with PostgreSQL for downstream workflows.
  • Deployed containerized services on AWS with Docker and supported CI/CD automation.

Royal Dutch Shell

Houston, TX
Jul 2019 – Aug 2020
Retail IT Intern

One of my earlier real-world engineering experiences where app behavior met location-based features.

  • Helped develop the “Arrived At The Station” feature using Google Maps API and geofencing.
  • Worked with backend APIs for real-time app communication.
  • Contributed testing and debugging work that reduced deployment delays.

Education

  • Master of Science in Computer Science
    The University of Texas at Austin
    Jan 2026 – May 2027
  • Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
    The University of Texas at Dallas
    Aug 2023 – May 2025
ACADEMIC BUILD MODE

LEVEL 03 // PROJECTS

SELECT A BUILD

BotStonkWar

Trading agent concept that combines real-time sentiment analysis from financial news with algorithmic strategies and modular decision-making.

AI + MICROSERVICES

Annual Fall Foliage ML Model

Machine learning project that predicts foliage peak timing from historical patterns and weather-driven features.

PYTHON • SCIKIT-LEARN • FLASK

Ingredience

Smart kitchen assistant for tracking pantry items, generating recipe ideas, and creating shopping lists based on real inventory.

REACT • NODE • MONGODB

Company Database Project

Database-driven application for company operations with structured queries, user-facing views, and cleaner access to core business data.

FLASK • MYSQL

LEVEL 04 // RESEARCH

COMING SOON

FUTURE RESEARCH CONSOLE

$ ./launch_research_mode

MASTER'S RESEARCH PATH LOADING

This page is intentionally marked as upcoming. Research is the next expansion pack, and this section can later grow into papers, experiments, reading logs, ideas, and ongoing work.

PLACEHOLDER FOR FUTURE PUBLICATIONS + LAB NOTES

BONUS STAGE // "AFK" LIFE

SIDE QUESTS
LIFE OUTSIDE THE TERMINAL
  • Spending time outdoors, hiking, and camping.
  • Traveling around the U.S. with family and collecting memories like game trophies.
  • Finding weirdly satisfying peace in cleaning and organizing.
  • Going deep into random YouTube rabbit holes for fun.

ALL-TIME FAVORITE

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the kind of game that feels like a world, not just a game.

LEGENDARY TIER

CURRENTLY INTO

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is in the current rotation.

ACTIVE PLAYLIST

RETRO JUKEBOX

TRACK 01 // MISSIONreliable teammate mode

Be someone people can count on, especially when problems get complex.

TRACK 02 // ENERGYgrowth mode

Keep learning, keep building, and keep showing up better than yesterday.

TRACK 03 // VIBEretro but modern

A mix of arcade nostalgia, curiosity, and real-world engineering discipline.

FINAL STAGE // CONTACT + LINKS

CONTINUE?

LET'S CONNECT

Thanks for playing through the portfolio. Whether you’re here for engineering work, collaboration, research conversations, or just to see what I’m building next, I’d love to connect.

PERSONAL SITE

Use this redesign as the new visual direction for twok-teks.

twok-teks.space

GITHUB

Projects, experiments, and whatever side quest gets built next.

@twok-teks
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED New Zone Entered

Welcome to the next level.