William Brayden Vaught
Computer Engineer | Theatrical Technician
I am a first-year Computer Engineering major with strong communication skills and team-working experience. I am outgoing and adept to working in high-paced environments and debugging software security risks, and I have real-world job experience in web security and development. Explore this website to learn more about my technical and professional experiences and how they can contribute to your software team. To navigate you can use one of the links below, or you can just start scrolling.
Hope for the best. Expect the worst. Life's a play. We're unrehearsed.
-Mel Brooks
Background
Hi, my name is Brayden Vaught and I’m a first year computer engineer at the Georgia Institute of Technology specializing in cybersecurity and distributed system & software design.
I became interested in computer engineering after I joined the technical theatre department for my school’s production of Seussical. Wiring, Programming, and setting up the wireless communication for the lighting equipment opened the door for me to get involved in many different other industries within computing.
As a junior in high school I obtained an internship at Compliance Solutions as a Business Automation Intern where I would observe how various employees ran their day-to-day tasks and I would write code to automate many of their processes.
Additionally, as a rising college freshman I interned for ServTrax, Inc. as a Web Development Intern in which I redesigned pages to have a modern UX as well as utilized SQL and AJAX to manage database communication with webpages.
Now as a first-year at Georgia Tech I am continuing my passion for theatre as a member of DramaTech (Georgia Tech’s student run theatre) in their lighting and scenery departments. Additionally, I am involved in the Yellow Jacket Space Program on the avionics software team where I program the electronics to allow a rocket to pilot itself to space. More professionally, I am currently a lab technician for the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech and I am actively seeking a co-op in the cybersecurity industry starting in Fall 2022.
Timeline
Summer 2019
Interned at Compliance Solutions as a Business Efficency Programmer writing scripts to automate repetitive tasks in Microsoft Office.
Summer 2021
Interned at ServTrax, Inc. as a Web Developer redesiging webpages with a modern UI and more robust database interactions.
August 2021
Started school at The Georgia Insititute of Technology studying Computer Engineering.
Present
Programming rockets, building sets for live theatre, and working as a lab technician in the ECE labs at Georgia Tech
Future Goals
Summer 2022
Studying Abroad through the Oxford Program traveling around Europe and learning ethics at Oxford University.
Fall 2022
Beginning a co-op in the cyberscecurity industry focusing on protecting private data and securing intenet connections.
Spring 2024
Finishing a co-op in the cyberscecurity industry with the ability to understand, prevent, and fix cybersecurity flaws in computers.
May 2025
Graduating from The Georgia Institute of Technology as a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering.
June 2025
Working full time as a cybersecurity analyst reverse engineering malware to better secure consumer and commerical devices.
Circa 2030
Managing security at a company specializing in data managment and cloud computing.
Education
Georgia Institute of Technology | Graduation: May 2025
Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering GPA 4.00/4.00
Threads in Cybersecurity and Distributed System & Software Design
Image Credit: Georgia Insitute of Technology
Relevent Coursework
Digital System Design
Produced desired logic functions in truth-table, schematic, and algebraic forms. Understand physical implementations of digital logic. Used multiplexers and encoders to build larger digital devices. Understand digital storage and sequential logic and be able to create finite state machines. Created simple programs in assembly code.
Object-Oriented Programming
Utilize object-oriented languages features like statically typed variables; encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism; event-driven programming principles as they apply to graphical user interface (GUI) programs; recursive definitions of algorithms and data structures; “Big-O” run time analysis of algorithms; basic algorithms for searching and sorting; and basic data structures.
Skills
Programming Languages
I am proficient in C# and Java with 3 years of programming experience. I am also proficient in HTML, CSS, and Javascript with 5 years of experience and a web development internship. Intermediate with database programming through SQL. Familiar with Bootstrap and JQuery libraries through their CDN implementation.
Electrical Engineering
I am proficient in prototyping, designing basic circuitry and state diagrams, and electronic debugging. I have experience through 4 years of personal projects and technical theatre where my main focus was addressing and fixing hardware problems on wireless lighting equipment with two-way addressable communication.
Engineering Tools
I am proficient with several mechanical and electronic tools due to my experience training in Georgia Tech makerspaces and my 6 years of technical theatre experience building sets and wiring lighting systems. I am proficient in soldering, Oscilloscope usage, and using basic machinery such as a laser cutter, drill press, and several saws.
Leadership
With three years of experience in Student Council as Vice President of Special Events and President, I am proficient in public speaking as well as organizing large-scale events in a managerial role with delegation and communication as the basis for organization.
Collaboration
I have gained valuable collaborative experience through technical theatre that I am currently compounding on at Georgia Tech. Through DramaTech (Georgia Tech’s student run theatre) I am learning to work with people of many different backgrounds in many different departments to create one cohesive product.
Experience
Professional Experience
ServTrax, Inc.
Role: Web Development Intern
Employment: May 2021 - August 2021
Redesigned existing webpages and created new webpages utilizing Bootstrap, Select2, and JQuery libraries. Also utilized SQL to manage database systems for AJAX data fetching. Learned to work with code in Azure DevOps and industry standard commenting and check-in practices.
Compliance Solutions
Role: Buisness Automation Intern
Employment: May 2019 - August 2019
Reviewed existing workflows in Microsoft Office and developed Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros to automate repetitive tasks to increase overall efficiency by 60%. Wrote functions in Excel to analyze and manipulate large data sets. Became certified in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.
Georgia Tech ECE Labs
Role: Laboratory Technician
Employment: January 2022 - Present
3D-print, solder, machine, and design various parts to be used by professors and labs. Organize and maintain several labs with inventory systems for electronic components. Instruct peers in labs on the topics of circuit diagrams and breadboard prototyping.
Academic Experience
Digital Hourglass
Learned basics of soldering and circuitry through the development of a digital hourglass that utilizes a gyroscope integrated circuit to determine orientation.
Finite State Machine
Learned how to create a state diagram from a list of constraints and then utilize that state diagram to create digital logic to be implemented in physical hardware.
Personal Projects
Electric Skateboard
Georgia Tech has a beautiful 400 acre campus; however, whether it’s the windy weather or you are late to class, it’s vastness can be daunting. To solve this issue I designed an electric skateboard with 15 miles of range utilizing Samsung 25R 18650 batteries in a 10S2P configuration connected to two 150W motors built into the wheels of the skateboard for water-resistance. Additionally, the device charges utilizing usb-c power delivery protocols to ensure proper voltage. Overall, this project exposed me to more of the electrical side of computer engineering with batteries and motors, a topic normally overlooked when studying computer engineering. Click on one of the images below to learn more about the engineering process behind this project.
Passions
Technical Theatre
Below are the posters for some of my most recent productions, to learn more about a specific production, click on the poster.
Contact Me