Computer Science @ UT Austin

CarlosCantu.

UT Austin Computer Science student engineering performant, reliable software — from low-level algorithms to scalable systems.

01About

About Me

I'm a Computer Science student at UT Austin focused on software engineering, systems programming, and algorithmic design. I like digging into the mechanics of a problem and turning complex, open-ended challenges into clean, maintainable architecture.

Competitive robotics shaped how I work: long hours testing edge cases, debugging on the fly, and pushing through failures until the software turned an idea into a working machine. Good engineering isn't a clever concept on a whiteboard — it takes the persistence to keep digging until a problem is fully solved.

I bring that mindset to my custom chess engine, where anticipating massive decision trees and making smart architectural trade-offs translate directly to designing scalable software. Whether it's low-level systems, new applications, or a difficult bug, I'm driven by problem-solving and the hard work it takes to build reliable software.

02Experience

Robotics leadership, in the pit and in code

Four years captaining two competitive robotics teams, writing the autonomous and vision code that actually has to work on the field.

  1. FRC Team 8625 — MHS Eagles

    Captain & Lead Programmer

    Aug 2021 – May 2025Mission, Texas

    • 3× State qualifier
    • District champion

    Led a cross-functional engineering team through four competitive build seasons, directing the strategic vision and software architecture for a robot that achieved three State qualifications and a district championship.

    • Software Architecture & ControlArchitected a modular, command-based Java codebase with PID-driven odometry, LimelightLib vision tracking, and PathPlanner trajectory execution.
    • Autonomy & SimulationEngineered deterministic autonomous routines using motion profiling and closed-loop sensor feedback to maximize scoring in the critical 15-second autonomous window. Managed the code in Git and validated kinematic logic in simulation weeks before the physical chassis was assembled.
    • Systems Integration & TelemetryBridged software and mechanical teams by managing CAN bus traffic and defining sensor requirements. Built real-time diagnostic dashboards streaming high-frequency sensor data and vision targeting metrics for rapid, data-driven debugging.
    • Agile Leadership & OutreachDirected technical triage at competitions, deploying code hotfixes within strict 10-to-15 minute match turnarounds. Mentored 3-4 student developers on version control and subsystem ownership, and organized district-wide STEM outreach — including Trunk-or-Treat booths and presentations across the Rio Grande Valley — that doubled the organization's membership.
    JavaPathPlannerLimelight / VisionPID & OdometryMotion ProfilingCAN BusGit
    PathPlanner autonomous swerve trajectory visualization
    PathPlanner: a generated swerve autonomous trajectory with rotation targets.
    Limelight vision coprocessor dashboard showing AprilTag detection and 3D field pose estimation
    Limelight vision pipeline: AprilTag detection driving 3D field-pose localization.
    FRC Team 8625 with their robot on the competition floor at a FIRST in Texas event
    1 / 4

    Photo 1 of 4: FRC Team 8625 with their robot on the competition floor at a FIRST in Texas event

  2. FTC Team 18734 — Eclipse

    Captain & Lead Programmer

    Aug 2021 – May 2025Mission, Texas

    • Regional tournament winner
    • State qualifier

    Directed the technical development and competitive execution for a FIRST Tech Challenge team across seasons from Freight Frenzy through Decode, securing a regional tournament victory and a State qualification.

    • Developed a real-time computer vision pipeline using OpenCV to detect and localize randomized game elements, dynamically feeding coordinate data into the robot's autonomous scoring sequences.
    • Implemented reliable, encoder-driven odometry and automated alignment protocols to ensure high repeatability during unassisted operation.
    • Managed the end-to-end engineering lifecycle of the robot, guiding a small cross-functional team through rapid iterative prototyping, testing, and system integration between tournament stages.
    OpenCVJavaEncoders / OdometryAutonomous Routines
    FTC Team 18734 robot on a foam-tile practice field
    1 / 3

    Photo 1 of 3: FTC Team 18734 robot on a foam-tile practice field

Other experience

Target

Sept 2025 – Present

Small Format Team Member · Austin, Texas

  • Maintain an organized, well-stocked sales floor to provide a positive shopping experience for customers.
  • Coordinate with the team to efficiently complete tasks.
  • Deliver friendly, attentive customer service through direct guest engagement.

Whataburger

July 2023 – Aug 2025

Certified Restaurant Trainer · Mission, Texas

  • Began as a team member providing customer service and kitchen support.
  • Promoted to Restaurant Trainer after one year, responsible for onboarding, coaching, and mentoring new employees.

03Projects

Featured work

A UCI chess engine written from scratch in Rust, running live in your browser.

Featured project

OTEngine

A UCI chess engine written from scratch in Rust — play it live, right here.

A traditional (non-neural) chess engine built from bitboard board representation up through search and evaluation. Compiled to WebAssembly and running live in a browser Web Worker so the UI never freezes mid-search.

  • Magic bitboards for O(1) sliding-piece move generation
  • Negamax with alpha-beta pruning and iterative deepening
  • Principal variation search
  • Zobrist-hash-keyed transposition table
  • Null-move pruning and late move reduction
  • Quiescence search with static exchange evaluation
RustWebAssemblyUCI ProtocolPythonJavaScript

04Skills

Tools I reach for

Languages

08
PythonJavaCRustJavaScriptHTMLLaTeXBash

Developer Tools

05
VS CodeEclipseAndroid StudioGitGitHub

Systems & Platforms

04
LinuxWindowsWebAssemblyCloudflare Pages

Robotics & Vision

05
PathPlannerLimelightLibOpenCVPID / OdometryUCI Protocol