Laune Harris

Professional

I'm primarily a Backend/Systems/Generalist engineer by preference and depth of skill. However, I'm comfortable across the stack and have significant professional Fullstack experience. I have lots of experience and skill with many of the auxiliary roles that cross-cut software development: Engineering Management, Architecture, Domain/Data modeling, Analytics and Security.

I get up to speed quickly in complex domains.

Publications

Practical Analysis of Stripped Binary Code (pdf)

This published research describes a framework for stripped binary code analysis that is comprehensive and precise enough to support runtime binary instrumentation of real world (commercial and otherwise) executable files. I did this while working towards a PhD in Computer Science at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

Typical: Taking the Tedium out of Typing (pdf)

This research tackled the tooling gap for building programming language typecheckers. There were lots of tools for building parsers, lexers, etc. However, not a lot of easy ways to build type checkers. We describe an OCaml based language 'Typical' that allows concise, declarative specification of the typechecking rules for a programming language. We can then use those rules to automatically generate typecheckers. Wins were demonstrated by quick implementation of typecheckers for C and experimental languages. This was done when I transferred to New York University to complete the PhD program in CS. This transfer came with a focus switch from Operating Systems/Networking to Programming Languages and Compilers.

*Dropped out to live the startup life

Other

I am a Jimi Hendrix fan and own 50+ Hendrix shirts. I own many guitars but am no good at guitaring.

I cook. I bake. I often invest unreasonable amounts of time and effort replicating or improving on dishes I enjoy from restaurants. Most of the time I eventually succeed. However, I have had no success with Thai Red Curry or Singaporean Laksa. I am forced to travel to Satay Brothers in Montreal to fill the Laksa shaped hole in my soul.

In a previous life I was a competitive martial artist - mainly karate and Okinawan Kobudo (Bo, Sai, Tunfa, Nunchaku, Eku-bo, Nunti-bo, Kama) with sidequests in Judo and Japanese jujitsu.

In another previous life I was competent at Street Fighter II and IV and Age of Empires II.

I'm interested in Caribbean languages+linguistics and run, curate, and maintain Wiwords - a cross referencing dictionary of Caribbean language and culture.