Résumé

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Experience, education, research, and projects across technology, data, and policy. For anything not listed here, get in touch.

Experience

Apple Support College Program AdvisorApple · Chapel Hill, NCMay 2025 – Present1 yr 6 mos

Selected for Apple’s competitive Support College Program, serving in a corporate role as an advisor while pursuing higher education in Management Information Systems.
Resolve technical issues across Apple’s hardware, software, and services ecosystem using internal tools and workflows, with an emphasis on first-contact resolution and KPI-driven performance.
Deliver clear, empathetic communication to a diverse customer base while maintaining Apple’s standards for confidentiality, service quality, technical accuracy, and user experience.

Frontend LeadInvii · Raleigh, NCFeb 2021 – Oct 20232 yrs 9 mos

Owned all frontend development at an early-stage startup1, taking products from first prototype through production.
Developed and maintained a suite of internal dashboards and consumer-facing web applications using Vue.js, Nuxt, and TailwindCSS, focused on responsive, accessible interfaces across the product line.
Collaborated closely with a small cross-functional team spanning design and backend to deliver high-quality, visually appealing, and performant web applications within project timelines.
Built and iterated on UI from design handoff to production, prioritizing performance and accessibility (WCAG/ARIA) across devices and browsers.

Business Analyst InternCity of Raleigh Municipal Government · Raleigh, NCJun 2021 – Aug 20213 mos

Conducted market research for Wotter, a venture-backed swimwear brand, analyzing their existing lineup to identify where a new product line could fit.
Established and coordinated a partnership between a local arts school and Wotter, organizing student-created artwork to be printed on the new product line.

Education

B.S., Management Information SystemsUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte · Charlotte, NCJan 2025 – Dec 2027

Minor in Political Science
Dean’s List (Spring 2026)

B.S., Business AnalyticsUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte · Charlotte, NCJan 2025 – Dec 2027

Minor in American Studies
Dean’s List (Spring 2026)

A.A., Business AdministrationWake Technical Community College · Raleigh, NCJan 2023 – Dec 20242 yrs

Academic Honors

Projects

NocturneCustom firmware and companion app ecosystem for Spotify Car Thing hardwareSep 2024 – Present2 yrs 2 mos

Led development of Nocturne, an open-source custom firmware and companion app ecosystem that repurposes the discontinued Spotify Car Thing2 into a standalone Bluetooth media controller, overseeing a three-person engineering team across firmware, systems, and mobile development, with 700+ project sponsors and a 1,700+ member community3.
Built a complete embedded Linux distribution (Buildroot)4 and real-time Rust system daemon for the ARM Cortex-A53 SoC5, replacing stock firmware with a custom OS featuring Bluetooth audio control, A/B OTA partition failover, and on-device wake-word detection via ONNX inference.
Designed the full-stack architecture spanning embedded firmware, a Rust WebSocket daemon bridging hardware I/O to application logic, and native companion apps on iOS and Android6 for Bluetooth connectivity and Spotify authentication.
Built a touch-optimized React 19 SPA running on-device in Chromium kiosk mode with full Spotify playback control, hardware button mapping, swipe gestures, dynamic album art gradients, lock screen, and real-time OTA update flows.
Shipped OTA update infrastructure using SWUpdate with cryptographic signature verification and dual-partition failover, enabling safe remote firmware updates across devices in the field.

TwofoldIn-browser genetic data explorerMay 2023 – Present3 yrs 6 mos

Built and maintain a free, open-source genetic data explorer that matches raw DNA files from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA, Living DNA, and whole genome VCFs against SNPedia entirely in the browser7.
Engineered a data pipeline that crawls SNPedia’s MediaWiki API8 and compiles 111,734 SNP records, 104,732 genotype annotations, and 283 genosets into fixed reference files that every visitor downloads identically, so no request depends on a person’s genotypes.
Designed a privacy-first architecture with Web Worker processing, a strict Content Security Policy9, offline support through a service worker, and optional passphrase-encrypted storage using PBKDF2 and AES-GCM.
Created a report dashboard with filterable findings, topic and genoset views, rare variant flags, and print, CSV, and JSON export, built with Astro, React, and TypeScript and tested with Vitest and Playwright.

Saldan, B. (2026).Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy and Perceived U.S. Federal Government Responsiveness in Adulthood: A Family Marker of Distrust Across Two Generations.Preprint, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.doi:10.17613/0nwbw-8j163
Adults whose mothers smoked while pregnant with them see the federal government as less responsive. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and its Child and Young Adult study, I establish that association with a plan fixed in advance and ask what it reflects. Among 3,701 respondents born from 1979 through 1990, those whose mothers reported smoking during the pregnancy rated the government 0.21 categories lower on a five-point scale after adjustment (95% confidence interval 0.13 to 0.29). The difference is unlikely to follow the pregnancy: siblings from pregnancies with and without smoking did not differ that way, although the comparison detects a 137-gram birth-weight deficit. Nor does it follow smoking itself: children of mothers who smoked only outside pregnancy resembled those of never-smokers. It extends to distrust of other people, not to interest in politics, and the mothers show the same profile. So do smokers: in the parent generation, they rated the government 0.19 lower than never-smokers and 0.23 lower than their never-smoking siblings. A test planned before its data were obtained confirmed the adult association in the General Social Survey, 1977 through 1994: smokers expressed less confidence in the federal executive and less trust in people. Smoking through pregnancy appears to mark families sharing a distrustful outlook. Its source and transmission remain unidentified.
APA
Saldan, B. (2026). Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy and Perceived U.S. Federal Government Responsiveness in Adulthood: A Family Marker of Distrust Across Two Generations [Preprint]. University of North Carolina at Charlotte. https://doi.org/10.17613/0nwbw-8j163
BibTeX
```
@misc{saldan2026maternal,
  author       = {Saldan, Brandon},
  title        = {{Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy and Perceived U.S. Federal Government Responsiveness in Adulthood: A Family Marker of Distrust Across Two Generations}},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {Preprint, University of North Carolina at Charlotte},
  doi          = {10.17613/0nwbw-8j163},
  url          = {https://doi.org/10.17613/0nwbw-8j163}
}
```
Saldan, B. (2026).The Foreign Athlete Pipeline: International Recruiting in American College Athletics as a Geopolitical and National Security Issue, 1952-2026.Research Paper, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.doi:10.17613/07azx-8yw93
This timeline examines the history of international student-athlete recruitment in American intercollegiate athletics as a geopolitical, legal, and national security problem rather than a purely sporting one. Tracing developments from the Cold War period through 2026, the timeline argues that the foreign athlete pipeline has functioned simultaneously as an instrument of American soft power, a surface for foreign government talent acquisition programs, and a site of compounding legal inequity for the international athletes whose labor it extracts.

Ten entries document the institutional decisions, legislative actions, and geopolitical events most consequential to the pipeline’s development, including the post-9/11 securitization of university immigration compliance, the intersection of Chinese state talent programs with American campus athletic pipelines, and the legal fault lines produced by the NCAA’s adoption of name, image, and likeness rights and direct revenue sharing for athletes on F-1 student visas.
APA
Saldan, B. (2026). The Foreign Athlete Pipeline: International Recruiting in American College Athletics as a Geopolitical and National Security Issue, 1952-2026 [Research Paper]. University of North Carolina at Charlotte. https://doi.org/10.17613/07azx-8yw93
BibTeX
```
@misc{saldan2026foreign,
  author       = {Saldan, Brandon},
  title        = {{The Foreign Athlete Pipeline: International Recruiting in American College Athletics as a Geopolitical and National Security Issue, 1952--2026}},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {Research Paper, University of North Carolina at Charlotte},
  doi          = {10.17613/07azx-8yw93},
  url          = {https://doi.org/10.17613/07azx-8yw93}
}
```
Saldan, B. (2025).Africa in the International System: Theoretical Perspectives, Challenges, and Strategic Pathways.Research Paper, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.doi:10.17613/j8av3-99j73
This paper examines Africa’s position in the international system through multiple theoretical frameworks, analyzing how historical legacies and structural constraints intersect with emerging opportunities for greater continental agency. By integrating realist, liberal, world-systems, and constructivist perspectives, the analysis reveals the limitations of single-framework approaches in explaining Africa’s complex international relations. The study explores dimensions of Africa’s global engagement, including the contested role of development aid, persistent security challenges exemplified by the Congo Wars and Sahel terrorism, and the implications of shifting external partnerships with China and Russia.

Regional integration efforts through organizations like ECOWAS and the African Union, alongside initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area, represent important pathways toward enhanced collective bargaining power. However, these efforts face significant challenges including capacity constraints, power asymmetries, and sovereignty tensions. The paper argues that while structural dependencies remain powerful, strategic approaches combining regional cooperation, diversified partnerships, and domestic resource mobilization can gradually expand Africa’s agency in global politics.
APA
Saldan, B. (2025). Africa in the International System: Theoretical Perspectives, Challenges, and Strategic Pathways [Research Paper]. University of North Carolina at Charlotte. https://doi.org/10.17613/j8av3-99j73
BibTeX
```
@misc{saldan2025africa,
  author       = {Saldan, Brandon},
  title        = {{Africa in the International System: Theoretical Perspectives, Challenges, and Strategic Pathways}},
  year         = {2025},
  howpublished = {Research Paper, University of North Carolina at Charlotte},
  doi          = {10.17613/j8av3-99j73},
  url          = {https://doi.org/10.17613/j8av3-99j73}
}
```

Volunteering

General PartnerBagel FundMay 2024 – Present2 yrs 6 mos

Collaboratively contributed over $15,00010 to support young innovators by playing an integral role in a team effort to provide financial backing for various projects.
Reviewed applications and collaborated with a team to identify promising young builders and their unique projects in areas such as robotics, AI literacy, and elder care technology.
Offered guidance and resources to young innovators, helping them refine their ideas and develop their projects, including self-driving RC cars and computer vision applications.
Helped promote the organization’s mission to support ambitious young builders by creating awareness through various communication channels.

Assistant Patrol LeaderBoy Scouts of America, Del-Mar-Va CouncilMar 2013 – Nov 20163 yrs 9 mos

Played an integral role in disaster relief efforts following Hurricane Sandy11 in New Jersey, providing aid to affected communities and contributing to the rebuilding process.
Assisted in fundraising initiatives, coordinating events and campaigns to generate financial support for scouting programs and community projects.
Mentored and guided younger scouts, fostering personal growth, leadership skills, and character development.

Skills

Project & Product

Agile
Scrum
Sprint Planning
Backlog Grooming

Web & App Development

HTML
CSS
JS/TS
Vue.js
Nuxt
Next.js
React
Rust
TailwindCSS
Figma
WCAG/ARIA

Data & Reporting

SQL
Excel
Data Visualization
KPIs

Research & Writing

Literature Review
Policy Analysis
International Relations Theory
Historical Research
Academic Writing

Business Tools

Jira
Trello
Google Workspace
Microsoft Office
Slack

Honors & Awards

SIFMA Foundation Stock Market Game, First PlaceSIFMA, University of DelawareLed a team and competed against 1,452 students on 454 teams statewide to win first place in the SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game.Jan 2017
Delaware Senate Guest of HonorDelaware SenateMet with Lt. Governor of Delaware Matt Denn and opened the March 26, 2013 Delaware Senate legislative session in recognition of achievements in advancing K–12 education in the State of Delaware.Mar 2013

Certifications

Agile Project ManagementGoogle · View ↗Nov 2024
Project Planning: Putting It All TogetherGoogle · View ↗Oct 2024
Project Initiation: Starting a Successful ProjectGoogle · View ↗Sep 2024
Foundations of Project ManagementGoogle · View ↗Aug 2024

Notes

1Invii was a restaurant management platform: one dashboard for analytics, inventory, staff scheduling, and finances, plus digital menus, loyalty programs, and customer feedback.↑
2Spotify discontinued the Car Thing in 2024 and shut the devices off that December, leaving them unusable without custom firmware.↑
3The project is open source. github.com/usenocturne ↗↑
4The third base OS. Early betas ran Debian 12 with a Raspberry Pi as a USB network bridge; version 3 moved to NixOS with Bluetooth tethering through a phone hotspot.↑
5An Amlogic S905D2 with 512MB of RAM, which is why the wake-word models had to be optimized to run on the device itself.↑
6Available through Google Play and iOS TestFlight.↑
7Formerly GeneCodex, first released in 2023 and rebuilt from the ground up in 2026. The project is free and open source. github.com/brandonsaldan/twofold ↗↑
8The October 2026 snapshot requested 220,056 page titles in 4,402 batches, one request at a time, and is cached so later refreshes download only changed pages.↑
9The policy only allows connections to the site itself, so nothing on the page can send data to another server.↑
10Bagel Fund provides $100–500 microgrants for ambitious young builders working on anything from their first Arduino kits to underwater UAVs. bagel.fund ↗↑
11Sandy made landfall in New Jersey in October 2012; rebuilding there went on for years afterward.↑