Josh Muzi — Software Engineer

About

Hey — I'm Josh, a software engineer in Orange County, California. I build web apps with TypeScript, React, and Next.js, currently at REFS Labs, where I work on a trust-and-reputation platform for the trading card community.

I studied computer science at the University of Oregon (B.S., 2025) with a minor in Business & Entrepreneurship.

Off the clock I run a backyard salsa garden — serrano and jalapeño peppers, tomatillos, cherry and Roma tomatoes, cilantro, onions, and strawberries. Six months into a turf war with the neighborhood squirrels, every plant now lives in a metal cage. I have stopped playing fair.

I also collect trading cards — Pokémon and One Piece, going on two years — and compete: seriously in Azuki TCG, where I sit top 30 on the overall winners leaderboard and placed 52nd of 315 at the first Garden Arena Regionals, and casually in the One Piece TCG.

This site is my desk. Click around, open some windows — if something looks like 1998, that's on purpose.

Experience

Software Engineer Intern · REFS Labs

Jan 2026 – Present · Remote

Trust-and-reputation platform for the trading card community.

Contributed across the full stack: frontend features, backend services, authentication flows, third-party integrations, and internal tooling.
Diagnosed and resolved server-side performance issues by redesigning feature flag evaluation to eliminate redundant processing.
Built an automated data-import pipeline with provider failover, retry logic, and multi-layer deduplication to prevent duplicate records.
Integrated data-import workflows with internal operations tools, including live progress tracking and automated completion notifications.
Implemented product analytics with Google Tag Manager and GA4, including conversion funnels and custom scroll-depth tracking.
Improved search indexing and sharing through JSON-LD structured data, dynamic sitemaps, robots.txt, and automated Open Graph image generation.

Next.js 15 · TypeScript · Convex · WorkOS · Vercel

Director of Finance · Delta Tau Delta Fraternity

Sept 2022 – May 2023 · Eugene, OR

Led financial management for an organization with a $450K annual budget, overseeing budget creation and financial planning across multiple committees.
Streamlined monthly dues collection for 100+ members while maintaining accurate financial records and reporting.
Managed 30+ chapter-house subleases as acting subtenant, overseeing lease agreements and day-to-day administrative operations.

File Clerk · Muzi & Associates

2020 · Irvine, CA

Digitized and organized legal documents with a high level of accuracy, ensuring files were properly categorized and easily accessible.
Cross-checked and verified records with multiple teams to maintain accurate and up-to-date documentation.
Maintained efficient filing systems while consistently meeting deadlines and demonstrating strong organization and time management.

Projects

JoshOS (this site)in progress

A Windows 95-style desktop that happens to be my portfolio.

Custom window manager (React context + reducer) with focus, z-index, minimize, and maximize — plus draggable desktop icons. No UI framework: hand-built modern chrome, hand-drawn pixel icons, react-rnd for drag/resize.

One typed content source renders as draggable windows on desktop and as a fast, accessible single page on phones. The desktop ships two AI-powered games (below) that share a wallet and a server-side AI layer.

Next.js 16 · TypeScript · React · Tailwind · react-rnd · Vercel

Source on GitHub

POND.EXE

A fishing game with an infinite, AI-invented fish-dex.

Every catch is a new species: Claude Haiku names it, writes its one-line lore, and picks its color, while a deterministic sprite generator (seeded PRNG, part-based pixel bodies) draws it. Rarity, reel physics, and drop rates live entirely in code — the model only supplies creativity, never rules.

Four milestone-locked fishing spots with generated art, purchasable bait stacks that bias the odds, a shared daily weather line, and a persisted FishDex. Server routes validate input with Zod, cache common species globally (Infinite Craft-style), rate-limit per IP, and fall back to offline names so the game never breaks.

TypeScript · React · Next.js Route Handlers · Claude API (Haiku) · Zod · Canvas · Upstash Redis

Source on GitHub

DERBY.EXE

Bet JoshBucks on AI-named creatures in a deterministic race sim.

A 30-tick-per-second race simulation, fully deterministic from a seed, with stats, funny traits that carry real mechanics (stall-prone, drama queen, built like a fridge), rubber-banding, and chaos events. Odds are priced by Monte Carlo — 200 simulated runs per race with a house edge — so trait power is priced in automatically.

Claude writes each field's names and gimmicks around code-rolled mechanics and calls the race afterward with timestamped commentary. Generated pixel horses are tinted per racer in canvas; a live tote board renders real odds over generated track art. Includes a persisted wallet with refund/settle rules, race history and records, and Vincent, the loan shark.

TypeScript · React · Simulation design · Monte Carlo pricing · Claude API (Haiku) · Zod · Canvas · Upstash Redis

Source on GitHub

Skills

Languages: TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, C++, SQL, Shell scripting
Frontend: React, Next.js (App Router), Tailwind CSS, HTML/CSS
Backend & Data: Node.js, Convex, REST APIs, MongoDB, OAuth 2.0 and auth integration, Webhooks, Redis (Upstash), Rate limiting and budget controls
AI Engineering: Claude API (Anthropic), Prompt design with schema-validated (Zod) outputs, Hybrid architectures: rules in code, LLM for creativity, Graceful degradation and cost guardrails, AI-assisted asset pipelines (pixel art, sprite sheets)
Game & Simulation: Deterministic seeded simulation, Monte Carlo odds pricing, Procedural sprite generation, Canvas rendering and CSS animation, Game economy design
Tools & Practices: GitHub, Vercel, CI and pre-push pipelines, Biome, pnpm, Linux, Agile, Code review
Soft Skills: Project Management, Leadership, Teamwork, Organization, Creative Thinking

Education

University of Oregon

B.S. Computer Science

Minor: Business & Entrepreneurship

2020–2025