CV - Cooper Morgan
Cooper Morgan

Cooper Morgan

Software Engineer

Bellingham, WA • [email protected]cwooper.megithub.com/Cwooperin/Cwooper

Summary

Full-stack software engineer with experience across Go, TypeScript/React, C#, and Python. Currently an intern at SPIE building frontend architecture and refactoring backend systems for their Digital Library. Research focus on adversarial machine learning and network security, with a paper under review at ACNS 2026. Completing a Master of Science in Computer Science at Western Washington University (4.0 GPA, June 2026). Relocating to Akureyri, Iceland in summer 2026.

Education

Western Washington University

MS in Computer Science • GPA: 4.0 Sep 2025 - Jun 2026
  • Thesis: Frameworks for Adversarial DNS Exfiltration Detection.
  • Currently taking graduate courses in Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Robotics.
BS in Computer Science • GPA: 3.9 Dec 2022 - Jun 2025
  • Minor in Anthropology

Relevant Coursework

Cloud Computing: AWS, Docker, Cloud Architecture, Distributed Systems

Machine Learning: PyTorch, Machine Learning Algorithms, Model Evaluation

Robotics: ROS, Arduinos, Path Planning, Sensor Integration

Deep Learning: CNNs, RNNs, LSTMs, GANs, Transformers

Experience

Software Developer Intern

SPIE

Jun 2025 - Present

  • Designed the frontend architecture for SPIE's Digital Library, building a React/TypeScript component library that coordinated React Islands via a Redux global store, allowing for consistent UI/UX across the platform.
  • Refactored legacy model-bound views into well-structured API and Entity Controllers in C#/ASP.NET MVC.
  • Redesigned the Digital Library's session system end-to-end, from frontend state to backend authentication controllers.
  • Decreased page load times by 90% through Webpack bundle optimizations, lazy loading, and Redis caching.

Graduate Research Assistant

AI for Adversarial Cybersecurity, WWU

Jul 2025 - Present

  • Designed and built a novel adversarial framework in Python that outperformed state-of-the-art detection methods, validating results against real municipal network data with cross-dataset validation.
  • Developed a novel encoding scheme, rethinking adversarial DNS Exfiltration by using combinatorial mathematics to optimize data transmission through structural patterns rather than payload manipulation.
  • Implemented reinforcement learning and LSTM models to optimize system configurations and mimic realistic network behavior, maximizing throughput while evading detection.
  • Engineered concurrent data pipelines for simulating, parsing, and validating large volumes of DNS records.

Graduate Teaching Assistant

CS Department, WWU

Jul 2025 - Present

  • Taught Computer Systems 1 lab across 4 sections (~100+ students), grading code, tests, and written assignments, and holding office hours.
  • Graded assignments for CSCI 447: Operating Systems.

Teaching Assistant

CS Department, WWU

Mar 2025 - Jun 2025

  • Taught CSCI 247: Computer Systems 1 Lab across 2 sections, grading assignments and holding office hours.

Software Developer

CS Department, WWU

Feb 2025 - May 2025

  • Spearheaded backend development as the sole backend developer using Python (Django) with frontend development in TypeScript (React), integrating with Canvas LMS.
  • Conducted qualitative research by interviewing faculty about grading workflows and instructor-TA communication processes.
  • Designed backend architecture and RESTful API endpoints for grading, feedback, and course management operations.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Systems Research Group, WWU

Mar 2024 - Jun 2025

  • Led development of the Vulkan Synthetic Vision System for Raspberry Pi 5 using Go.
  • Collaborated with a multidisciplinary research team, driving meetings and aligning technical direction with project objectives.

Program Support Staff

Financial Aid, WWU

Mar 2023 - Apr 2025

  • Automated data processing workflows in Go and Python, with PDF processing, reducing manual review by 10 hours weekly.
  • Created a duplicate-checking system that identified matching SSNs and names, saving over 200 hours of manual review over the summer and reducing human error in data verification.
  • Partnered with team members to identify and automate repetitive workflows, increasing efficiency and accuracy.
  • Engineered a flexible document processing framework with configuration-based rule management, enabling non-technical staff to update processing logic independently.

Publications

Adversarial DNS Exfiltration: Framework and Defense Evaluation

Cooper Morgan, Logan Day, Filip Jagodzinski, Hsiang-Jen Hong

Jan 2026
ACNS — Under Review

Skills

Languages: Go, C, C#, Python, TypeScript, C++, Java, SQL
Frameworks & Tools: Git, React, ASP.NET MVC, AWS, Linux, Tailwind CSS, Django, Docker
Research & Specializations: Cybersecurity, Machine Learning, Systems Programming, Distributed Systems, Vulkan

Projects

WWU Schedule Optimizer

Jan 2024 - Present

  • Designed and developed a full-stack course scheduling application serving up to 1,000 monthly users, using bitmask-based conflict detection with backtracking to generate optimized schedules based on timing, compactness, and GPA.
  • Built a Go backend with SQLite persistence, a background job scheduler for automated data synchronization, and a concurrent web scraper pulling from WWU's Banner API to maintain up-to-date course catalogs.
  • Developed a responsive React/TypeScript frontend with persistent client-side state, real-time course search with relevance scoring, and an interactive calendar interface for browsing and comparing generated schedules.

Vulkan Synthetic Vision System

Mar 2024 - Jun 2025

WWU Systems Research
  • Developed a high-performance Vulkan renderer for Raspberry Pi 5 using Go, processing 16-bit NASADEM elevation grids into triangle mesh terrain with water surface detection and achieving stable 60 FPS.
  • Built a custom chunk-based rendering system from scratch with frustum culling and 5-level distance-based LOD, reducing GPU load by 50% via concurrent worker-pool streaming with bucket-allocated GPU memory.
  • Integrated team feedback to iteratively refine rendering performance and user interface.
KPL Linter

Jan 2025 - June 2025

  • Built a TypeScript VSCode extension with custom lexer and abstract syntax tree parser to provide syntax highlighting and linting for KPL (Kernel Programming Language) and its compiled Blitz assembly output.
  • Implemented context-aware hover documentation, 7+ diagnostic lint rules for symbol validation, and an automated Blitz assembly formatter with label-based indentation and comment alignment.
  • Published to the VS Code Marketplace with automated CI/CD via GitHub Actions.

Grado

March 2025 - June 2025

WWU CS Department
  • Conducted qualitative research with faculty including recorded interviews and data coding to inform design.
  • Built a Django backend with user authentication, file storage, and PostgreSQL database, deployed on a DigitalOcean droplet with a React frontend.
  • Implemented batch PDF processing to automatically split multi-student submission files into individual work, with configurable page counts and enrollment-aware student matching.

Awards

People's Choice Award

Western Washington University

May 2025

Project: Vulkan Synthetic Vision System. Faculty Spotlight

Languages

English (Native)Spanish (B1, Conversational)Icelandic (A1, Learning)

References

Available upon request.