About Me
Hi, I'm Gavin Sonntag! I build backend infrastructure and research how to make runtime systems faster.
I'm a second-year undergraduate at UCLA studying Computer Science & Engineering (expected June 2028). See my full coursework here if you're curious!
This summer, I returned to Amazon Web Services as a Software Development Engineer Intern, this time on the Amazon Cognito team in Seattle, WA, where I'm currently developing features to reduce user lockout. One of my intern projects was the AdminDeleteSoftwareToken API, which lets administrators reset a user's TOTP MFA configuration so that users who lose access to their authenticator device can enroll a new one on their next sign-in, rather than having their account recreated.
Last summer, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to join Amazon Web Services as a Software Development Engineer Intern on the Key Management Service (KMS) team in Seattle, WA. I got this opportunity through the Amazon Future Engineer scholarship and internship program. During this internship, I developed an internal tool that is now in use by all AWS service teams that interface with KMS, while learning from top engineers in the industry at a Fortune 1 technology company.
At school, I help organize LA Hacks, Southern California's largest hackathon. On the Technology team, I’ve helped create our new hackathon management platform on a modern Next.js, TypeScript, and Supabase stack. I developed core parts of the applicant experience, from resume uploads, to autosaving for the application flow. I also built internal tooling used by the team to review and manage 8,000+ applicants at scale, such as the grading workflow, decision-management actions, and acceptance tooling. I also shipped logistics features for admitted hackers, including RSVP and travel reimbursement flows, waiver and budget fixes, and a QR-based event check-in system.
I am also currently a researcher in the Programmable Software Systems Lab at UCLA, advised by Prof. Konstantinos Kallas. I am researching remembering JIT optimizations across different serverless instances in the JVM.
My interests include systems programming, applied AI, and programming languages. I'm always open to build something if a good opportunity comes around. Check out my LinkedIn and GitHub, or shoot me an email at gsag@ucla.edu!
Fun fact: I've won something at every hackathon I've attended except for LA Hacks, which I became an organizer for ;) One win at each of