Final-year IT student & software engineer / Melbourne, AU
Jordan
Howson
I build software that has to ship. Code that deploys cleanly and stays maintainable for whoever inherits it.
About
I'm a final-year Bachelor of Information Technology student at Victoria University, majoring in web and mobile application development with a minor in ICT management. The work I enjoy most sits between writing software and running it: building something, then making it deploy cleanly and hand off without drama.
That came from doing both sides. As a technician I fixed the messy real-world failures, dead hardware and flaky networks. As an engineering intern I wrote and debugged teaching code that had to be correct line by line. Most of what I build now sits on Docker, a database, and a network I actually understand.
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
- Study
- BInfoTech, Victoria University
- Leaning
- Software & backend
- Graduating
- November 2026
Skills
- Languages
- Python, Java, JavaScript, PHP, SQL
- Web
- HTML, CSS, CMS development, web application & server management
- Systems & networking
- Operating systems, computer networks, shell scripting, Docker
- Data
- Relational design, SQL querying
- Delivery
- Project management, ICT management, ICT change management
- Working style
- Analytical, leadership, adaptable, clear communication
Experience
Software Engineering Intern
Educational content
- Wrote programming materials and example code across core computer science topics.
- Reviewed and debugged existing examples, reproducing issues and correcting logic and output.
- Drafted and refined explanations, then folded in review feedback to approval.
- Worked with engineers to confirm technical accuracy and current behaviour.
- Kept examples runnable as written and consistent across modules.
Technician & Technology Sales Specialist
Tech team
- Diagnosed and repaired hardware and software faults on PCs, laptops, tablets and phones.
- Configured and deployed systems: OS installs, user accounts, and network setup.
- Troubleshot network outages, email errors and driver conflicts, in store and by phone.
- Ran malware scans, data backups and performance tuning.
- Matched customers to IT solutions and handled POS transactions and inventory.
Work
-
Student Project Showcase System
Capstone / Strapi CMS + Docker on campus smart TVs
A self-hosted showcase that puts student projects on wall-mounted smart TVs, with on-screen QR codes that open mobile-friendly project pages. Staff publish through the CMS; the TVs run themselves.
- Built a Strapi CMS with role-based content types and an approval workflow, so staff add and publish projects without developer access.
- Developed a kiosk display mode that auto-cycles projects on smart TVs driven by a small-form-factor PC.
- Containerised the whole stack with Docker Compose for repeatable deploys, plus step-by-step handover docs for university IT.
Strapi, Docker Compose, CMS, QR, kiosk Case study ↗
-
Retail POS Printer Switcher
Windows system-tray utility for non-technical staff
A lightweight tray tool that picks the right printer automatically based on the active app or task, so retail staff stop printing receipts to the label printer. Built for people who should never have to open printer settings.
- Auto-selects the correct printer per application using the Windows print APIs, with hotkeys for manual override.
- Bundled a simple config editor that writes JSON profiles to a shared location for quick switching, backup and restore.
- Handled missing or offline devices gracefully, with clean remapping after driver updates across USB and network printers.
Windows, print API, JSON config, system tray Case study ↗
-
OPEN-IPTV
Desktop IPTV player / Python, bring-your-own source
A fast desktop client for IPTV. You point it at your own source, an M3U playlist or an Xtream Codes login, and it handles indexing, a live guide and playback. It hosts no streams itself and nothing phones home.
- Indexes channels once and loads them lazily, so browsing stays fast even across hundreds of thousands of channels.
- Shows a live guide with current and upcoming programming, and searches by channel name or by what's airing right now.
- Connects over M3U (file or URL) or Xtream Codes, tags live versus on-demand content, and keeps credentials on-device with no telemetry.
Python, M3U, Xtream Codes, PyInstaller Source code ↗
Education
Bachelor of Information Technology
Victoria University, Melbourne
Expected November 2026 / Major: Web & Mobile App Development / Minor: ICT Management
High distinctions to date
- Object Oriented Programming
- Cloud Application Development
- Software Engineering
- Online Business System Development
- Operating Systems
- Web Application & Server Management
- Web Development & CMS
- Advanced Web Application Development
- IT Capstone Project 1
- ICT Change Management
Contact
Open to graduate and junior roles in software and web. If you've got something worth building, I'd like to hear about it.