solid-tree
Four tree views for the SolidJS ecosystem, from a simple tree all the way to a batteries-included, multi-user Supabase tree with automatic record locking.
Tim Otholt
AI Software Engineer
Solves real business problems by building shippable AI solutions, fast.
Builds with AI 4–8 hours a day and is genuinely excited about where it is going.
From firmware to
what's next
Tim started in firmware engineering at companies like AMD and Phoenix Technologies, then spent two decades as an award-winning Director of Photography in the film industry, delivering for clients like Mercedes, BMW and T-Mobile on real deadlines and budgets. Today Tim brings that mix of technical depth and real-world delivery to AI-assisted software and full-stack products.
The return to engineering was on purpose: Per Scholas (2nd in class, GPA 3.8), and now an A.A.S. in AI Software Engineering at Maestro College (GPA 4.0). Tim wants a team where the learning is fast and the contribution starts in week one.
Highlights
- Millions of PCs shipped Tim's BIOS Phoenix Technologies / Toshiba, NEC, Fujitsu / invented FastBoot
- 22 AT&T cell sites on 5G fiber Fujitsu flexiHaul transport / VenTel, 2023–2025
- 30,000 books in a live store Chantel's Corner / built end to end with AI coding agents
- 4.0 GPA in AI Software Engineering Maestro College / in progress
Built to work
4 projects across interfaces, firmware, e-commerce and AI tooling. Click one to open it.
Inductor & Firmware Checker
Sizes inductors for power electronics from real core data: give it the inductance and current you need, and it ranks real cores and windings, checks saturation and window fit, and draws the winding. A second workspace generates the matching firmware constants and shows which ones break when a requirement changes.
Chantel's Corner
A live online bookstore with a 30,000-book catalog, accounts and carts, built end to end with AI coding agents on Rust, HTMX and PostgreSQL.
MCP Logger
An MCP server that lets AI coding tools watch an app's JavaScript logs while they work, so they diagnose runtime errors instead of guessing.
How Tim builds with AI (1/2)
Spec first
Plan before code
Every change starts as a short written spec: the goal, the constraints, and what done looks like. This site began as docs/SPEC.md.
Agents in parallel
Claude Code + Codex
Tim splits the work and runs AI coding agents side by side on separate tasks, keeping them out of each other’s files, while directing and deciding.
How Tim builds with AI (2/2)
Gate everything
Nothing ships red
No change goes live until the gate is green: nearly 60 browser tests on this site, plus a 51-screenshot pixel diff on every refactor.
Review every change
Human in the loop
Tim reads what the agents produce and catches what tests miss: a 2px overlap, a stale image cache, a CSS rule that quietly came back to life.
Skills (1/2)
AI & software
3 yrs AI-assisted · 2 yrs MERN
Shipping real products with AI coding agents, from a live 30,000-book store to public projects.
Firmware & systems
9 yrs firmware · 10 yrs Windows / macOS
BIOS and device drivers that shipped in millions of PCs, plus DVD and pro-audio firmware.
Skills (2/2)
Field & telecom
22 AT&T sites · 2023–2025
Upgraded AT&T cell sites to 5G fiber transport, from the SOW to the last fiber jumper.
Delivery & production
23 yrs client work
Two decades running film, live and AV productions on real budgets and deadlines.
Work History (1/3)
Partner · Software Engineer & IT Support
Built Chantel's Corner, a live online bookstore with 30,000 books, end to end with AI coding agents (Rust, Axum, HTMX, PostgreSQL). On-call Windows and macOS support for private clients.
Contractor for AT&T
Upgraded 22 AT&T cell tower sites across Southern California to Fujitsu flexiHaul HSN8300NA 5G fiber-optic transport. Wrote SOWs, installed SFPs, pulled SC/LC fiber runs and jumpers, and DC power plant cabling.
Director of Photography & Owner
Shot 11 feature films, 50+ short films, 200+ commercials, and 700+ interviews. Award for Best Cinematography for Days of Reckoning. Led 20–40 contractors on productions up to $500,000.
Work History (2/3)
Firmware Engineer
Shipped DVD firmware for six NUON DVD/game systems from Toshiba, Samsung, and Panasonic, with a global team on fault-tolerant firmware for high-volume products.
Senior Software Engineer
Designed and delivered Plug-and-Play support for the Windows NT driver of the Spruce Dolby AC-3 audio card, and tuned driver performance for professional audio.
Programmer
Wrote Windows device drivers for Digital Wings, an FPGA-based digital audio workstation.
Work History (3/3)
Design Engineer
Wrote Windows device drivers and firmware for the InterWave audio card; integrated 13+ software components from a distributed team of 25+ engineers.
Design Engineer
Wrote the Windows device driver and hard-drive firmware for the Passport XL removable drive, built for 24/7 enterprise use and 50,000+ hours MTBF.
Software Engineer
Wrote motherboard BIOS in C and x86 assembly that shipped in millions of PCs from Toshiba, NEC, and Fujitsu. Invented and shipped FastBoot and Save-To-Disk.
Education
- 2027
AAS in AI Software Engineering, GPA 4.0
In progress, expected December 2027
- 2024
MERN Full Stack Software Engineering, GPA 3.8
2nd in class, Core Values Award, full scholarship
- 2014–2016
Electronic Music Production Certificate
Ableton Live
- 1985–1987
Information & Computer Science Coursework
Awards
- 2024
Core Values Award in Software Engineering
Ambition, Integrity & Perseverance
- 2006
Best Cinematography
Days of Reckoning
- 1997
Winner, PSXPower Contest
For new game developers · Prize: Sony Net Yaroze PlayStation dev kit
Put Tim to
work
Hiring an intern or junior engineer for AI, software or firmware work? Tim can start now.
Tim Otholt AI Software Engineer