Aruzhan

Hi, I'm Aruzhan Zhengis Aruzhan ZhengisComputer Science Senior @ DePaul University

I build software. I also chase hackathon deadlines, and race personal bests on foot and on skis.

Let's connect

About Me

I'm a computer science student at DePaul in Chicago, originally from Kazakhstan. Before I ever wrote a line of code, I spent years playing the dombyra, a traditional Kazakh instrument with two strings. I'm still not sure how that made it onto my career path, but I like that it did.

Most of my work is around machine learning, from audio and anomaly detection to retrieval systems and tools that deal with real-world data. I like building things and figuring out whether they actually work outside of a notebook.

Outside of school and work, I'm usually running by the lake, skiing, shooting film, or following Ferrari in F1 a little too closely. I also travel whenever I get the chance.

SkiingRunningFormula 1RunningFormula 1Horseback ridingSkiingRunningFormula 1RunningFormula 1Horseback riding

Education

DePaul University · Chicago, IL

BS in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence Concentration

Expected June 2027 · GPA 3.526

Presidential Scholarship · Dean's List · Grace Hopper Scholar · Upsilon Pi Epsilon

Experience

  1. Jun 2026 — Sept 2026

    Software Engineering Intern at2389 Research Inc.2389 Research Inc.

    • Built Postique, a pipeline turning long-form podcast video into publish-ready Instagram, Reels, and LinkedIn posts.
    • Designed the LLM-based clip-analysis layer that scores and ranks the highest-retention moments.
    • Extended the system to a second brand via a brand-voice config layer.
    Python

  2. Jun 2026 — Present

    Research Intern atThe DePaul AI InstituteThe DePaul AI Institute

    • Built an AI faculty-matching portal over a 1,389-person faculty database, replacing informal referral search.
    • Architected a six-node LangGraph pipeline using SPECTER2 hybrid retrieval with cross-encoder reranking.
    • Shipped the system end-to-end.
    Python

  3. Apr 2026 — Present

    Data Scientist atDePaul iD LabDePaul iD Lab

    • Build and evaluate classification, regression, and anomaly-detection models in Python for active research questions.
    • Own workflows end-to-end, from SQL extraction through stakeholder-facing dashboards.
    Pythonpandasscikit-learnPyTorch

Leadership

  1. May 2025 — Present

    Co-Lead Organizer atNASA Space Apps ChicagoNASA Space Apps Chicago

    • Co-lead one of NASA's largest global chapters, scaling the hackathon to 600+ participants across two days at 1871.
    • Own mentor matching, team formation, and technical programming.
    • Pursuing a federal grant to link Chicago, Charlotte, and a Polish partner chapter.

  2. May 2026 — Present

    Group Leader atAWS Student Builder Group — DePaul UniversityAWS Student Builder Group — DePaul University

    • Lead DePaul's AWS Student Builder Group, selected through AWS's national application process.
    • Host hands-on workshops on core AWS services.
    • Partner with faculty and the AWS community team to bring speakers, credits, and resources to campus.
    AWS

  3. Jul 2026 — Present

    Treasurer atUpsilon Pi Epsilon (CS Honor Society)

    • Manage the chapter budget — dues, national induction fees, and event funding.
    • Reconcile spending with the university's student-organization finance office each term.

Projects

Writing

Let's work together.

azhengis@depaul.edu

Aruzhan Zhengis