Designer and engineer building software that puts people first.
I'm Runkai (Nico) Zhang, a senior completing a B.S. in Human Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Washington, with graduation expected in June 2027. I design and build software, from native Apple apps to full-stack tools, and study how AI systems can help without overstepping what people ask for.
Outside of software, I shoot film and build physical prototypes. I have more than eight years of 3D-printing experience, including printer calibration, firmware modification and slicer configuration, alongside parametric CAD. I also run a homelab, working with Linux, virtualization, Docker and networking.
User research, usability testing, interaction design, and accessibility-first thinking.
SvelteKit, React, TypeScript, Node.js, and modern deployment pipelines.
SwiftUI, CloudKit, App Store distribution, and native platform conventions.
LLM evaluation, RAG, Linux, Docker, virtualization, and networking.
Independent research on AI overassistance and collaboration. I handle research, development, execution, analysis and writing. Completed exploratory model studies examine request scope, uncertainty and authorization. Natural-message replay is partial and paused; the later tested-assistant main study is unrun. No human study or publication is established.
Independent Research · Model Evaluation · 2026
An HCDE 302/303 team project on focus and belonging for international students with ADHD-associated needs. I contributed equally across research and design. The team engaged eight students over 20 weeks and iterated toward peer support and collaborative accountability.
Team UX Research · Prototyping · Sep 2025–Mar 2026
A published SwiftUI text editor with pile-based organization, semantic search, a custom embedding cache and CloudKit sync. Reached 2,165 downloads as of October 8, 2026, based on my App Store count.
SwiftUI · SwiftData · CloudKit