Jay Lang
Hi! It's nice to meet you.
Education
Johns Hopkins University // Beginning 05/2025
Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program
=> Completing prerequisites for M.D. school while pursuing research at the medicine / technology intersection
Massachusetts Institute of Technology // 08/2022 - 05/2023
Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Teaching and Research Assistant Scholarship Recipient
GPA: 5.0 // STEM GPA: 5.0
=> Selected coursework: Systems Architecture (6.590), Formal Reasoning About Programs (6.512)
=> Teaching assistant for Digital Systems Laboratory (6.205), Computer Systems Engineering (6.180)
=> Full-tuition scholarship recipient; RA-ship in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
=> Master's Thesis: Lab-BC: A Fault-Tolerant Computing Platform for MIT Educators
Massachusetts Institute of Technology // 09/2018 - 05/2022
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering (Course 6-3)
National Merit Scholar, TD Ameritrade Scholarship Recipient
GPA: 4.70 // STEM GPA: 4.73
=> Selected coursework: OS Research (6.581), Distributed Systems (6.584), Performance Engineering (6.106)
=> 6 semesters of teaching assistantship across three upper-division computer engineering courses
=> 5 semesters of fully-funded research across plasma physics, software security, and engineering education
Early College Alliance at Eastern Michigan University (ECA @ EMU) // 09/2015 - 05/2018
High School Diploma; lower-division college coursework
Eastern Michigan University GPA: 3.90
=> Took undergraduate coursework at Eastern Michigan University to satisfy high school requirements
=> Selected coursework: Differential Equations, Multivariable Calculus, Introduction to Modern Physics
=> 5 semesters of teaching experience through the Eastern Michigan University Math Lab
Washtenaw Community College // 01/2014 - 12/2014
Miscellaneous lower-division coursework, to prepare for the ECA @ EMU
GPA: 4.0 // STEM GPA: 4.0
Employment
Apple Inc. // 08/2023 - 04/2025
Streaming Media Engineer
Operating Systems Engineering => Lowered CPU usage during media playback by ~20% via targeted optimizations to threading and IPC => Reduced memory footprint on HomePod by ~25% in collaboration with OS performance teams => Improved Siri response time to Music playback requests on HomePod devices by over one second => Discovered >10 software security issues; architected solutions to protect and anonymize user data => Worked with management to interview, hire, and mentor four employees in new feature development
Research: Apple Vision Pro in-clinic => Developed software to detect optokinetic nystagmus, ~$96,000 less expensive than existing approaches => Could allow screening for vestibular system dysfunction, e.g. stroke, in austere critical care settings => Presented findings to the Director of Software Engineering + physicians on health and fitness teams
Internship Experience
Apple Inc. // 06/2021 - 08/2021; 06/2022 - 08/2022
Software Engineering Intern
=> Developed a low-overhead power consumption analysis methodology applicable across Apple platforms
=> Deployed the above to automatically identify code changes which regress environmental footprint
=> Produced studies on memory ownership, resulting in the automatic detection of >5 security-critical issues
=> Discussed project results with Apple executives across two corporate-sponsored trips to Cupertino
General Motors // 06/2020 - 08/2020
Software Engineering Intern
=> Wrote autonomous driving software for GM's Super Cruise, culminating in test drives on public roads
=> Validated safety-critical systems e.g. emergency braking at the GM Proving Grounds test track
MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center // 08/2018 - 08/2019
Undergraduate Researcher; Mechanical Engineering Intern
=> Worked with MIT faculty to prototype a reactor utilizing high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets
=> Utilized finite element analysis (FEA) and plasma turbulence simulations to quantify tokomak integrity
=> Three semesters of work were fully funded through MIT's Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program
Published Research
Lightning: A Reconfigurable Photonic-Electronic SmartNIC for Fast and Energy-Efficient Inference Authors: Zhizhen Zhong, Mingran Yang, Jay Lang, Christian Williams, Liam Kronman, Alexander Sludds, Homa Esfahanizadeh, Dirk Englund, Manya Ghobadi ACM SIGCOMM, 10.1145/3603269.3604821 => Co-developed a from-scratch photonic computing device for energy-efficient machine learning => Achieved inference 337x faster than state-of-the-art datacenter GPUs, while consuming 352x less power => Off-the-shelf hardware artifact made openly available; adopted by peer research labs nationwide => Research was funded via DARPA; findings presented to leadership including President Joe Biden
Open source artifact under MIT License at https://lightning.mit.edu
Lab-BC: A Fault-Tolerant Computing Platform for MIT Educators Authors: Jay Lang, Joseph Steinmeyer MIT DSpace, 1721.1/151412 => Designed a platform for students to use cutting-edge EDA tools on remote, high-performance machines => Enabled MIT's 6.205 course, which relies on such tooling, to continue through remote learning => Deployed onto excess in-house compute, achieved 100% uptime despite frequent disk failures
Open source artifact under 3-Clause BSD License at https://github.com/jaytlang/lab-bc
PACMAN: Attacking ARM pointer authentication with speculative execution Authors: Joseph Ravichandran, Weon Taek Na, Jay Lang, Mengjia Yan ACM International Symposium on Computer Architecture, 10.1145/3470496.3527429 => Demonstrated the first-ever micro-architectural side channel attack against Apple M-series chips => Responsibly disclosed an irrepairable bypass for ARM Pointer Authentication (PA), a key security feature => Presented findings at DEFCON 2022; consulted on attack mitigations with Apple and ARM => Research was funded via the Morais and Rosenblum Undergraduate Research and Innovation Scholarship
Open source artifact under MIT License at https://pacmanattack.com
Clinical Experience
New York City Health and Hospitals // 04/25
=> Will volunteer for over 50 hours with emergency department staff at Jacobi Medical Center, Bronx, NYC
Volunteer Emergency Medical Technician // 12/24 - 04/25
=> Over 100 hours of ride-along and volunteer experience throughout San Diego since NREMT certification
Scripps Green Hospital // 10/24 - 04/25
=> Over 200 hours working with emergency department, oncology, and bone-marrow-transplant teams
=> Help coordinate care, supply rooms, and positively engage with patients and their loved ones
Teaching Experience
Teaching Assistant: Digital Systems Laboratory (6.205) // 09/2022 - 05/2023
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
=> Redesigned two of five student labs, including an implementation of the IEEE802.3u Ethernet standard
=> Held laboratory hours, ran multiple lectures, and mentored students through self-directed final projects
Teaching Assistant: Introduction to Computer Systems (6.180) // 01/2021 - 05/2023
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
=> Designed and taught 23 recitations to reinforce course material, from OS design to systems security
=> Co-authored a semester-long design project, exams, readings, and lab exercises for over 300 students
Laboratory Assistant: Computation Structures (6.191) // 09/2019 - 12/2020
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
=> Ran laboratory hours, lectures, and recitations over three consecutive semesters
=> Helped transition the course to Minispec - a simple hardware design language for educational use cases
Volunteer: Eastern Michigan University Math Lab // 01/2016 - 05/2018
Eastern Michigan University
=> Worked 8 hrs/week for five consecutive semesters tutoring undergraduate EMU and ECA students
=> Taught in both one-on-one and group settings, spanning topics from algebra to multivariable calculus
Athletics
MIT NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Team // 09/18 - 12/21
=> NCAA Division III National Champion in the 3 meter event in March 2019
=> Hold intercollegiate (NEWMAC) and national records in the 1 meter and 3 meter events
USA Diving National Team // 09/10 - 08/18
=> 5-time national champion for the Legacy Diving Junior National Team at Eastern Michigan University
=> National-level competitor in the 1 meter, 3 meter, and platform events over eight years
Selected Personal Projects
Internet Advocacy // 03/2022
=> Worked with MIT Humanities faculty to study Russian internet censorship during the invasion of Ukraine
=> Advocate for the Censored Planet project, an initiative to measure internet freedom internationally
Mesh Networks for Disaster Response // 09/2021
HackMIT for Sustainability 2023 First Prize Winner
2023 IBM Call-for-Code Climate Change Challenge First Prize Winner
=> Created a mesh network which can restore internet access after severe infrastructure damage
=> In a simulated hurricane in a densely populated region, granted connectivity to over 1000 devices
Open source artifact under 3-Clause BSD License at https://github.com/jaytlang/advantaged
Pigeon File System // 12/2020
=> Specified a distributed content-addressed filesystem for low-bandwidth, high-latency space systems
=> Presented prototype and findings in-simulation to MIT CSAIL and NASA JPL staff
Open source artifact under 3-Clause BSD License at https://github.com/jaytlang/pfs
Linux Kernel // 06/2020
=> Submitted an x86/64-specific patchset highlighting memory leaks in fork(2) to Linux 5.7
=> Ported security auditing software e.g. syzkaller to previously unsupported Apple M-series platforms
Open source artifact under GPL-3 License at git://git.kernel.org
Estimating black-hole mass via telescopic observation // 08/2016
Southeast Michigan Science Fair 2016 Second Prize Winner in Engineering and Physics
Additional honors awarded from MESTA, American Statistical Association, University of Michigan Engineering
=> Devised a methodology to estimate the mass of supermassive black holes using amateur equipment
=> Validated approach against 5 well-known objects, computing results consistent with published literature
Music // 2004 - present
=> 20-year background in piano, pursuing independent study to explore jazz and improvisation
=> Contributor to the Siivagunner comedic / satirical musical art collective
My cat
