kory zhang
my name is kory! i'm from the east bay and i work full-time as a software engineer at JPF Capital. on a day to day basis, i design and build modern SaaS systems with an eye toward practicality — doing thoughtful, yet simple and effective work
outside of work, i'm always building. i love to produce melodic house, go thrifting, or travel and collect thule stickers! //
experiences
Leading the engineering, architecture, and design of a next-generation all-in-one CRM, financial, and accounting software platform
Renovated Salesforce environment for Protiviti consultants through full-stack development, agentic AI workflows and streamlined CI/CD pipelines
Modernized workflows for nonprofits as part of Commit The Change, UCI's student-led engineering organization
Built Python tooling for data visualization and cluster analysis, and developed a React-based API platform with the R&D team
aurora
The world's first AI-powered DAW, built to accelerate user-directed music production.
kwone
An elite men's accessories brand featuring a custom Shopify storefront with SMS marketing flows.
simpify
The leading family office SaaS bridging CRM, financial, and accounting capabilities into an all-in-one system.
salesforce reimagined
Modernization of Protiviti's Salesforce instance — shipped custom Apex, LWC, and Agentforce development.
partpilot
A React & Python car configurator with an AI compatibility engine — search, compare, and build your dream car specs in real time.
opportunity scout
Microservices pipeline scraping SEC filings and public news — surfaces real-time opportunity signals directly into Salesforce via Azure.
astrochecker
A best NLP hack built at VenusHacks 2022 — uses AssemblyAI and TextGears APIs to catch and fix grammar errors in live speech transcriptions.
“Hi everyone,
My name is Kory and today I’ll be sharing my testimony, what God has done throughout my life, and how He led me to faith.
Church has always been a part of my life. From attending Sunday Service with my family, to going on youth retreats, I was actively involved within the community.
However, this attendance was the extent of my faith. As a kid, I could hardly name any books in the Bible or explain what the gospel was. I often questioned my beliefs and why I went to church. But due to a lack of interest, I pushed these doubts aside. Christianity to me, was more about routine than anything else.
During highschool, my faith grew even weaker as I started to focus on my future and how to be successful. I thought I had it all figured out: get into a good college, get a good job, make money, and enjoy life. However, this short-sighted lifestyle caused me to feel incredibly unfulfilled. No matter what goal I achieved, I always wanted more.
In college, I wrestled against this feeling of emptiness, and searched for meaning in the world. I started to party, go to raves, and prioritize relationships. Over time, my heart had hardened and completely turned away from the Lord. Fueled by selfishness and lust, I became blinded by my fleshly desires.
As an unsurprising result, I felt even more lost and dealt with deep depression and anxiety. By the grace of God, He met me at my lowest and became my source of strength and comfort. I found myself at Berean Community Church in Irvine, seeking to find answers about my faith I had previously hidden away. Here, God introduced me to fellow brothers and sisters who lifted me up and helped me in my walk. Today, I find myself at Pillar with the same goal of knowing Him more.
The truth is this. God, our good and loving ruler, created us and the world, so that we could rejoice and commune with Him. Yet we were born sinners, rejecting Him for our own sake and rightly deserving eternal death. But because He loves us, God sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place. He suffered greatly and took our judgment upon Himself by dying on the cross. But Christ conquered death and rose again three days later, granting us the decision to either continue our rebellion, or to trust in Him for forgiveness and new life.
This truth, the gospel, didn’t become clear to me until I faced the consequences of my sin. While I was ignorant and deep in my sin, I was also subject to the wrath of God. But He is merciful and offers us forgiveness and this gift of salvation. Knowing Christ has brought me true hope and peace compared to the temporary things I was gaining on this earth.
If you are a non-believer in this room today, I encourage you to ask questions, and earnestly seek the truth. I was once in a place where I felt like I didn’t need God, and was constantly chasing the desires of my heart. But in Matthew 6:33, Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount states, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
It is only because of God, that we can have and experience anything. So I remain thankful that day by day, He softens my heart, and opens my eyes to my depravity. As I strive to live with Christ as my Lord and Savior, I will struggle. But I can rest knowing His plan is far greater than my own.”