Zachary Munro

Research Engineer - ML for Science and Engineering
zacharymunro2 (at) gmail.com

I build and evaluate ML systems for high-stakes scientific and infrastructure problems. My work combines experimentation, algorithm design, and production engineering - from warehouse scheduling and query optimization to genomics pipelines and LLM infrastructure. I enjoy turning research ideas into reliable systems with measurable real-world impact.


Experience

Founding Engineer

Espresso AI
  • Designed and built a Python-based Snowflake workload simulator and evaluation framework for benchmarking ML-driven scheduling policies.
  • Researched and developed ML routing algorithms for warehouse scheduling with dynamic cluster scaling, validated across workload distributions, and delivered multi-million-dollar cumulative cost savings.
  • Conducted research in cost-based optimization, cardinality estimation, and join ordering, then translated findings into algorithmic improvements for enterprise query execution.
  • Applied theorem-proving and formal program verification methods to establish semantic equivalence guarantees between original and optimized SQL queries.
Technologies:

Python, Snowflake, SQL, ML experimentation frameworks, formal verification tooling

August 2024 - January 2026

Lead Software Engineer

DecisionPoint Inc.
  • Built internal tooling for ML engineers and data scientists supporting experiment tracking, model evaluation, and reproducible workflows for predictive healthcare analytics.
  • Built a dbt-based featurization pipeline with 10x ingestion speed improvements over legacy stored procedures, while migrating analytical infrastructure to Snowflake.
Technologies:

Python, dbt, MLFlow, Docker, Snowflake, SQL

March 2023 - August 2024

Data Engineer 2

TetraScience Inc.
  • Built ETL workflows integrating diverse laboratory instrument data streams, enabling ML and analytics teams to work with structured scientific data at scale.
  • Developed benchmarking and profiling pipelines that drove a 20% increase in data processing speeds across engineering teams.
Technologies:

Python, PostgreSQL, Docker, AWS, scientific data tooling

March 2022 - January 2023

Technical Advisor

LLM Platform (Confidential)
  • Advised CTO on architecture for a RAG-enabled LLM platform, incorporating research on edge inference, distributed compute economics, and open-weight model deployment.
  • Delivered technical talks translating active research areas including retrieval strategies, LLM fine-tuning, and edge inference for technical and non-technical audiences.
Technologies:

Python, RAG systems, LLM infrastructure, distributed systems

2021 - 2022

Software Engineer

Day Zero Diagnostics Inc.
  • Researched genomics, statistical signal processing, and ML to design a novel nanopore sequencing error-correction algorithm that improved AMR prediction accuracy by 20% and reduced turnaround from days to hours.
  • Co-authored two peer-reviewed publications on nanopore sequencing and antibiotic resistance prediction.
  • Modernized Python genomics pipelines into distributed cloud dataflows and built APIs enabling scalable NGS data analysis for clinicians and researchers.
Technologies:

Python, bioinformatics pipelines, distributed data processing, cloud APIs

Publications:

Rapid Ultra-high Enrichment of Bacterial Pathogens at Low Concentration from Blood for Species ID and AMR Prediction Using Nanopore Sequencing

Pilot Study of a Novel Whole-genome Sequencing Based Rapid Bacterial Identification Assay in Patients with Bacteremia

June 2019 - May 2021

Undergraduate Researcher

Tufts Human-Robot Interaction Lab
  • Built computational models for anticipatory dialogue engagement using incremental language parsing to predict conversational needs.
  • Developed low-latency dialogue models directly analogous to streaming language-model inference architectures.
Technologies:

Python, Java

February 2018 - May 2019

Education

Tufts University

B.S./B.A. in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Cognitive Brain Science

Triple Major, Summa Cum Laude

GPA: 3.80 / 4.00

September 2015 - May 2019


Talks

SQL Optimization with LLMs and Beyond

Correctness, Cost, and the Surprisingly Hard Problem of "Just Make It Faster"

Upcoming talk - in planning

This session explains why SQL optimization is harder than it appears, and why simple approaches like "ask an LLM to rewrite the query" can fail when correctness and cost matter. It contrasts heuristic techniques with rigorous methods such as rules-based optimization and formal verification, then gives a practical framework for choosing the right level of rigor for each production scenario.

Read full abstract

Many engineers have written a query that seemed to work, only to discover later that spend in AWS or Snowflake unexpectedly spiked. SQL optimization looks simple until you are in the middle of it: there are many angles to attack the problem, and the "right" answer depends on many interacting factors.

You can throw a query at an LLM, ask it to rewrite, and ship the result - but how do you know the optimized query actually does the same thing? This talk explores why query optimization is a deceptively hard problem, not just computationally but mathematically. Using production examples, we examine what "optimal" really means, what suboptimal queries cost, and why naive first solutions do not hold up under scrutiny.

We tackle the "but couldn't we just...?" questions head-on: why you cannot reliably sample a database and compare two queries, and why asking an LLM whether two queries are equivalent confuses confidence with correctness. LLMs learn language patterns, not algebraic ones, and struggle with query equivalence for similar reasons they struggle with chess-like exact reasoning.

From there, we explore more rigorous alternatives: rules-based approaches like incremental view maintenance, the BAG algebra underneath them (more accessible than it sounds), and formal verification methods that can actually prove equivalence. We close with a practical framework for selecting the right technique, because sometimes a heuristic is exactly right, and sometimes only a proof will do.


Blog

I write about research engineering, ML systems, query optimization, and talk ideas in progress. Visit the full blog for all posts. Go to blog.

SQL Optimization with LLMs and Beyond

Talk design notes and core technical arguments

A deep dive into why SQL optimization demands both practical cost modeling and formal correctness guarantees, and where LLM-generated rewrites fit in that landscape.


Skills

Programming Languages & Tools

Languages: Python, C/C++, Java/Kotlin, SQL, Rust, JavaScript/TypeScript, Golang

ML & Data: PyTorch, NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn, MLFlow, dbt, Spark

Infrastructure: AWS, Azure, GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Kafka, Airflow, Postgres, Redis

Scientific: Bioinformatics pipelines, NGS analysis, RAG systems, LLM deployment, experimental design

Research Engineering Focus
  • ML experimentation and evaluation framework design
  • Scientific data infrastructure and pipeline performance engineering
  • Applied optimization research for production systems
  • Formal verification and correctness for query transformations
  • Cross-functional translation of research into production outcomes

Interests

Outside of work, I enjoy making music, playing chess, and helping run developer communities. I was chapter lead for Google Developer Group Brooklyn and regularly gave talks on RAG systems, retrieval strategies, and practical LLM deployment.