- 📍 Location: Alameda, CA
- 🔗 Website: zacbowling.com
- 🐶 Dogs: Teddy and Pickle
- 💼 Day Job: Staff AI Software Engineer @ Meta
- 🎥 TikTok: @YesInMyBackyard
- 🎥 YouTube: @YesInMyBackyard
I'm a software engineer, housing advocate, and civic leader based in Alameda, California. With over two decades of experience in technology and public advocacy, I work at the intersection of software engineering, open-source contributions, and grassroots political engagement.
I'm currently a Staff AI Software Engineer at Meta, where I'm spearheading the development of AI-powered developer tools at Meta's Reality Labs for Horizon OS, Quest VR, and wearables. Prior to Meta, I worked at Modular on AI software and high-performance machine learning infrastructure. Before that, I was part of Google's Fuchsia OS project, where I worked on system libraries, drivers, toolchains, and a new Bluetooth stack. I helped enable Apple's Swift programming language to run natively on Fuchsia (The Verge).
I'm a former startup founder and have held senior engineering positions at several technology companies, including Apportable (acquired by Google), SeatMe (acquired by Yelp), doubleTwist, Texas Instruments, and Match.com.
- Operating systems and compiler development
- Cross-platform development for desktop, embedded, and mobile platforms
- Fullstack Rust, Swift, C/C++, Zig, and Python
- Packaging, distribution, and deployment of software
- Security and performance optimization
- Developer evangelism and community engagement
- Building startups
Beyond technology, I'm involved in civic engagement and housing advocacy. I'm currently an elected Executive Board Member and delegate (ADEM) in the California Democratic Party, where I advocate for progressive housing policies. I serve on Alameda's Open Government Commission, promoting transparency and accountability in local government.
I'm a leader within East Bay YIMBY, advocating for sustainable urban development, affordable housing, and zoning reform. I helped lead campaigns for Alameda's Measure A (2019) and Measure Z (2020), both initiatives that aimed to revise restrictive housing laws and allow for more housing.
My advocacy is personal, informed by my own experience of homelessness in my early 20s. I've participated in legal and grassroots efforts enforcing housing laws across California, including suing and winning against the State of California's Department of Housing and Community Development for their application of the state's housing laws around the jobs and housing ratio, which had underestimated the housing needs of the state by hundreds of thousands of units.
In 2021, I was among the early founding members of the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) at Google. Through AWU, I worked on labor rights, focusing on unionizing both full-time employees and contract workers, and holding tech companies accountable for ethical workplace practices.
In 2024, I took on a leadership role in the YIMBYs for Harris campaign, organizing a virtual fundraiser that raised over $125,000 to support Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential bid. I now serve in a leadership capacity with YIMBY Democrats for America, a national organization dedicated to promoting pro-housing policies within the Democratic Party.
- Executive Board Member of the California Democratic Party
- Open Government Commissioner for the City of Alameda
- Elected 3 times as an ADEM delegate the CA Dem Party representing AD-18
- Vice President of the City of Alameda Democratic Club
- Northern Alameda County Sierra Club Housing Committee Member
- Lead and Cofounder of East Bay YIMBY
My work and advocacy have been covered in various media outlets. I've been featured and quoted in outlets including Wired, The Verge, 9to5Google, and the San Francisco Chronicle. I've presented at major tech events, including Mobile World Congress, and appeared on international media such as the Dutch TV show DWDD University.
I also create content on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, where I engage with over 140,000 subscribers on issues of urbanism, housing, and policy education.
I hold two patents:
- Modification of distracting sounds (U.S. Patent 10,133,542), developed during my time at Google to intelligently filter distracting noises from audio streams.
- Restaurant management and reservation systems and methods (U.S. Patent Application 20130024273), developed at SeatMe to streamline restaurant operations and customer interactions.
Started in 2019, @YesInMyBackyard has grown to over 100,000 followers and 100M+ views. On YouTube, I have over 36k subscribers and 10M+ views.
- Competed in over 140+ hackathons from 2008 to 2013
- I run both the Alameda Reddit (25.8K members) and Alameda Peeps Facebook groups (20.4K members), which have over 20,000 residents each from Alameda, CA.
- I have a TikTok and YouTube channel with over 140,000 subscribers combined.
- I have an awesome wife and two dogs