Table of Contents

This summer at CrowdStrike, I got my hands dirty with some serious coding and problem-solving. As a Software Engineering Intern, I dove into Go, AWS, CI/CD practices, microservices, and Docker. Here’s what I did:

Highlights

• LQL Parser, Lexer, and VM: Tackled the challenging task of developing a parser and lexer for the LogScale Query Language (LQL). My goal was to translate LQL statements into a custom, efficient bytecode, enhancing the speed and efficiency of event manipulation. I also built a Go-based virtual machine (VM) to execute the bytecode, ensuring that LQL queries ran smoothly and reliably in our cloud microservices.

• Linter Tool for Code Integrity: Designed a linter tool from scratch. The aim was to catch bugs early and ensure the integrity of our codebase before anything went live to clients. This tool became a crucial part of our development cycle, saving countless hours of debugging and fixing post-deployment issues.

• Custom Testing Framework for LQL: Created a testing framework specifically for LQL, integrating it seamlessly into our CI/CD pipeline. This wasn’t just about testing; it was about ensuring reliability and consistency across all code changes, making our deployment process smoother and more robust.

Personal Reflections

Jumping into the deep end at CrowdStrike was exhilarating. I learned that software engineering is as much about solving problems as it is about writing code. Developing the parser, lexer, and VM for LQL was a brain-teaser that combined theory with practical application.

This internship wasn’t about doing minor tasks; it was about making a tangible impact on the projects I was assigned to. The satisfaction of seeing my work contribute directly to the product was unmatched. Even if I spent about two or three weeks just living inside of the VS Code debugger to figure out edge cases in LQL and how it works some of which my team members who had written 100s of hours of LQL didn’t know.

To anyone stepping into a new role or field, my advice is simple: dive in, embrace the challenges, and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. The skills and insights you’ll gain from real-world experiences are invaluable.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to work alongside some of the brightest minds in cybersecurity at CrowdStrike, and I’m excited about applying what I’ve learned in future projects and roles.

Back to career