Data & ML · Intermediate · 1–2 weeks
Resume ↔ Job Description Matcher
Upload a resume and a job posting. It scores how well they match, highlights missing skills, and suggests stronger bullet points.
- Python
- sentence-transformers
- spaCy
- FastAPI
- Streamlit
Features
- PDF parsing and section extraction (experience, skills, education)
- Skill extraction against a curated skills taxonomy
- Semantic similarity scoring with a readable explanation
- Gap report listing missing and weak skills
- A small labeled test set that measures accuracy
Bonus: Benchmark three embedding models on your test set and publish the results table in the README.
Data & ML · Intermediate · 1–2 weeks
Webcam Hand-Gesture Controller
Recognizes hand gestures from a webcam in real time and uses them to control slides, media playback, or smart lights.
- Python
- MediaPipe
- PyTorch or scikit-learn
- OpenCV
Features
- Hand landmark extraction from live video
- Data-collection tool for recording custom gestures
- Trained classifier with a confusion matrix and accuracy report
- Smoothing and debounce so actions don't misfire
- Config file that maps gestures to actions
Bonus: Export the model to ONNX and run it fully in the browser with a live demo page.
Data & ML · Advanced · 2–3 weeks
Predictive Maintenance for Jet Engines
Predicts the remaining useful life of jet engines from sensor time series using NASA's C-MAPSS dataset, served behind an API with a monitoring dashboard.
- Python
- pandas
- LightGBM or PyTorch
- MLflow
- FastAPI
- Docker
Features
- Exploratory analysis and time-series feature engineering
- A baseline model and an LSTM, compared with proper time-based validation
- Experiment tracking in MLflow
- Model served through FastAPI inside Docker
- Dashboard showing predictions per engine
Bonus: Data-drift detection that flags when incoming sensor data stops looking like the training data.
Data & ML · Intermediate · 2 weeks
Codebase Q&A Assistant
Index any Git repository and ask questions like "where is authentication handled?" Answers cite the exact files and lines they came from.
- Python
- tree-sitter
- sentence-transformers
- pgvector or Qdrant
- FastAPI
- An LLM API
Features
- Code-aware chunking by function and class using tree-sitter
- Hybrid keyword and vector search
- Answers with file and line citations
- Incremental re-indexing when new commits land
- An evaluation set of 30+ questions that measures retrieval accuracy
Bonus: A VS Code extension so you can ask questions without leaving the editor.
DevOps & Cloud · Advanced · 2–3 weeks
GitOps Kubernetes Home Lab
A fully automated Kubernetes cluster where pushing to Git builds, scans, and deploys your apps, with monitoring and alerts built in.
- Terraform
- k3s
- Argo CD
- Helm
- Prometheus
- Grafana
- GitHub Actions
Features
- Infrastructure as code for all VMs or cloud instances
- CI pipeline that builds, scans, and pushes container images
- Argo CD auto-sync from a Git repository
- Grafana dashboards and alert rules
- Secrets managed safely with Sealed Secrets
Bonus: Canary rollouts that roll back automatically when the error rate spikes.
DevOps & Cloud · Intermediate · 1–2 weeks
Distributed Tracing Playground
Three small microservices instrumented end to end, so you can follow a single request across every service with linked logs, metrics, and traces.
- OpenTelemetry
- Docker Compose
- Jaeger or Tempo
- Prometheus
- Grafana
- Loki
Features
- Three services in two languages, instrumented with OpenTelemetry
- Trace context carried through HTTP calls and a message queue
- Dashboards for rate, errors, and duration
- Logs linked to their trace IDs
- SLOs with burn-rate alerts
Bonus: A fault-injection switch that adds latency or errors so viewers can see exactly how problems show up.
DevOps & Cloud · Intermediate · 1–2 weeks
Serverless Media Pipeline on AWS
Upload an image or video and an event-driven pipeline resizes, transcodes, and tags it automatically. All infrastructure is defined in code.
- AWS S3, Lambda, SQS, DynamoDB
- AWS CDK or Terraform
- TypeScript or Python
- GitHub Actions
Features
- Direct uploads using presigned URLs
- S3 events feeding SQS and Lambda, with retries and a dead-letter queue
- Thumbnails and metadata stored in DynamoDB
- Least-privilege IAM roles for every function
- CI/CD that deploys separate dev and prod stages on merge
Bonus: A cost report in the README showing the real cost per 1,000 uploads.
Embedded & IoT · Intermediate · 1–2 weeks
ESP32 Air Quality Station
A connected sensor node that measures CO₂, PM2.5, temperature, and humidity, and streams readings over MQTT to a live dashboard.
- ESP32
- C++ (ESP-IDF or PlatformIO)
- MQTT
- InfluxDB
- Grafana
Features
- Sensor drivers over I²C and UART with calibration
- Deep-sleep power management for battery use
- MQTT with reconnect and local buffering during outages
- Over-the-air firmware updates
- Dashboard with thresholds and alerts
Bonus: A custom PCB designed in KiCad and a 3D-printed enclosure, shown in photos in the README.
Embedded & IoT · Advanced · 2–3 weeks
PID Motor Controller on FreeRTOS
A closed-loop DC motor speed and position controller on an STM32, with a desktop app for live plotting and tuning.
- STM32
- C
- FreeRTOS
- Quadrature encoder
- Python (PyQt, pyqtgraph)
Features
- Encoder reading using hardware timer peripherals
- PID loop running at a fixed rate in its own RTOS task
- Serial protocol with framing and checksums
- Desktop GUI with live plots and gain sliders
- Host-side unit tests for the control logic
Bonus: An auto-tuning routine (relay or Ziegler–Nichols) with a before/after step-response plot.
Embedded & IoT · Advanced · 2–3 weeks
FPGA Game Console with VGA Output
Pong or Breakout built entirely in hardware with Verilog, driving a VGA monitor straight from an FPGA board with no CPU at all.
- Verilog or SystemVerilog
- Vivado or Quartus
- Basys 3 or DE10-Lite board
- Verilator
Features
- VGA timing generator for 640×480 at 60 Hz
- Sprite drawing and collision logic in hardware
- Debounced button input and a score on the seven-segment display
- Testbenches with automated waveform checks
- Clean module hierarchy with resource and timing reports
Bonus: Sound effects generated in hardware through PWM audio output.
Systems · Advanced · 2–3 weeks
LSM-Tree Key-Value Store
A persistent key-value database built from scratch with a write-ahead log, memtable, SSTables, and compaction, like a tiny RocksDB.
- Rust or C++
- TCP
- criterion / Google Benchmark
Features
- Write-ahead log with crash recovery
- Memtable flushed to sorted SSTable files
- Bloom filters to skip unnecessary disk reads
- Background compaction
- Simple TCP protocol with a CLI client
Bonus: Benchmarks against SQLite with throughput and latency graphs in the README.
Systems · Advanced · 2–3 weeks
RISC-V Emulator with Debugger
An RV32I CPU emulator that runs real programs compiled with GCC, plus a step debugger for registers and memory.
- C++ or Rust
- RISC-V GCC toolchain
- SDL2 (optional)
Features
- Fetch, decode, and execute for the full RV32I instruction set
- ELF loader for compiled binaries
- Memory-mapped UART so programs can print
- Step debugger with register and memory views
- Passes the official riscv-tests suite
Bonus: A 5-stage pipeline view that visualizes hazards, stalls, and forwarding cycle by cycle.
Systems · Advanced · 2–3 weeks
Mini Container Runtime
Your own version of docker run, built from scratch: isolated processes with their own filesystem, process tree, network, and resource limits.
- Go or C
- Linux namespaces
- cgroups v2
- OverlayFS
Features
- PID, mount, UTS, and network namespaces
- Root filesystem set up with pivot_root from an image tarball
- CPU and memory limits using cgroups v2
- Layered filesystems with OverlayFS
- veth networking so containers can reach the internet
Bonus: Pull and run real images from Docker Hub by implementing the registry API.
Systems · Advanced · 2–3 weeks
Compiler for a Small Language
A compiler for your own small language, with variables, functions, loops, and structs, that outputs WebAssembly or x86-64 assembly and runs real programs.
- Rust, C++, or OCaml
- WebAssembly (WAT) or x86-64
- A test harness
Features
- Hand-written lexer and recursive-descent parser
- Type checker with clear error messages that point at the source
- An intermediate representation with constant folding and dead-code elimination
- Code generation to WebAssembly or assembly
- Test suite of example programs with expected output
Bonus: A web playground that compiles and runs programs right in the browser.