Zac Smith wrote his first line of code in 1983. Forty-three years later, he's still writing it. Still learning. Still shipping.

He earned a PhD in Computer Science with a specialization in Cybersecurity Engineering. Two master's degrees. Former professor of computer science and cybersecurity at NMSU. Production software for Best Buy, IMAX, CVS Pharmacy, and 50+ Fortune 500 companies. 1.4 million users reached on Stack Overflow.

Today, he's an AI Engineer at Gauntlet AI, the program that trains elite engineers for $200k+/yr roles at Zapier, Carvana, GoFundMe, and Opendoor. He's closely involved in Gauntlet for America, an initiative building AI-native engineering capability for U.S. government and public sector systems.

They call him the SaaS Buster. The philosophy: some software you buy, some software you build. He started Code Shock in 2021 to help businesses know the difference. When off-the-shelf tools solve the problem, he says so. When they don't, he builds the solution. Enterprise-level. Secure. Custom code. The kind that survives production.

He teaches prompt engineering and agent-based development at Gauntlet AI and Bloom Tech. He ships a new SaaS product every month through SHIP12 to prove AI-first engineering in public.

And he wrote The Chicken on Fortnite.

Ask him what he is and he'll say he's a student. With a PhD, Fortune 500 clients, and 43 years of code under his belt, he's still learning. Still curious. That's why Code Shock gets better every month. The tools change. The landscape shifts. Zac adapts because he never stopped being a student.