Brendan Moran worked on performance optimization for the pq-code-package/mldsa-native repository, focusing on the fips202 cryptographic implementation. He refactored the squeeze and absorb functions to use mld_keccakf1600 primitives, replacing ad-hoc C code with optimized byte-manipulation routines. This approach improved throughput and maintainability, particularly enhancing compatibility with 32-bit architectures. Brendan’s work strengthened the integration with the Keccak permutation, enabling more efficient cryptographic operations and laying groundwork for broader architecture portability. His efforts demonstrated depth in low-level programming and performance optimization, leveraging his expertise in C and cryptography to deliver a maintainable and portable codebase without introducing new bugs.