Contract Programmer and Senior Software Engineer – FingerTwitch, Inc.
May 2003 – August 2004

• Personally ported 12 applications from J2ME to BREW in 14 months.
• Primary architect and implementor of underlying porting and device abstraction framework. Features included partial C++ mimicry of major Java language features and libraries, memory management features, extensive compile-time and run-time asset manipulation pipelines, and an asset cache system that greatly softened the degredation of performance on low-capability devices.
• Due to the device constraints, minimizing codesize and RAM usage while maximizing performance was a paramount concern, while due to market characteristics maximizing productivity and throughput was the constant goal of the porting framework.
• FingerTwitch reached a successful purchase agreement with Mforma Group, Inc. in August 2004, in which I was designated key personnel and the porting framework I developed was designated the primary intangible asset.

Personal sabbatical
May 2001 – May 2003

Following demise of Xigo with the dot-boom, I took a two-year sabbatical to travel and study.

Senior Software Engineer – Xigo, Inc.
April 2000 – May 2001

• On Linux & Solaris, developed the Java back-end for an extensive text indexing system implementing real-time functionality for agent-based and traditional index operations, including optimized query evaluation and source document archiving.
• Implemented a recoverable and concurrent block file format, B+Trees, inverted indices, and other high-level data structures that resulted directly in two patent applications.
• Restructured a query engine to support concurrent queries rapidly and efficiently. Maintained agent engine that supported millions of simultaneous pre-specified queries.
• Supported text indexing designed to handle hundreds of MB/day real-time news feeds to trigger from a pool of millions of agents with twenty-second latency and be available for interactive user querying within thirty seconds.
• Co-structured and installed a staging system for functionality and compatibility testing. Included correctness, system latency, and load testing. Liased with quality assurance personnel to design test suite and intended server functionality. Similarly liased with operations department as each server version went into production.
• Two-and-a-half patent applications: one to minimize use of locking mechanisms in distributed system, two to speed up query evaluation.

• Implemented performance-critical, real-time multiplayer functionality in C++ for 3D games by extending a proprietary language with a custom peer-to-peer protocol. This code went into Lucas Arts' "Star Wars: Force Commander" and Ripcord's "Blademaster". Extensive co-design of "Force Commander" game multiplayer aspects; primary author of game multiplayer functionality.
• Extensive use of C++ standard libraries, particularly container templates, toward the goal of rapid development.
• Implemented high-level networking API for pre-existing game engine. Implemented custom real-time packet compression. Liased with dedicated multiplayer quality assurance team.
• Coded to DirectX 7.0, particularly DirectPlay.

• Worked on most aspects of networked multiplayer strategy games for Windows 95/98 on teams of two to four programmers.
• Primary author for UI and game state evaluation engines, co-author of data file formats and asset cache management, and supporting author for animation and networking systems.
• Primary coding in C++, with some tight ASM for custom draw routines and effects, and Java and Perl for offline production tools.
• Coded to MFC and DirectX 5.0 and 6.0, particularly DirectDraw, DirectInput, DirectPlay, and DirectSound.

Software Engineer – Quark, Inc.
February 1996 – September 1996

• Designed and implemented new features for the Quark Publishing System in C.
• Emphasized portability across multiple OS, GUI, and network standards.
• Coded cross-platform for MacOS 7.5.3 and Windows 95.

Education

Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science, U.C. Berkeley, May 1996
Teaching Assistant, CS164: Programming Languages and Compilers

Extracurricular

Geodesic domes, vacuum balloons, R. Buckminster Fuller, Go, zombie movies, Horselover Fats.

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