Engineering leader with 25+ years spanning gaming physics (Sony/Microsoft), autonomous vehicles (Argo AI/Audi), and cryptographic hardware (Irreducible). Built and led organizations up to 25 engineers while staying hands-on with code and architecture. Equally drawn to IC deep-dives, team building, or hybrid technical leadership roles.
Experience
Sep 2024 - Present
Irreducible (ZK-crypto/hardware), Berlin • Engineering Director
- Built high-performance systems team for hardware-accelerated Zero-Knowledge Proofs; managing global remote team
- Hands-on Rust: Contributed to bespoke ZK circuit compiler, developed FPGA embedded interfaces and acceleration tooling
- Guided founder technical decisions on team scaling, architectural tradeoffs, and execution risks while maintaining startup velocity
- Drove strategic product pivot through comprehensive hardware acceleration feasibility analysis
Jan 2023 - Sep 2024
FERNRIDE (autonomous trucking), Munich • Principal Engineer / Senior Engineering Manager
- Built and led team developing ASIL-D compliant autonomous trucks; designed safe perception for LiDAR/Radar sensors
- Designed system requirements framework with close code ties; collaborated with systems engineers on safety case for TÜV SÜD
- Engineering leadership team: strategic decisions on safety/performance compute, feature selection for ODDs, release feasibility
Jun 2021 - Dec 2022
Argo AI (Ford/VW-backed AV), Munich • Engineering Manager & Staff Software Engineer
- Systems Engineering & Safety Validation: Led critical bridge between software implementation and formal systems engineering; broke silos between V&V, safety, and development teams; earned request from systems engineers to join their organization to formalize test-to-requirements traceability
- Simulation Lead: Bootstrapped validation effort; assembled team; secured cross-functional buy-in; delivered comprehensive model library (compute, vehicle, traffic, scenario generation-patent pending, AV sensing) with theoretical/empirical validity boundaries
- Managed Munich teams while coordinating with multiple US offices across time zones and cultures; presented to VW/Ford for EU requirements
Apr 2018 - Jun 2020
Autonomous Intelligent Driving (Audi), Munich • Simulation Tech Lead
- Built 4 teams (20 senior engineers) covering SIL framework, traffic sim, sensor sim, scenario diagnostics
- Delivered full-stack SIL for replay/simulation; owned vision, strategy, roadmap, execution while staying hands-on with code and prototyping
- Empowered teams while getting hands dirty; managed technology scouting and vendor partnerships until acquisition by Argo AI
Jun 2011 - Mar 2018
Microsoft/Havok, Munich • Lead Physics R&D
- Havok Destruction Lead (2017-18): Interim lead; requirements via data/interviews/surveys; identified problematic features through technical proof; developed/presented roadmap; maintenance and debugging
- Real-time Physics (2015-17): HoloLens integration R&D; co-invented localization algorithm (US10672159B2); prototyped cloud-distributed physics
- Core Physics Engine (2011-15): Low-level optimization (SIMD/vectorization, multi-threading); geometric queries; numerical analysis/optimization using linear programming in physics solvers; published "Parallel Pathfinding on Modern Computer Hardware"
2009 - 2011
Guerrilla Games (Sony), Amsterdam • Senior AI Programmer
- Killzone 3 (PlayStation 3) AI: motion planning for navigation/behavior (humanoids, land/air vehicles); multiplayer bots with complex behavioral systems; automated navigable space generation and tools; Maya animation tooling; automated AI testing
Earlier:
• Kimera Studios (2006-08): Indie game developer; built complete engine: rendering, physics, animation, NN based goalkeeper AI, spatial partitioning
• AiGameDev (2008-09): Main contributor to open source AI framework: Motion Graphs, Locomotion Planning, Reinforcement Learning, A*/Hierarchical A*, Terrain Clustering
• Guided Knowledge (2015): Nonlinear optimization consultant for IMU sensors
• Sixteen Tons (2008): Nintendo DS game engine, graphics, optimization, stochastic game AI
• ACT-Kern (2002-03): Stereoscopic screen software suite, OpenGL/DirectX wrappers, video streaming
• Living Systems (2001-02): Agent-based software
• Gaming Logix (1999-2001): Online casino game engine, server/client architecture, C++/DirectX/Java
Advisory: Coach tech leads and engineering managers on technical leadership and team scaling
Technical Skills
Technologies and methods applied in production systems:
Technologies: Rust, C++, Python • FPGA • Embedded Systems • Distributed Computing • SIMD • Multi-threading
Specializations: Zero-Knowledge Proofs • Autonomous Vehicles (ISO 26262/SOTIF/ASIL-D) • Real-time Physics Engines • Rigid-body Dynamics • Traffic/Sensor Simulation • Safety-critical software development • Mathematical modeling and numerical analysis (linear programming, nonlinear optimization) • Patent development and technical innovation • Reinforcement Learning, Neural Networks, Motion Planning, A*/Hierarchical A*
Background & Credentials
Education: MS Mathematics coursework (Emporia State 2018, 33% complete, 98%+ avg) • BE Computer Engineering (AUB 1995-99)
Patents & Publications: AV training simulations (2023) •
Anchor graph spatial optimization (2020) • "Parallel Pathfinding on Modern Hardware" • "Uniqueness of Minima in Least Squares" • "Who is Psychotron" (flash fiction,
ebook,
audio)
Languages: English (Fluent) • German, French (Working) • Arabic (Conversational) • Czech (Basic)