Karl
Merten

Programmer Extraordinaire

Experience

Notch Financial Inc. | Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Principal Software Engineer (March 2022 - Present)

  • Designed and migrated web services to more scalable microservice architecture
  • Added functionality to internal React application to bring it to parity with legacy Django application
  • Reduced time to create and modify APIs while consolidating web services to common Express.js stack
  • Created CLI tools to aid in creation and deployment of internal private node modules
  • Led initiative to reduce complexity of database layer by migrating from 3 technologies to 1 without data loss

Mer10 Services Inc. | Georgetown, Ontario, Canada

President & Software Engineer (June 2020 - Present)

  • Developed software for a variety of clients using technologies such as React, Express.js and Next.js
  • Collaborated with clients to gather requirements and deliver high-quality software on time and within budget
  • Created a high availability web service which has scaled to processing millions of requests per day
  • Consulted with multiple stakeholders to migrate a large amount of DNS records with limited downtime
  • Built payment processing dashboard in React for processing monthly subscriptions

Prodigy Game | Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Technical Lead (July 2017 - March 2022)

  • Lead teams of up to 6 developers, delegating implementation work as well as providing mentorship
  • Overcame network coding challenges to add the first truly co-operative game feature
  • Lead the technical design and development of Prodigy’s second game from ideation to initial launch
  • Contributed to our in-house editor, which cut down significantly on iteration times
  • Built an on-screen menu that allowed the designers to tweak settings on the boss in real time
  • Lead the team in building the first feature in the game with a streaming map, eliminating load time
  • Built the first feature to be secured using server side logic to prevent players from hacking

Future Access | St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

Mobile and Web Developer (February 2016 - July 2017)

  • Shipped products using a variety of tools including Xamarin, CodeIgniter, NodeJS
  • Took part in prospective client meetings and prepared quotes for projects
  • Discussed project feedback and changes with clients
  • Assisted in scheduling milestone dates and features

Vinyl Games Studio | Missisauga, Ontario, Canada

Lead Programmer (February 2013 - June 2016)

  • Implemented in-house 2D and 3D engines using OpenGL and OpenGL ES
  • Lead team meetings discuss the design of the engine subsystems in various projects
  • Created various tools in C# Forms to allow designer and artists to interface with the engines
  • Maintained an internal Ubuntu Server which hosted SVN repositories and testing databases
  • Communicated with designers and artists about export pipeline

FAKT Software | Leipzig, Germany

Quality Assurance (September 2011 - August 2012)

  • Provided feedback about level design and bugs
  • Worked on projects released on PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, and iOS
  • Created detailed bug reports using Mantis Bug Tracker
  • Tested technical requirements to allow the games to be published on digital distrubution platforms
  • Helped in localizing projects from German to English

Projects

Vinyl Games Studio

Astro Guardians (April 2015 - June 2016)

  • Implemented the game's UI and a character customization systems
  • Developed in C# using Unity3D
  • Created Unity Editor tools to allow designers to add new items for players to purchase
  • Created native code plugins in Objective-C and Java for iOS and Android
  • Wrote cloud syncronization save game functionality using iCloud and Google Play

Unannounced Project (September 2014 - July 2015)

  • Created a complex post process effect for Unreal Engine 4 using C++
  • Designed the weapon system to allow for a streamlined addition of new weapons to the game
  • Lead the team meetings for designing the backend systems

Circuit Panic (February 2013 - April 2014)

  • Implemented the in-house 2D engine in C++ for iOS and Windows, and Java for Android
  • Used programmable pipeline OpenGL/OpenGL ES as the rendering backend
  • Optimized rendering using batching to allow game to run on older devices
  • Created various tools for artist and designers to package assets for the game
  • Wrote a basic 2D rigging system to allow for customization of characters

Sheridan College

Final Capstone Project (May 2014 - August 2014)

  • Created a 3D engine using C++ for use in a multiplayer third-person shooter
  • Implemented and maintained the OpenGL graphics backend
  • Created a variety of tools for exporting the models and animations into the engine
  • Implemented GPU skinning so that skeletal animations were running with optimal performance
  • Wrote a small block allocator for use in a cross thread messaging system
  • Scheduled tasks and deadlines for the team of programmers

Education

Sheridan College | Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Game Development - Advanced Programming Certificate (August 2014)

Acheived a 4.0 GPA, graduated with honors, and received the Sheridan Silver Medal of Academic Excellence for earning the highest grade in the course

Computer Programmer Diploma (April 2013)

Acheived a 4.0 GPA and graduated with honors

Skills

Programming Languages

  • C#
  • C++
  • Objective-C
  • Javascript/Typescript

Game Engines

  • Unreal Engine 4
  • Unity3D
  • PIXI.JS

APIs / Frameworks

  • WebGL
  • OpenGL/OpenGL ES
  • React
  • Express.js

Software

  • Microsoft Visual Studio
  • Xcode
  • GIT
  • JIRA

Languages

  • English
  • German

References

Available upon request