Last Updated on November 24, 2025 by chase
Directed engineering efforts on a multiplayer arena brawler published by TinyBuild, driving full‑stack development across client, server, tooling, and backend systems. Beginning as a contractor (2020-2021) before transitioning into a Principal Engineer role, I contributed from early prototyping through release.
My responsibilities spanned building Unity gameplay and networked systems in C#, integrating PlayFab, Epic Online Services, Twitch entitlements, and MultiPlay to support scalable multiplayer features, while optimizing pipelines with Jenkins. I also managed Git workflows, regularly merging branches into client and server builds, and took ownership of deploying and managing releases to ensure stability. Beyond technical execution, I developed Python automation tooling to enhance workflows, including localization, and engineered backend services in Node.js and TypeScript to support matchmaking, persistence, and live‑ops features. Leveraging MongoDB, Redis, AWS, and Azure for cloud services, I ensured reliability and performance across the stack. I also mentored teammates and set engineering priorities within a small, rigorous team environment.
Selected Contributions
Storefront Integration
- Storefront Integration with Epic Online Services for currency purchases
- Implemented backend scheduling logic to automate item rotations on daily and tri‑daily cadences, ensuring dynamic availability beyond what’s visible in the client
- Debugged transaction flows to maintain accuracy and reliability
- Handled platform integrations to support cross‑system consistency
- Guided engineering priorities to keep the storefront system stable and reliable
Character Customization – Persistence and Integration
- Implemented backend persistence to reliably save player choices
- Applied performance tuning with targeted optimizations to improve stability
- Guided engineering priorities within our small team
- Ensured the system integrated seamlessly into the broader multiplayer experience
Lunchpass – Battlepass System
- Engineered backend systems to manage player data and progression
- Evaluated and tuned client and backend data, ensuring reliable reward delivery
- Extended the item editor to support pushing and adding data for Lunchpass rewards
- Implemented optimizations across backend and client systems to improve stability and performance
- Resolved bugs to maintain a smooth player experience
- Guided engineering priorities within our small team to ensure reliable delivery
Item Unlock Overlay – Reward Delivery System
- Engineered backend data handling and reward evaluation logic to ensure unlocks were delivered consistently and reliably
- Implemented separation of overlays for different reward types: Lunchpass, Leaderboard, Purchase, Daily, and more
- Ensured each overlay surfaced correctly within the client experience for smooth player feedback
Game Mode Selection – Quickplay & Private Matches
- Contributed to the Game Mode Selection Screen showcasing Tutorial, Training, Quickplay, and Private matches
- Designed, implemented, and integrated the client‑facing Quickplay system to interface reliably with backend processes
- Built and maintained backend components of the custom matchmaker, improving stability and connection reliability
- Leveraged MultiPlay server orchestration to provision, scale, and manage servers for both Quickplay and Private matches
- Guided engineering priorities alongside another developer to keep delivery focused and stable
- Engineered Private Matches by combining Epic Online Services lobbies with MultiPlay orchestration, ensuring dependable session creation, server allocation, and player connectivity
Character Landing Area – Quickplay Queue & Dynamic Events
- Contributed to the Character Landing Area shown while queued for Quickplay, including Squad Lobby slots that surfaced EOS party formation and persistence features
- Worked extensively on the custom matchmaker, integrating Epic Online Services so players could reliably queue together and connect to matches
- Engineered backend‑driven processes to enable or disable dynamic events without requiring client rebuilds, ensuring flexibility and faster iteration
Quickplay Landing Screen – Match Details Translation
- Contributed to the Quickplay Landing Screen displayed after a match was found
- Implemented functionality to translate backend queue state into client‑facing data, ensuring players saw accurate match details immediately upon being matched
- Maintained reliability of the queue‑to‑client pipeline, supporting smooth transitions from matchmaking into gameplay
Multiplayer Game Modes – Match Flow & Synchronization
- Contributed across multiple multiplayer game modes, including Capture‑the‑Flag (“Snag the Flagwich”), Quickplay, Private Matches, and additional custom modes
- Performed extensive implementation work to build systems supporting reliable match flow
- Engineered player synchronization mechanisms across client, backend, and server orchestration layers, ensuring consistent multiplayer experiences across sessions
Multiplayer Gameplay – Item Interactions & State Synchronization
- Contributed to multiplayer gameplay systems showcasing item pickup and usage with multiple players in action
- Implemented and maintained game server functionality, ensuring reliable performance under live multiplayer conditions
- Engineered synchronization of player states and gameplay systems across sessions, supporting consistent and dependable multiplayer experiences
End‑Match Screen – Post‑Game Flow & State Synchronization
- Contributed to the End‑Match Screen showcasing the flow after a completed game
- Focused on maintaining stability and ensuring smooth transitions out of matches
- Engineered state synchronization between client and server, so players consistently experienced accurate post‑game results and progression.
Quickplay Landing – Post‑Win Flow & Dynamic Rewards
- Contributed to the Quickplay Landing Screen shown after a match win, where players could choose to Split or Fight
- Ensured client and backend states remained synchronized during this decision flow, so player choices were reflected reliably
- Integrated dynamic PlayFab‑driven rewards, enabling updates and modifications without requiring client rebuilds, supporting faster iteration and live balancing
Progression Screen – Rewards, Experience & Team Alignment
- Contributed to the Progression Screen displayed after completed matches, showing earned rewards and experience
- Engineered processes for tracking game events from the server perspective and granting rewards/experience to clients with accuracy and stability
- Delivered progression data from backend systems to the client, ensuring reliable synchronization and player‑facing consistency
- Provided engineering mentorship and bug fixes, helping the team align technical execution with the intended player experience
Challenges Menu – Automated Generation & Objective Tracking
- Contributed to the Challenges Menu highlighting player objectives and progression
- Developed a Python automation process to generate randomized challenges, providing a wide range of player objectives
- Engineered server‑side processes to track challenge objective increments and deliver results to the backend after each match for individual player processing
- Provided mentorship and guidance for backend and client‑facing engineers on technical design, while delivering bug fixes to keep the system stable and adaptable
Leaderboard – Competitive Rankings & Reward Automation
- Contributed to the Leaderboard system showcasing competitive player rankings and rewards
- Engineered backend processes enabling clients to query MongoDB data based on MMR scores, ensuring accurate and scalable ranking retrieval
- Integrated dynamic PlayFab data to define rewards for top placements (1st, 2nd, 3rd), allowing live updates without client rebuilds
- Built backend automation to grant leaderboard rewards on a weekly cadence, streamlining live operations and reducing manual intervention
Additional Contributions
Reliability & Performance
- Performed profiling and performance optimization to ensure reliable multiplayer experiences under load
- Executed large‑scale code refactors and reworks to harden systems and improve long‑term maintainability
- Designed and ran backend testing and load testing, leveraging Docker for local debugging and validation
Build & Deployment Pipelines
- Managed branching and build workflows, including building and deploying patches across environments
- Maintained development pipelines (dev, stage, live) to support smooth iteration and release cycles
- Implemented A/B deployment strategies to eliminate or reduce downtime during updates
- Automated builds and processes through a Jenkins pipeline, reducing manual intervention and improving reliability
- Implemented Azure VPN workflows to securely access restricted resources during development and operations
Tooling & Content Workflows
- Built Python tooling for automation and localization, streamlining engineering and content workflows
- Developed an extensive Unity item editor to accelerate content pipeline efficiency and reduce manual overhead
- Supported and maintained a Next.js CMS, including deployment, technical design, and ongoing developer support
Backend & Networking Infrastructure
- Orchestrated and maintained the backend stack across AWS, Azure, MongoDB, and Redis, setting up infrastructure, caching, and workflows to support scalable multiplayer systems
- Integrated Photon Bolt for real‑time networking and synchronization, complementing EOS lobbies and MultiPlay orchestration to deliver reliable multiplayer connectivity
- Leveraged dynamic PlayFab title data to mitigate client builds, enabling live updates without requiring rebuilds
- Designed workflows and tooling to unify client, backend, and server orchestration layers, ensuring consistent experiences across game modes
Live Operations
- Provided on‑call live‑ops support, ensuring the game remained operational and resilient