ABOUT.
Hi, I'm a software engineer with a passion for graphics, game development, and systems programming. With over a decade of programming experience, I have dived into a variety of projects ranging from IoT devices to custom game engines. Currently, I am in the final stretch of my undergraduate degree at Northern Illinois University, where I am studying computer science and minoring in applied mathematics.
I have experience with a variety of languages, including C/C++, JavaScript/TypeScript, and C#. I am also familiar with a variety of libraries and frameworks such as OpenGL, Win32, React, and and .NET. Although I have a strong background in systems programming, I am also familiar with web development and have experience with developing full-stack applications, database management, and networking. Software optimization is a particular interest of mine and extensively studied memory management, profiling, and performance tuning in C++. My experience as a Systems Administrator has also given me a strong foundation in project management, communication, and team leadership.
Much of my inspiration for my projects and interests is owed to many prominent indie game developers like Jonathan Blow and Casey Muratori. Their dedication to their craft and their ability to create innovative and unique experiences have always inspired me to push the boundaries of what is possible in software development.
My current focus is on developing Sigmafox, a compiler for COSY, a domain-specific language tailored to complex beam-physics simulations. However, when I am not working on this project, I am developing Ninetails, a 2D game engine written from scratch and iterating on Magnitude, an animation development suite for 2D and 3D graphics. Additionally, I am in the works of creating an untitled indie RPG game that I hope to release within the next few years.
Typically, when I am not busy with school work or my research project, I am burning the midnight oil working on my personal projects. When I am not programming, I enjoy gaming with my friends, cycling, and taking my husky for walks at our local state park. Many of my personal hobbies come and go as time goes on, but I always find myself coming back to game development.
If you'd like to get in touch, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn or GitHub. I am always open to hear about any opportunities in software engineering and project management.
EDUCATION.
Computer Science, B.S.
Northern Illinois University
2022 - 2025
Studying computational software, computational mathematics, and Japanese. Employed as a research assistant for the computer science department and acting vice-president of the Independent Game Developer's Association.
Associate of Arts
Rock Valley College
2020 - 2022
Studied computer science and mathematics. Graduated with High Honors with a 3.75 GPA and a member of the Phi Theta Kappa.
EXPERIENCE.
Research Assistant, Compiler Engineer
Northern Illinois University
2024 - 2025
Developed Sigmafox, a compiler for COSY, a domain-specific language tailored to complex beam-physics simulations, featuring automatic differentiation, parallel computation, and designed for high extensibility and performance.
Teaching Assistant, UNIX Systems & Networking
Northern Illinois University
2023 - 2024
Teaching assistant for the computer science department at Northern Illinois University. Assisted with grading, tutoring, exam proctoring, and student success.
Systems Administrator
Aircraft Gear Corporation
2016 - 2022
Provided ERP system administration, network administration, end-user support, and software development services for a small manufacturing company in Rockford, Illinois. Implemented a data conversion utility to facilitate data conversion from a legacy ERP system to Epicor Kinetic, automating data conversion for over one million records.
PROJECTS.
Magnitude
An animation development suite for 2D and 3D graphics.
Magnitude is a fully featured 2D and 3D animation development suite with a highly scriptable interface designed to help artists and developers construct realistic scenes frame-by-frame. Designed as a need for rapid graphics prototyping, Magnitude evolved to become a full-fledged animation suite which can be ran both as a CLI tool for standalone image generation or as a graphical editor for real-time animation. Mangitude is currently in active development and closed source. If you would like to learn more about how it works and see it in action, feel free to reach out to me over LinkedIn or GitHub.
Ninetails Game Engine
A performant 2D game engine written from scratch.
Ninetails is a 2D game engine written from scratch in C++ and OpenGL. The engine is designed to be both performant and easy to use, featuring a custom ECS system, a custom shader system, and a custom asset pipeline. The engine is designed to be cross-platform and is currently being developed for Windows, MacOS, and Linux.
Sigmafox Language Compiler
A compiler for COSY, a beam-physics scripting language.
Sigmafox is developed to address the needs of complex beam-physics simulations by providing a domain-specific language tailored to run on high-performance computing clusters. The language features automatic differentiation, parallel computation, and is designed for high extensibility and performance. The compiler is designed to generate C++ code which can be compiled and run on any platform.
Manage Kinetic
A Unidata to SQL data conversion utility.
Manage Kinetic is a utility developed in early 2023 to facilitate the data conversion of process of a legacy Unidata ERP system to Epicor Kinetic. It easily handles over a million records, parsing the data in just a couple seconds. Written entirely in C++, Manage Kinetic is designed to be fast, efficient, and easy to use. It parallelizes the data import and export processes, utilizing all available CPU cores to maximize performance.
CSCI-631 Software Renderer
A software renderer built from scratch.
This is the final project for my computer graphics course at Northern Illinois University. The project is a software renderer built from scratch in C++, featuring a custom shader rendering system. This project was developed over the course of a semester and was designed to be a learning experience in graphics rendering and optimization.
Here is some extra space so you can stare at the background.
Copyright 2025 / Chris DeJong / magictrick-dev