- Shipped Astro Burn on Steam and GOG.
- Set architecture, tools and production technology decisions across development.
Technical Director · Systems Architect · London
About
I’m a Technical Director and systems architect with 12+ years across games, real-time production and VFX, including 7 years engineering Unreal Engine tools, plugins, gameplay systems and rendering infrastructure in C++ and Python, alongside full-stack web products and cloud infrastructure.
I was Cinematics Technical Lead for Hazimation on Dune: Awakening and Technical Director on the Mutant Year Zero animated feature, and I’ve led work for the BBC and Fremantle and earned three Epic MegaGrants.
I started as a VFX compositor and supervisor, so I build for the people who use the tools. I created RenderDeck, a distributed render-management platform built on Python and FastAPI, and Trainlink.eu, a full-stack TypeScript rail planner on self-managed cloud infrastructure. I also build agentic development workflows with custom subagents, MCP servers and CLI tools.
Recognition
Selected honours
- Three Epic MegaGrantsAwarded for the Max Beyond feature film Unreal Engine pipeline, the Max Beyond interactive experience and Moontopia.
- Best Visual EffectsWinner for Cognition, where I was VFX Supervisor.
- Awarded at 20+ festivalsInternational film festivals including the British Short Film Festival, Paris Short Film Awards, Rome International Movie Awards and Tokyo International Monthly Film Festival.
Approach
Areas of focus
- Systems architectureScalable production systems in Python , C++, JavaScript, from asset validation and Perforce workflows for real-time engines, to REST APIs, Postgres, job queues and Docker-based cloud infrastructure, engineered from first prototype to final delivery.
- Tools for artistsPlugins, system tools and web front-end frameworks that let artists and designers handle complex production tasks without waiting on engineering.
- Rendering at scaleDistributed rendering through Movie Render Queue, with job scheduling, failure recovery, live monitoring and 4K EXR / ACES delivery standards.
- Agentic AI workflowsCustom subagent flows that divide complex work across specialised agents, plus MCP servers, CLI tools and control over the context and tools each agent receives.
Experience
Production experience
- Built technical workflows designed to cut production friction and give artists more independence.
- Established practical tools and production processes across creative and technical disciplines.
- Led the technical side of Dune: Awakening cinematics, the Mutant Year Zero animated feature, BBC Galaxy Dance, BBC The Rap Game UK and Max Beyond.
- Architected the studio pipeline across asset management, validation, Perforce, rendering, automation and performance optimisation.
- Championed a “build once, use anywhere” approach, with frameworks that let artists and designers prototype and test independently.
- Built and deployed an internal distributed render farm with a web interface, which later informed RenderDeck.
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- Built Unreal Engine plugins and validators in C++ and Python for assets, materials, animation, sequences, render settings, ray tracing/Lumen and grooms.
- Designed gameplay frameworks and plugins for co-op, Gameplay Ability System, Game Features, World Partition and interaction systems.
- Directed technical development for vertical-slice prototypes and UEFN experiences across client work and internal IPs.
- Managed and mentored multidisciplinary technical teams, and set the documentation, development standards and production practices they worked to.
- Implemented all core Verse logic, combat systems and quests for Moontopia, helping secure an Epic MegaGrant.
- Developed top-down gameplay in Verse for Max Beyond, a promotional tie-in to the real-time animated film.
- Created and optimised environments and CG assets for the animated segment of the Valara anthology series.
- Supervised VFX on Cognition, winner of Best Visual Effects, as well as Rain Catcher and Once Upon a Time at Christmas.
- Delivered compositing, matte painting and 3D on Christmas at Graceland, Satori, 2036 Origin Unknown, The Beyond, Podsnappery, Green Sweater Guy and SYNC.
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- Worked in Nuke and 3D/VFX workflows, bridging creative requirements with technical problem-solving.
Selected work
Projects
Dune: AwakeningTechnical lead for HAZIMATION’s cinematic division on Funcom’s Dune: Awakening, delivering Unreal Engine 5 cinematics as an external co-development partner.
Mutant Year ZeroTechnical Director on the animated feature adaptation, owning real-time rendering, editor tools, asset workflows, custom render-farm infrastructure and 4K EXR / ACES delivery standards.
RenderDeckA self-contained platform that distributes cinematic rendering across worker machines in ACES-compliant productions, reducing reliance on Deadline and other third-party systems.
Trainlink.euA live European rail planner I designed, built and run end to end, from the map-first trip builder to the timetable pipeline, routing engine and cloud infrastructure.
MaestroA local memory and planning architecture that gives Claude Code and Codex one shared, audited record of plans, decisions and reviews, so work carries across chats and providers.
SEO AgentsA repeatable SEO workflow built on the open-source Claude SEO agents, with my own agent overlay and seo-viewer, a browsable app for tracking findings, tasks and scores across audits.
BBC Galaxy Dance EurovisionTechnical Lead on a BBC Eurovision short, building Unreal pipelines that combined live-action and green-screen footage with real-time environments and digital twins.Contact
Have a production challenge in mind?
I work on technical direction, real-time production, creative tools and agentic workflows. If your team has a hard production problem, email is the best way to reach me.