Hello! I'm Darrell.
Software engineer building complex, performant systems: simulation, data pipelines, graphics, and AI tooling.
Languages
Tech Stack
M.S Computational Biology
Algorithm Design · Bioinformatics · Data Pipelines · Scientific Computing · Data Analysis
B.S Sustainability
Systems Thinking & Design · Sustainable Development · Sustainable Design · Renewable Energy Systems
Arizona State University (2019-2025)
Experience
AI & Automation Engineer Intern
June 2026 - Present- Leading a ground-up redesign of the internal contracts application bridging accounting and project controllers, built as a modern full-stack web app.
- Architecting a live, containerized alerts service that keeps both teams in sync on contract state in real time.
- Operating with broad ownership over architecture and implementation, driving the project from design through delivery.
XR Software Developer
Dec 2022 - July 2025 • 2 yr 8 mos- Primary graphics engineer for SPLIT Studio, ASU EdPlus's student-run XR lab. Shipped visual systems into production experiences used by 4,000+ enrolled students and a museum installation.
- Built real-time shader systems from scratch across transparent rendering, water rendering, foliage decay, particle VFX, and outline rendering, all designed to be modular and extensible.
- Contributed modular pathfinding AI and shader effects for the Wayfinders exhibit at Bishop Museum's J. Watumull Planetarium — an award-winning permanent installation engineered for a 10-year lifespan of continuous public use.
Hall of Teachers — Bishop Museum
Interactive installation at the Wayfinders exhibit at the J. Watumull Planetarium, Bishop Museum, Honolulu. Celebrates the resurgence of traditional Hawaiian wayfinding through interactive screens, touch interfaces, and VR canoe simulations developed in partnership with ASU.
DreamScape Learn — Immersive Classroom
XR simulation modules for ASU's Global Futures sustainability curriculum (CGF 494). Two flagship environments: an Arctic ice-floe experience teaching climate science (polar bear encounters, ice thickness measurement) and a coral reef restoration simulation. Responsible for visual systems including water rendering, foliage decay, outline shaders, and carbon/methane particle animations. Experiences reach 4,000+ enrolled students; published research (April 2025) confirmed a 5% STEM retention improvement.
DreamScape Learn - How the Planet Became Our World
An ASU Global Futures curriculum experience exploring Earth's environmental history. Contributions: foliage decay shader system, carbon molecule particle animation, modular particle system with entity pooling for performance, and a globe-to-map unwrap visual effect. Built in collaboration with climate researchers to ensure scientific accuracy across all simulated environments.
Projects
Lichtspiel
June 2026Live-native audiovisual composition assistant built for the Music Hackspace Hackathon (Boston, June 2026). Reads the structure of an Ableton Live Set and uses it to retrieve, shape, and morph p5.js visual scenes, performed through a monome grid + arc.
Lockbox
May 2026Tiny Rust CLI that encrypts a file or zipped directory with AES-256-GCM, emails the key + nonce to a recipient, then deletes the file and zeroes the key in memory. Make it so you can't open it again until the recipient hands the key back.
Daileet
May 2026Terminal-based spaced-repetition app for practicing LeetCode problems, using the SM-2 algorithm to schedule reviews at scientifically optimal intervals based on your recall performance.
Shaderwrap
November 2025Full-stack AI tool that translates plain English into production-ready HLSL shader code, powered by a custom fine-tuned 14B parameter LLM trained on hundreds of curated URP shaders.
Stack Scraper
April 2026Local CLI tool that scrapes your Instagram and TikTok saved posts — downloads videos, extracts audio, and transcribes content into text documents with optional local AI-powered transcription.
Blog
Contact
If you’re building something interesting or interested in chatting about technology, reach out.