> I'm Christina Pilip, a software engineer building virtual worlds.

I'm a software engineer and researcher who's intensely passionate about the tech, philosophy, engineering, and architecture behind virtual worlds and spaces. My programming interests lie in real-time graphics/rendering, tool development, and engine programming.

Currently, I'm a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment at the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA), part of the University of Central Florida. Prior to that, I completed my Bachelor's in Computer Science at McGill University in Montréal, Canada.

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me!

WORK EXPERIENCE

Stained Glass Studios

Systems & Engine Programmer (Nov. 2025 – Present)

  • Led programming efforts for a team of 18, architecting pipelines and build workflows while driving technical direction and cross-disciplinary collaboration to deliver gameplay features.

(Confidential)

Software Developer (Sep. 2024 – Dec. 2025)

  • Built a QGIS plugin and a data cleaning/geoprocessing pipeline to process and link 137k+ geospatial records in Python for a research project using GIS-enabled historiography to reconstruct and analyze travel routes to identify potential burial sites of Attila the Hun.
  • Provided technical expertise and documentation for future development of an online webmap and interactive simulation in Unreal Engine 5 using C++.

McGill University

Teaching Assistant (Jan. – May 2022, Jan. – May 2023)

  • Facilitated tutorials, office hours, and assessments for 200+ students for COMP 322 - Introduction to C++, providing explanations on complex C++ concepts and debugging code.

CAE (Presagis)

Gaming Engine Developer (July – Dec. 2022)

  • Delivered two proof-of-concepts involving USD for VELOCITY 5D by researching state-of-the-art mesh generation techniques and platform integration between NVIDIA Omniverse and Unreal Engine 5.
  • Constructed digital twins using geospatial data, 3D modelling, and real-time visualization tools.

EDUCATION

University of Central Florida (Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy)

MSc. Interactive Entertainment

Aug. 2025 – Dec. 2026

Graduate study in interactive entertainment with a focus on software engineering, low-level systems, performance optimization, and multidisciplinary game development.

Relevant coursework: Game Programming Fundamentals (code optimization, compression, memory allocation, and file manipulation), Advanced Game Programming (software and game engine architecture), Applied Programming Mechanics.

McGill University

BSc. Computer Science

Sept. 2019 – May 2024

GameDevMcGill alumnus, where I led multiple teams during annual 48-hour game jams and helped develop several award-winning student game projects as part of McGill University's game development society.

Relevant coursework: Honours Algorithms and Data Structures, Linear Algebra, Discrete Mathematics, Software Design, Modern Computer Games, Computer Graphics.

SKILLS

Programming Languages

  • C++
  • C
  • Python
  • C#

Game Engines

  • Unreal Engine 5
  • Unity
  • Frostbite Engine

Graphics

  • OpenGL
  • GLSL
  • HLSL
  • Real-time Rendering Pipelines

Tools

  • Perforce
  • Git
  • Jenkins
  • Visual Studio
  • Unreal Insights

Production

  • Debugging
  • Code Review
  • Scrum / Agile Development
  • Jira
  • Microsoft Teams

Languages

  • English (native)
  • French (professional)
  • Ukrainian (professional)

PROJECTS & TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE

AMD FSR 4 Benchmark

AMD FSR 4 Benchmark

An Unreal Engine 5 benchmarking project for AMD's FSR 4 plugin with real-time ImGui parameter editing.

Slay the Spire

Slay the Spire

A remake of Slay the Spire using a custom C++ game engine.

C++ Game Engine

C++ Game Engine

A custom data-driven game engine implementing JSON reflection, software design patterns, and run-time polymorphic data structures.

Splinter

Splinter

A single-player Gothic hack 'n' slash under development in Unreal Engine 5 at FIEA.

QGIS Plugin

Pathfinder

A QGIS plugin and Python pipeline for data cleaning/geoprocessing, route reconstruction, spatial analysis, and interactive simulation planning.

VELOCITY5D

VELOCITY 5D

A series of proof-of-concepts focused on digital twins, USD workflows, and platform integration between NVIDIA Omniverse and Unreal Engine 5.

Raytracer

Raytracer

A software raytracer implementing ray-primitive intersection, shading, reflections, and other core rendering techniques.

Well-Played

Well-Played

A network analysis of DOTA 2's esports scene, examining competitive player and team association and performance in-game.

The Last Braincells

The Last Braincells

A multiplayer arena wave shooter prototype built in Unity for Ubisoft's 10-week Game Lab Competition.