Jeff Lee
software engineer
Staff-level backend engineer and tech lead. I like hard problems and wearing many hats.
What I do
- Take ownership of fast-paced, complex projects, from sticky-notes all the way to ship
- Think beyond pure functionality: user experience, maintainability, performance, and security
- Force-multiply: facilitate conversations, review code, delegate, automate, document, and teach
Areas of focus
- Backend web dev: HTTP APIs, relational DBs, caches, job queues, and cloud ops
- Game development in Unity and WebGL
- Languages: JavaScript/TypeScript, C#, Go, Ruby, PHP/Hack, and C/C++
Technical experience
Co-founder - Main Gauche Games (2021.10-present)
I run an indie game studio.
- Led the design and development of Stereo Boy (PC/Mac), which short-listed for Best in Show at the 2022 Boston Independent Games Festival
- Implemented core tech for AI, physics, audio, level design, telemetry, and build tooling
Staff engineer - Slack (2017.10-2021.10)
Tech lead for projects that made the Slack developer platform more scale- and enterprise-friendly.
- Shipped a laundry list of business-critical user features: bot tokens with OAuth scopes, client TLS auth, OAuth2 token rotation, and app-level credentials
- Led the effort to improve scalability of the app webhook system (Events API), reducing tail latency by 2 orders of magnitude and preventing future performance-related incidents
- Evangelized and implemented an automated workflow for data cleanup tasks, eliminating our team’s largest source of velocity drag
Lead product engineer - Chain (2015.3-2017.9)
Chain developed a cryptographically-secured database for large financial institutions. I led a team that maintained the product surface area, including APIs, SDKs, dashboards, and example apps.
- Headed development for numerous prototype applications, from retail point-of-sale to bond trading, that led to successful client engagements and conference exhibitions
- Primary technical point-of-contact for high-profile client teams such as Nasdaq and UFJ
- Improved team velocity by introducing new technology (React) and process (kanban)
Lead engineer, platform and infrastructure - IFTTT (2012.11-2014.9)
I led IFTTT’s server-side engineering projects for the better part of two years.
- Product and technical architect for IFTTT’s developer platform, which enabled the company to scale from dozens of partner integrations to hundreds
- Moved the backend from Engine Yard to auto-scaling EC2, reducing infra costs by over 50%
- Introduced team processes for task tracking, sprint planning, and incident response
Full-stack web developer - Gotham Software (2011.8-2012.11)
First engineering hire for a seed-level team that built Maybe, a bookmarking app, and Everwise, a service that connects professionals to mentors.
- Tech lead for backend systems including mobile APIs, bookmarking, search, social graph, news feed, and 3rd-party API integration
Game programmer - WayForward Technologies (2010.12-2011.6, 2006.3-2007.9)
Systems programming for game projects on various mainstream consoles, including GBA, DS, PS3, and Xbox 360.
- Contributed key platform tech, including fast allocators, metrics, tools, and a C++ gameplay framework used for most of WayForward’s DS catalog
- Implemented gameplay for acclaimed titles such as Contra 4 and BloodRayne: Betrayal
Game programmer - Zindagi Games (2008.10-2010.8)
Primary user interface programmer for Sports Champions (PS3), the flagship title for Sony’s Move motion controller.
- Developed innovative solutions to tricky UX problems, such as controller calibration and pairing.
- Contributed UX guidelines to Sony’s official technical requirements.
Education
- MA, History of Consciousness (philosophy/politics) - UC Santa Cruz (2008)
- BA, History, minor in computer science - UC Berkeley (2003)