Bill Flugrath

Staff Rendering Engineer @ Warner Bros. Games San Francisco

About

Computer graphics, virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR), game engine, spatial computing, and systems engineering.Lead graphics engineer on many shipped video game titles and various AR platforms.Designed and built commercial 3-D rendering systems for AR/VR headsets, mobile devices, PC, and game consoles.Extensive experience writing real-time global illumination systems as well as physically based rendering (PBR).Implemented core VR/AR technologies including head mounted displays, tracking, real-time rendering, machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), and computer vision (CV).Programming, optimization, and CPU/GPU performance profiling on a variety of hardware including mobile, PC, Mac, game consoles, and VR/AR headsets.Wrote C++ code to integrate with a variety of sensors including depth, camera, and IMU sensor data systems.Working knowledge of deep learning algorithms, mathematics, frameworks, GPU acceleration tools, and neural radiance fields (NeRF).University lecturer teaching physics, engineering, and animation.Experienced staff scientist in the field of applied physics.Produced and animated stop-motion animation films shown in film festivals and TV.

Country

United States

City

San Francisco Bay Area

Industry

Computer Software

Skill

Video Games, Game Development, Perforce, Computer Graphics, DirectX, Game Design, C++, PS3, Gameplay, Computer Games, Xbox 360, 3D, Console, Software Engineering, Animation, Wii, OpenGL, Mobile Games, C#, Game Programming

Experience

Staff Rendering Engineer

Warner Bros. Games San Francisco

2021-5 - Present · 5 yrs 5 mos

Wrote real-time GPU performance profiling tools for NetherRealm Studios and used on Mortal Kombat. Principal graphics engineer on mobile game DC Worlds Collide. Wrote concurrent C++ rendering and profiling code in Unreal for PS5, Xbox X, and PC. Working closely with art team on feature development for various console and mobile titles.

Principal Architect

Sixense Enterprises Inc.

2020-3 - 2021-4 · 1 yr 2 mos

Developed full body tracking technology and 3D games in Unreal for the "REAL System" VR platform. Designed and programmed a machine learning system in C++ for body tracking hardware. This neural net based system was deployed on both PC and mobile VR headsets running Unreal applications. Designed neural net topology, built training data collection tool for the machine learning system. Built SDK for avatar tracking that was integrated with Unreal Engine and the Vive Focus headset.

Principal Engineer

Meta Company

2017-1 - 2019-12 · 3 yrs

San Mateo, CA

Built core AR software for spatial computing platform including: 3-D stereoscopic rendering, asynchronous time-warp, graphics compositor, and hand-tracking via C++ and GPU shaders. Provided technical direction to the engineering team. Collaborated with hardware team to choose correct components for the Meta 2 HMD. Wrote C++ to integrate a variety of sensor data into rendering and tracking systems.

Software Engineer (Graphics, Computer Vision, and Systems)

castAR

2015-9 - 2016-12 · 1 yr 4 mos

Palo Alto, CA

Principal architect and engineer of 3-D engine written in C++/OpenGL to support the mobile AR headset. Designed and programmed custom AR user interface system for the device. Worked closely with the hardware team to determine the best CPUs and GPUs for the system. Adapted Unreal, World of Tanks, Mean Greens, and other game engines to run on the AR device.

Software Engineer (Graphics and Systems)

Electronic Arts (EA)

2005-5 - 2015-5 · 10 yrs 1 mo

Redwood City and Emeryville, CA

Lead graphics programmer on several "Sims" titles such as "The Sims" and "SimCity". Designed and implemented low level systems across multiple game engines and game consoles. Collaborated with art directors and artists in developing technologies to achieve visual targets. Performed CPU/GPU performance analysis and optimization on many games and hardware platforms. Worked in multiple studios supporting various products in development.

Software Engineer

Philips

2004-5 - 2005-5 · 1 yr 1 mo

Milpitas, CA

Built a streaming media device from the ground up with a very small team. Responsible for all graphics programming and architectural design of the rendering system. Built custom user interface for the device.