Ethan Mayer Email & Phone Number

College Station, Tx, Us

Software Engineer for Microsoft Azure Storage.

Contract work for major software companies, such as Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studios.

United States

Position: Head Developer/Project LeadLanguages: Python, Lua, Bash, Batch, HTML, CSS, JavaScriptResponsibilities: Software development, team management, workflow automation, source control management, talent acquisition, financial management, community management.Details:I am the Head Developer and overall Project Lead of World Ablaze, a Windows and MacOS video game modification software for Hearts of Iron IV. World Ablaze is currently used by over 100,000 people globally and is constantly growing thanks to our persistent and frequent update schedule over the past several years. I put together and continue to lead a team of over 36 members, among which include sub-teams such as QA Testers, Researchers, Artists, Programmers, and Community Managers. My duties primarily include direct software development, Pull Request/code reviews for other programmers, directing team and sub-team efforts, such as QA Tester focuses, Researcher tasks, and Community Manager events, evaluating team member performance, acquisition of new talent, management of our direct online communities, and management of monetization efforts, which allow this to be a paid self-employed position. My team and I have written millions of lines of PDXscript (Lua), which makes up the majority of this software. I have also written many external tools, mostly in Python and Batch, to help with automation, verification, and testing at various stages of our workflow. I have directed extensive research efforts, and we have compiled thousands of historical documents and tens of thousands of historical data points that are used as content for the software. Additionally, I interact with and moderate our online community, which consists of over 7,000 users that directly discuss, provide feedback, and report issues with the software. Finally, my team's rise to prominence within this niche allows us to work directly with the development studio responsible for the base software, Paradox Development Studio.

College Station, Texas, United States

Position: Software EngineerLanguages: R, Bash, YMLResponsibilities: Software development, source control management, workflow automation, project managementDetails:I was a Software Engineer contracted by Texas A&M's Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology. The Winemiller Aquatic Ecology Laboratory contracted me to work on their novel and industry-leading aquatic modeling software, RIV Webscape. This modeling framework is a highly advanced research-oriented individual-based fish modeling software that can be used to model long-term effects of changes in land-based aquatic environments (rivers, lakes, etc.) such as the addition of hydroelectric power dams, for example. My job was to improve the modeling software and administratively manage the project by setting up project workflows for efficient worldwide contribution.

Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Position: Software EngineerLanguages: C, C++, Cython, Python, BashResponsibilities: Software development, C/C++/Cython/Python/Bash programming, Bash script utilities, cross-language communication via ZMQ, multithreading via pthreads, research into C-Cython-Python interactions, collection and analysis of data, writing Master's Thesis, publication of findings.Details:I was a Software Engineer - Graduate Researcher at Vanderbilt’s Institute for Software Integrated Systems (Vanderbilt ISIS) working on RIAPS. RIAPS (Resilient Information Architecture Platform for Smart Grid) is a software platform that allows developers to build applications for distributed, real-time, and embedded computing using a component-oriented approach. The primary application area is the “Smart Grid”, the future of the internet-connected energy grid, where RIAPS can serve as the foundation for implementing distributed computing intelligence. RIAPS was created by the Vanderbilt ISIS with funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), U.S. Department of Energy. Since RIAPS is almost entirely written in Python, all multitasking is done using Python’s threading library. Due to the Python Global Interpreter Lock (GIL), this only results in a pseudo-multithreaded environment. In order for RIAPS to become closer to a hard real-time embedded system, true, concurrent multithreading is required. I am using compiled languages, such as C, C++, and Cython to explore the possibility of replacing the multitasking done in Python by leveraging their speed and ability to spawn POSIX pthreads. I have developed software tests combining Python and compiled languages in novel ways, gathered data, performed analysis, and published my findings and research in my Thesis, "Leveraging Compiled Languages to Speed Up Python Frameworks".

Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Position: Electrical and Software EngineerLanguages: Python, C, C++, BashResponsibilities: Software development, sensor instrumentation (strain gauges, etc.), peripherals integration (ADCs, etc.), microcontroller programming, fault-tolerant data systems implementation, high-performance embedded programming, data collection and analysis.Details:I was the Electrical and Software Engineer - Graduate Researcher on the Structural Health Monitoring of Flight Vehicles project that the Vanderbilt Aerospace Design Laboratory (VADL) is undertaking in collaboration with the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center. I am responsible for implementing the ground-testing and flight payload system for this research. An embedded computer system is required onboard the rocket flights in order to measure and record data from instruments such as GSGs (strain gauges), IMUs (including sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, barometers, etc.), and others. The primary goal of this project and collaboration is to research material response to rocket flight and g-based loads in order to define a method to quantitatively prove rocket airframe reusability claims. Although proprietary methods to accomplish this may exist, none have been proven and published in Academia.

Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Position: Electrical and Software EngineerLanguages: Python, BashResponsibilities: Software development, automated testing and monitoring development, software fault testing, hardware reliability testing, data collection and analysis, findings presentedDetails:I have been employed as a full-time paid Electrical and Software Engineer at the Vanderbilt Aerospace Design Laboratory (VADL) at Vanderbilt University. I am responsible for leading a team to conduct reliability testing and analysis on rocketry payload hardware and software. Electronic payload systems flown on VADL's rocket flights must be fault tolerant and resistant to failure in the extreme operating conditions experienced during a typical launch. Rigorous testing must be done in order to ensure that all hardware and software are up to the standards required for many successful launches due to VADL's emphasis on reusable rockets and payloads. For hardware, reliability parameters include the structural integrity of the electronics and mounts, ambient operating temperatures, electronic thermal throttling limits, security of peripheral connections, backup contingency capabilities, and more. For software, reliability parameters include optimization for hard real-time constraints, optimization for thermal output, fault-tolerant data systems, redundant data processing, redundant sensors, and more.

Lebanon, Tennessee, United States

Position: Electrical and Software EngineerLanguages: C, C++, Bash, CMakeResponsibilities: Software development, microcontroller and RTOS programming (ESP32), front-end UI design (LVGL), UI code generation, back-end UI implementation, software-hardware integration, data collection for neural network training.Details:I had the opportunity to work at Permobil as the R&D team's Electrical and Software Engineer intern. I was able to gain valuable experience by working on the software and hardware aspects of the team's current project. My primary roles within the team were front-end UI design, back-end UI implementation, rapid prototyping, software-hardware integration, and data gathering for neural network training. I gained valuable experience with product UI by handling both the front-end design and back-end implementation aspects. At first, I was implementing the LVGL UI by hand, but quickly swapped to a new tool I discovered that could generate UI code for this library. I also handled all back-end implementation of these UI functions, which allowed me to experience working with low-level hardware, I/O, and network communication between this display device and the primary unit. All of this work was rapid-prototyped on embedded RTOS devices and implemented in a series of sprints. Additionally, I also focused on helping the machine learning area of the team by collecting training data utilizing the UI I had created for the devices. Outside of these valuable work experiences, I also gained practical industry experience by working closely with other R&D engineers in a professional and highly integrated team. I was able to learn how to jump into a brand new project via the onboarding process I went through, and working closely with the other engineers allowed me to quickly make meaningful contributions to their work.

Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Position: Lead Payload EngineerLanguages: Python, C, C++, BashResponsibilities: Software development, sensor instrumentation (IMUs, etc.), peripherals integration (cameras, radios, etc.), microcontroller programming, fault-tolerant data systems implementation, high-performance embedded programming, data collection and analysis.Details:I was selected as the Lead Payload Engineer for the Vanderbilt Aerospace Design Laboratory (VADL). VADL successfully designed and implemented a rocket launch vehicle and payload to solve engineering challenges presented in NASA's 2022 Student Launch Initiative. I led the design and assembly of hardware and software capable of autonomously locating our rocket’s landing site during flight without external location services (GPS). This payload system was designed with 2 core and 2 redundant modules in case of mission-critical failure to provide a robust and capable system. Raspberry Pi's interfaced in real-time with sensor and I/O devices such as Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs), accelerometers, cameras, and radios, while also performing complex tasks, such as computer vision, to achieve in-flight landing location detection without training data or previous images of the landing site. I also led the creation and implementation of a custom data acquisition and image-processing software package, using SIFT as a basis for computer vision capabilities, to locate the rocket's landing location as it descends toward the ground. The payload system was flown on the VADL rocket launch vehicle 6 times throughout 2021-2022. The rocket achieved altitudes of up to 5,000 feet and experienced forces up to 10 G's. The result was a modular, redundant, and environment-invariant design that can successfully detect the landing location of any vertical-descent flight vehicle in any type of environment or terrain, including extraterrestrial. The Payload team received the Vanderbilt CF Chen Engineering award for the success of the VADL payload system.

Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Position: Teaching Assistant/GraderLanguages: ARM, Boolean AlgebraResponsibilities: Grading homework/exams, ARM programming, knowledge of computer architecture/digital logic/memory design/CPU design, tutoring studentsDetails:I worked part-time as a Grader/TA at Vanderbilt University for EECE 2123 Digital Systems. The class focused on Boolean algebra, computer architecture and design, digital logic, memory design, CPU design, and the ARM assembly language. I graded homework and exams, and I also sought out and tutored students struggling in the class.

Master Of Science - Ms, Electrical Engineering

Activities and Societies: Vanderbilt Aerospace Design Laboratory (VADL), Vanderbilt Free and Open Source Society (vFOSS)

Bachelor Of Engineering - Be, Computer Engineering, Engineering Management, Mathematics

Activities and Societies: Vanderbilt Aerospace Design Laboratory (VADL), Vanderbilt Free and Open Source Society (vFOSS), Vanderbilt.