Principal Unity Engineer and Technical Director with 20+ years’ software engineering experience, specializing in Unity development since 2012. Unity Certified Expert with deep experience delivering commercial games, mobile apps, WebGL experiences, simulations, and interactive learning platforms. Strong background across software architecture, performance optimization, mobile and native integrations, backend development, automated testing, and CI/CD. Experienced leading engineering teams, modernizing legacy projects, and delivering reliable software across iOS, Android, WebGL, and desktop platforms.

Jacques Leemans

Principal Unity Engineer and Technical Director with 20+ years’ software engineering experience, specializing in Unity development since 2012. Unity Certified Expert with deep experience delivering commercial games, mobile apps, WebGL experiences, simulations, and interactive learning platforms. Strong background across software architecture, performance optimization, mobile and native integrations, backend development, automated testing, and CI/CD. Experienced leading engineering teams, modernizing legacy projects, and delivering reliable software across iOS, Android, WebGL, and desktop platforms.

Available to hire

Principal Unity Engineer and Technical Director with 20+ years’ software engineering experience, specializing in Unity development since 2012. Unity Certified Expert with deep experience delivering commercial games, mobile apps, WebGL experiences, simulations, and interactive learning platforms.

Strong background across software architecture, performance optimization, mobile and native integrations, backend development, automated testing, and CI/CD. Experienced leading engineering teams, modernizing legacy projects, and delivering reliable software across iOS, Android, WebGL, and desktop platforms.

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Experience Level

Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
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Language

Afrikaans
Fluent
English
Fluent

Work Experience

Lead Mobile Game Developer at Step Out Academy
July 1, 2025 - Present
Consult on Unity architecture and refactor AI-generated Unity code while implementing technical standards. Develop AR/mobile features and support app-store distribution. Build Node.js and Socket.IO-based real-time multiplayer systems with support for ARCore, ARKit, Fastlane, CI/CD, and GitLab workflows.
Lead Game Developer at Hungry Huntsman / Tripledot Studios
March 1, 2023 - November 1, 2025
Lead Unity architecture and gameplay development for Woodoku Blast, a commercial mobile puzzle game. Designed gameplay systems, technical standards, documentation, training material, developer workflows, Firebase integration, and iOS/Android delivery processes. Collaborated directly with Tripledot production and development teams to align engineering delivery, technical decisions, release requirements, and handover.
Senior Game Consultant at Larrikin Interactive
February 1, 2023 - August 1, 2023
Consult on Unity development, solution architecture, systems design, CI/CD, PlayFab, Steam SDK integration, Articy Draft 3, and team workflows.
Unity DevOps Engineer at We Bananas
January 1, 2023 - Present
Design and maintain CI/CD pipelines for a Unity-based iOS and Android fitness app using Fastlane, GitLab, Xcode, and Gradle. Debug and resolve Unity/iOS/Android/Gradle/Xcode build-server and release-process issues across local and CI environments. Train artists and non-technical team members on Unity/Git workflows and create technical documentation, release notes, and troubleshooting guides.
Full-stack Developer at VerveEd Pty Ltd
November 1, 2021 - March 1, 2023
Built Unity/C# 3D simulations and training apps for an Australian Government entity. Worked with SCORM, Moodle, PHP, LTI 1.2/1.3, AWS, Apache, MariaDB, SSL, and Let’s Encrypt.
Lead Solution Architect / Engineer at Omnirealm Studios Pty Ltd
September 1, 2020 - March 1, 2023
Designed a virtual campus platform using Unity WebGL, Node.js, MongoDB, OAuth 2.0, OIDC, JWT, Okta, AWS, Socket.io, WebRTC, and custom CMS/LMS/LRS integrations, including Moodle/LTI integration.
Technical Lead at Drop Bear Bytes
June 1, 2019 - December 1, 2021
Led Unity systems for Broken Roads RPG covering gameplay, UI, persistence, AI, dialogue, quests, editor tooling, Articy Draft 3, Angular CMS tooling, automation, technical standards, and documentation handover.
Lead Solution Architect / Engineer at Tiny Readers Publishing
June 1, 2017 - July 1, 2022
Designed and built NoM eLoM e, a cross-platform interactive eBook app for iOS, Android, tvOS, WebGL, macOS, Fire TV, and Windows. Built Node.js/Firebase/AWS backend services and Angular content tools.
Developer Engineer at Deakin University
January 1, 2016 - December 1, 2021
Developed Unity/Ionic indoor navigation prototypes, GIS solutions, BLE beacon integrations, REST APIs and Socket.io services, plus tools using OpenStreetMap, Leaflet, HERE Maps, Mapbox, Cisco CMX, Node.js, MongoDB, and Angular.
Senior Game Developer at Wizard Games
January 1, 2014 - July 1, 2015
Integrated and maintained Photon/PUN multiplayer systems for a Unity mobile FPS, including real-time multiplayer components and hover-craft mechanics.
Game Design Lecturer at The Open Window
January 1, 2013 - December 1, 2014
Lectured second- and third-year students in game design, Unity 3D, C#, and Construct 2.
Senior Game Developer at LinkIt!
August 1, 2012 - December 1, 2015
Delivered Unity game architecture, game design, GUI prototyping, web development, and management of distributed developers across multiple countries.
Software Developer at Tracker
August 1, 2011 - July 1, 2012
Developed C#/.NET, WPF, WCF, SQL, and Esri ArcGIS WPF systems for vehicle tracking, fleet management, geofencing, geolocation, and reverse geocoding.
Technical Director / Principal Unity Engineer at XGameDev Pty Ltd
June 1, 2010 - Present
Lead software engineering, Unity architecture, backend development, DevOps, and technical delivery across client and internal projects. Build Unity games, mobile apps, training simulations, WebGL experiences, backend services, and tooling using C#, Unity, Node.js, Firebase, AWS, GCP, Azure, Angular, and TypeScript. Own solution architecture, technical standards, documentation, Agile delivery, client communication, team training, and product step-out/rollout.
Development Engineer / Test Technician at Specialist Systems Engineering
May 1, 2005 - July 1, 2011
Developed C#/WPF software, embedded firmware, PCB designs, industrial communication protocol work, ISO 9001 documentation, test procedures, electronic packaging, QA/testing, and fault-finding workflows.

Education

National Diploma in Electrical Engineering at University of South Africa (UNISA)
January 11, 2030 - July 30, 2026

Qualifications

Unity Certified Expert: Programmer
January 11, 2030 - July 30, 2026
ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management
January 11, 2030 - July 30, 2026
Unity Certified Expert: Programmer
January 11, 2030 - July 30, 2026
ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management
January 11, 2030 - July 30, 2026

Industry Experience

Gaming, Software & Internet, Education, Government