Logo ABOUT EXPERIENCE SKILLS & AWARDS PROJECTS
RICHARD MAO
Software Engineer, Game Designer

ABOUT ME


Photo of Me

Hi! I'm currently a Software Development Engineer at Amazon Web Services based in Seattle, WA. I have a particular interest in game development, full stack web development, cloud infrastructure, and artificial intelligence.

During my time at UC Santa Cruz, I majored in Computer Science with a focus in Game Design. My education covered a wide range of applicable technologies such as distributed systems, web development, artificial intelligence, and procedural content generation. I also learned the fundamentals of game development through building several games using tools from Game Maker Studio to Unity. My senior capstone game, Kleptonaut, won the Grand Prize at the 2018 Sammy Showcase, an event showcasing all 26 senior games made at UC Santa Cruz.

Since graduation, I returned to Amazon full time and continue to build my career in full stack development and cloud-based technologies. I worked in Prime for over two years, working on a number of projects to improve marketer efficiency with global reach in 10+ countries and marketers worldwide. Since then, I switched my interests to be a part of the AWS Global Services Security org to start a security focused role within AWS, designing and building products to ensure secure operations with AWS partners.

Education

University of California, Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, CA
B.S. Computer Science: Computer Game Design
Sep 2015 - Dec 2018
  • Relevant Coursework: Computer Systems/Assembly Language, Data Structures, Abstract Data Types, Web Applications, Game AI, Procedural Content Generation, Natural Language Processing, Distributed Systems.

De Anza College

Cupertino, CA
Jun 2014 - Aug 2017
  • Relevant Coursework: Programming in C++, Network Security, Ethical Hacking.

Work Experience

Amazon Web Services

Seattle, WA
Software Development Engineer
Jul 2021 - Current
  • Part of the AWS Global Services Security team building products to help improve security of AWS sales.

Amazon

Seattle, WA
Software Development Engineer
Apr 2019 - Jun 2021
  • Worked on the Prime Adoption and Experiment Tech team to build tools to improve effectiveness of marketing
  • Created and deployed the /prime landing page to 3 new countries in efforts to globalize Prime benefits.
  • Supported marketers worldwide to build and regionalize marketing content.
  • Designed and built a system to quickly generate, validate, and preview content for marketers to reduce manual work.

Amazon

Seattle, WA
Software Development Engineer Intern
Jun 2018 - Sep 2018
  • Worked on the Prime Content Management Experience team to revamp the existing metrics logging system used by over 500 internal users.
  • Developed a boilerplate web application to create custom reports to allow for detailed analysis into tool usage and aid in maintenance and developer operations.
  • Designed a fully expandable and scalable backend system to support report generation.
  • Reduced a Elasticsearch database schema size by 80% to improve searchability and to optimize effectiveness of metrics logging.

iD Tech Camps

Stanford, CA
Instructor
May 2016 - Aug 2016
  • Personally mentored over 60 kids in programming fundamentals.
  • Developed a fully customized Java curriculum to streamline teaching core programming concepts.
  • Created several sample iOS and Android games to teach kids mobile game design.

SKILLS & AWARDS

Languages

  • Typescript
  • Javascript
  • Python
  • Java
  • C++
  • C#
  • Golang
  • HTML
  • CSS

Technologies

  • React/Redux
  • AWS
  • Serverless Architecture
  • NodeJS
  • Unity
  • Docker

Awards & Recognitions

  • (2018) 1st Place Overall at 2018 Sammy Showcase: Kleptonaut

  • (2015-2018) Dean’s List

  • (2015) First Year Honors Program Participant

  • (2012) Eagle Scout Rank and Gold Palm

MY WORK

Click on the images for more details.
Additional projects can be found on my Github.


Kleptonaut is a top-down action puzzle game built in Unity3D made for the year long senior capstone. Roles: Lead Producer, Developer<br><a href='https://www.kleptonautgame.com'>Website</a>
PCGTerrain is a terrain generator that uses Perlin Noise and the xxHash hashing algorithm to create the geography of a pseudo-realistic infinite world.<br><a href='PCGTerrain/'>Website</a>
Privacy Protector is a 2D survival arcade game where you play as your mouse protecting your computer from viruses. Role: Lead Developer<br><a href='https://seshelle.itch.io/privacy-protector'>Website</a>
PCGWebsite is an experimental front-end procedural website generator using Tracery.js grammars and Bootstrap/JQuery. Role: Developer<br><a href='PCGWebsite/'>Website</a>
Need2Go is a prototype restroom review site for campus facilities. Made using Node.js/Express, AngularJS. Role: Backend Developer<br><a href='https://github.com/runyanjake/JRAW-CruzHacks-2018'>Repository</a>