Declan Russell
Principal Software Engineer at Autodesk
London, England, United Kingdom
Summary
👤
Senior🎓
Top SchoolDeclan Russell is a Principal Software Engineer based in London with 11 years of experience building production render and graphics software at Autodesk, where he progressed from Senior Engineer on Arnold to principal-level technical leadership. He combines deep C++ and tooling expertise with hands-on contributions to Open Shading Language—improving Windows builds, LLVM bitcode support, and OptiX closures—to make cross-platform rendering systems faster and more portable. His background in digital media research (MRes) and a BSc in software for animation, games and effects gives him a strong foundation in both the academic and practical sides of visual effects engineering. Declan is comfortable moving between low-level performance work and higher-level architectural decisions, and he often drives compatibility and build-system improvements that quietly unblock large projects. Colleagues value his blend of pragmatic problem-solving and mentorship across teams. He is explicit about not pursuing fintech roles, preferring to stay focused on graphics and rendering challenges.
11 years of coding experience
7 years of employment as a software developer
GCSE, GCSE at Eggar'sMaster of Research - MRes Digital Media, Master of Research - MRes Digital Media at Bournemouth UniversityAdvanced Subsidiary Computing Mathematics and Further Mathematics, Advanced Subsidiary Computing Mathematics and Further Mathematics at Alton College
English
Github Skills (8)
c-language10
cprogramming-language10
llvm9
computer-graphics9
cmake8
optix8
cuda8
shader7
Programming languages (2)
Github contributions (5)
AcademySoftwareFoundation/OpenShadingLanguage
Apr 2019 - Oct 2020
Advanced shading language for production GI renderers
Role in this project:
Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:11 commits, 14 PRs, 32 comments in 1 year 6 months
Contributions summary:Declan primarily contributed to the Open Shading Language (OSL) project by modifying and improving its compatibility and functionality. Their work included enhancing the build process for Windows, enabling the use of LLVM bitcode, and adding support for native OSL closures in OptiX. Additionally, the user made changes to matrix operations within the project. These modifications aimed to improve the project's performance and compatibility across different platforms.
vfxshadingshaderscomputer-graphicsc-plus-plus
DeclanRussell/OpenShadingLanguage
Apr 2019 - May 2023
Advanced shading language for production GI renderers
Contributions:26 pushes, 23 branches in 4 years 1 month
productionshading
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