Mai Ao
Pipeline Technical Art Director at GSC Game World
Old Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Summary
🤩
Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolMai Ao is a product and technical leader specializing in real-time and offline VFX tooling, currently serving as VP of Product Development at Zibra AI after leading SideFX Labs at SideFX Software. With a background that spans Houdini technical art, game engineering, and contributions to Blender, she has developed widely used tools—like Vertex Animation Textures and Flipbook Textures—that bridge high-end simulation and realtime game pipelines. Her work includes orchestrating open-source projects, Unreal/Unity shader integrations, and serving as an internal consultant on Houdini’s Karma/COP PBR texture baking, demonstrating a rare mix of product vision and low-level technical fluency. A Carnegie Mellon graduate with a dual CS/Art degree, she combines academic rigor with practical studio experience, including earlier work on Disney theme park rides. Notably, her SideFX Labs contributions helped standardize VFX workflows adopted in AAA/AA games and real-time engines.
6 years of coding experience
6 years of employment as a software developer
Study Abroad Programme Computer Graphics and Computer Science, Study Abroad Programme Computer Graphics and Computer Science at Goldsmiths, University of LondonMaster’s Degree Entertainment Technology, Master’s Degree Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon UniversityBachelor’s Degree Double Major in Computer Science and Art, Bachelor’s Degree Double Major in Computer Science and Art at Lafayette College
Github Skills (10)
gfx10
unreal-engine-510
houdini10
game-development10
unreal-engine-410
unreal10
unity3d10
shader9
artwork9
python9
Programming languages (1)
Github contributions (5)
sideeffects/SideFXLabs
Feb 2021 - Nov 2022
Role in this project:
Technical Artist / VFX Tools Developer
Technical Artist / VFX Tools DeveloperContributions:8 reviews, 214 commits, 8 PRs in 1 year 9 months
Contributions summary:Mai primarily contributed to the development and maintenance of tools and materials within the SideFX Labs environment, focusing on visual effects and game development. Their work involved fixing bugs related to the Vertex Animation Textures ROP, including issues with incorrect material settings, Python3 compatibility, and incorrect UV calculations. They also added new tools like the Random Selection SOP and the Flipbook Textures ROP, alongside updates and optimizations to existing shaders and materials. The user demonstrated an understanding of Unreal Engine and Unity, including material function development and shader integrations for both platforms.
vfxartgamedevhoudiniprocedural
aomai01/notverydarkmagic
Mar 2020 - Aug 2024
Contributions:2 PRs, 7 pushes, 5 branches in 4 years 5 months
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