Nicholas Barlow
Senior Software Engineer at Riot Games
Seattle, Washington, United States
Summary
🤩
Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolNicholas Barlow is a Senior Software Engineer in Seattle with 11 years of experience building high-performance graphics and tooling across games and platform software. He currently helps ensure VALORANT renders and performs consistently across hardware by extending Unreal Engine and optimizing asset pipelines. Previously at Microsoft he maintained BabylonNative and Babylon.js export/import pipelines, transpiling shaders and emulating browser rendering APIs to enable cross-platform 3D apps—work that touches a widely used open-source 3D engine. His background spans low-level graphics, engine integration, and tooling for 3D content creation, informed by hands-on robotics and electrical design projects. He combines systems-level debugging (graphics API, shader compilation, XR exit rendering) with full-stack problem solving and a track record of shipping reliable fixes across complex pipelines. Colleagues rely on him for pragmatic optimizations that preserve artistic intent while meeting strict performance constraints.
11 years of coding experience
7 years of employment as a software developer
Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Computer Engineering, Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Computer Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology
English, Chinese, c#
Stackoverflow
1reputation
0reached
0answers
0questions
Github Skills (26)
javascript10
c-language10
3d-graphics10
shader10
gltf10
multiplatform10
compilation10
typescript10
cross-platform10
babylonjs10
shaderc10
metal10
3dsmax10
compile10
typescript-types10
Programming languages (11)
Github contributions (5)
BabylonJS/Exporters
Apr 2019 - May 2021
Exporters for Babylon.js and gltf file formats
Role in this project:
Full-stack Developer
Full-stack DeveloperContributions:132 releases, 99 reviews, 298 commits in 2 years 1 month
Contributions summary:Nicholas primarily contributed to the 3ds Max exporters for Babylon.js and gltf file formats, modifying the export process for various versions (2015-2021). Their work included fixing issues related to texture exports, animation group export, and issues with skeletal animation, while also refactoring aspects of the core export logic. They made adjustments for several scenarios where material settings were not being parsed.
exportersbabylonfile-formatsmaya3dsmax
BabylonJS/BabylonNative
Nov 2020 - Apr 2021
Build cross-platform native applications with the power of the Babylon.js JavaScript framework
Role in this project:Software Architect / System Architect
Software Architect / System ArchitectContributions:118 reviews, 8 commits, 19 PRs in 5 months
Contributions summary:Nicholas contributed significantly to the native implementation aspects of the Babylon.js framework, particularly focusing on optimizing shader compilation, and the interaction with the underlying graphics API (bgfx). Their work included refactoring vertex attribute handling, addressing rendering issues related to exiting XR (Extended Reality) environments and implementing the setHardwareScalingRatio and related window properties. These contributions show a deep understanding of the low-level graphics pipeline and its integration with the JavaScript framework.
cppnativenative-applicationsjavascript-frameworkbabylon
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