Alireza Shafiei

My name is Ali, and to keep things simple - I’ll start with my main area of expertise and focus: software development. Since beginning my journey as a developer, I've done remote work for agencies, consulted for startups, and collaborated with some amazing people to create mixed-reality digital products for both business and consumer use. I'm quietly confident, naturally curious, and obsessive about professional and personal development.

As a developer, I have a very strong aptitude for problem solving. Particularly, as it pertains to debugging technical issues and figuring out a way to overcome challenges and limitations. This may seem abstract or cliche, but it's important for me to communicate how much I love jumping into the technical unknown and solving problems as they inevitably arise within any development workflow.

Whether it’s diving into a stubborn JavaScript error, detecting a C# bug in Unity or making the appropriate database connections - this for me, is where the fun starts. This internalized gamification of problem solving helps me gracefully navigate bottlenecks regardless of the product context in which they arise. Contributing to a healthy collaborating culture is a top priority of mine, and pushing through and finding solutions has proven to be positively contagious amongst my colleagues, managers and even end clients.

In an age of specialization, it's tempting to stick to the script to avoid being perceived as unfocused, scattered or uncertain. However, it’s impossible to communicate who I am as a creative without discussing my other interests. That’s what makes me who I am, and for that reason I choose to see it as it is - a strength and a testament to how I productively channel my curiosity in different and useful ways.

My insatiable curiosity has led me down different yet complementary paths of web, game development, XR development, design, video production, and 3D development. Its better to think of me as a human bridge between different disciplines: design, art, and development. This generalist mindset helps add tangible value with skills other than technical development. Moreover, it helps me develop the right type of empathy and respect needed to effectively thrive with other specialists. Communication is always improved when you’ve been in the artist’s shoes and taken the time to critically examine usability issues through the eyes of designers. For this reason, everything that I’ve dabbled with has paid dividends that may go unnoticed to everyday observers - but make all the difference to the world to the discerning eye.

Projects

• VR Tool for Filmmakers with Unity Technologies
• Anatomy Education Application with The HIVE UBC