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Ethan Soo - Creative Technologist

Engineering Ideas into Playable Magic

Based in Los Angeles

I build and ship VR/AR products end-to-end—7+ years, 50+ projects, Unity/Unreal; delivering across games, simulation, healthcare, automotive, and geospatial XR.
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Featured Projects

Featured Projects, Clients, and Contributions

Image of Symphoni

Symphoni

A mixed-reality rhythm game for Meta Quest where players become musical wizards conducting classical music to cast spells. Features hand tracking, customizable wands, and a Symphony Composer tool for creating custom levels.

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Image of Composer

Composer

A powerful UGC engine for Symphoni that empowers creators to design, build, and perform custom levels in VR. Features real-time editing, live previewing, and deep control over environment styling, beat mapping, and visual effects.

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Image of Neon City

Neon City

A virtual reality city-building game that combines retro-inspired art style with hand-tracking technology. Players act as architects to rebuild a city into a vibrant, block-toy-like environment, unlocking new structures and creating their own futuristic metropolis.

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Expertise

My Expertise in XR Development and Design

  • Icon representing Rapid Prototyping
    Rapid Prototyping

    Turns concepts into interactive prototypes quickly to validate ideas and speed up development.

  • Icon representing System Design & Architecture
    System Design & Architecture

    Skilled at architecting modular, scalable systems with maintainable, production-quality code.

  • Icon representing Interaction Design Expertise
    Interaction Design Expertise

    Designing intuitive XR interactions and user flows, leveraging human-centered design principles.

VR icon
  • Unity
  • C#
  • Typescript
  • Visual Studio Code
  • Notion
  • Visual Studio
  • Javascript
  • C++
  • Unreal Engine
  • Rider
  • Icon representing VR/AR Optimization
    VR/AR Optimization

    Proficient at performance tuning, reducing latency, and ensuring smooth, high-frame-rate experiences.

  • Icon representing Production-Grade Engineering
    Production-Grade Engineering

    Writing reusable, extensible, well-tested code with CI/CD integration for reliable deployments.

  • Icon representing Research & Innovation
    Research & Innovation

    Applying cutting-edge interaction research (e.g. hand tracking, immersive UX) to solve complex problems.

From rapid XR prototyping to scalable system architecture, I turn innovative ideas into high-performance, production-ready experiences.

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VR/AR Projects

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Programming Languages

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Years Experience

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Certifications & Awards

Career Timeline

A Chronological Overview of My Career.

Present
Co-Founder, Technical Director Logo

Co-Founder, Technical Director

August 2023 - Present

techToy Studio, Los Angeles, CA

  • Led the end-to-end development of Symphoni (2023–2025) with a small, agile team — launched on the Meta Store and flagged as a top-rated app.
  • Secured recognition from Meta for Symphoni as a flagship-quality title, showcased at Meta's GDC developer reel.
  • Designed and built Symphoni Composer, a scalable UGC engine enabling players to create and share custom maps.
  • Engineered Get Clowned (2025), a Horizon Worlds project in partnership with Meta.
Unity
C#
Meta Quest
Horizon Worlds
VR Development
UGC Systems
Game Design
2024
Research Software Engineer Logo

Research Software Engineer

August 2023 - May 2024

USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA

  • Collaborated with a leading research lab on cutting-edge VR car driving simulations, specializing in eye tracking integration for automotive research.
  • Developed software on top of the CARLA simulator, leveraging Unreal Engine's development workflow and C++/Python APIs.
  • Integrated core features like blind spot detection, real-time driving performance metrics, and AI-driven simulations.
C++
Python
Unreal Engine
CARLA Simulator
VR Development
Eye Tracking
AI/ML
2023
AR Gameplay Software Engineer (Intern) Logo

AR Gameplay Software Engineer (Intern)

July 2023 - December 2023

Genies, Los Angeles, CA

  • Led the end-to-end development and launch of a geolocated AR experience in Unity, integrating GPS mapping and real-world interactions.
  • Collaborated closely with cross-functional teams to align game mechanics with user experience.
  • Conducted extensive testing and iterations based on user feedback to refine gameplay and user interface.
Unity
AR Development
GPS Mapping
Mobile Development
User Experience
Full-Stack Software Engineer (Long Term Contract) Logo

Full-Stack Software Engineer (Long Term Contract)

March 2021 - December 2023

Santa Fe VIP Tours, Remote

  • Lead full-stack developer for cross-platform mobile app (iOS & Android) through Unity, facilitating hundreds of guided AR tours.
  • Designed and implemented client-server architecture with Ruby backend for efficient data transfer.
  • Integrated interactive UI/UX designs and geolocation features to enhance user engagement.
Unity
iOS
Android
AR Development
Ruby
Client-Server Architecture
UI/UX Design
Geolocation
Project Management
2022
VR Software Engineer Logo

VR Software Engineer

May 2022 - August 2022

USC Immersive Media Lab (Mercedes Benz, Kia), Los Angeles, CA

  • Developed an immersive VR car driving simulation and car showroom using Unreal Engine and C++.
  • Contributed to VR development and GPU optimization, ensuring seamless integration of virtual and augmented reality technologies.
Unreal Engine
C++
VR Development
GPU Optimization
Automotive Simulation
AR/VR Subject Matter Expert Logo

AR/VR Subject Matter Expert

November 2021 - August 2022

Emeritus, Remote

  • Served as AR/VR expert for MIT xPro's Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality program, providing technical guidance and domain expertise.
  • Mentored students at NYU Tandon School of Engineering in two programs — UX Design for AR/VR and AR/VR Development — supporting their project work and skill development.
AR/VR Expertise
MIT xPro
NYU Tandon
Technical Guidance
UX Design
VR Development
Student Mentorship
Software Engineer, Project Manager (Long Term Contract) Logo

Software Engineer, Project Manager (Long Term Contract)

June 2019 - January 2022

AR Tennis, Remote

  • Directed team of AR Unity developers in rapid prototyping of tennis coaching application for Hololens.
  • Engineered virtual target training system for US national tennis team, integrating Hololens, Magic Leap, and NReal.
  • Enhanced training with real-time networking and livestreaming features for professional athletes.
Unity
AR Development
Hololens
Magic Leap
NReal
Project Management
Team Leadership
Real-time Networking
Livestreaming
Tennis Coaching
2019
VR Software Development Program Lead Logo

VR Software Development Program Lead

March 2019 - August 2019

Udacity, Remote

  • Selected to lead two VR software development programs, mentoring students through end-to-end project lifecycles and real-world VR applications.
  • Delivered weekly live technical webinars and 1-on-1 mentorship, designing personalized study plans that improved learner progress and project outcomes.
Program Leadership
VR Development
Mentorship
Technical Webinars
Project Management
Student Success
Other Unlisted Contracts Logo

Other Unlisted Contracts

Started in March 2019

Freelance, Los Angeles, CA

  • 4-year track record of developing software applications for international clients.
  • Contributed to 50+ VR/AR projects for businesses ranging from startups to large corporations.
VR/AR Development
Unity
Unreal Engine
Project Management
Consulting
Client Relations

Tech Stack

Skills I have Hands-On Experience with

Android

Android

Android Studio

Android Studio

Arduino

Arduino

Atom

Atom

AWS

AWS

Bash

Bash

Blender

Blender

C

C

C#

C#

C++

C++

CMake

CMake

CSS3

CSS3

Discord

Discord

Docker

Docker

Docker Swarm

Docker Swarm

.NET

.NET

DynamoDB

DynamoDB

Figma

Figma

GCC

GCC

Git

Git

GitHub

GitHub

GitHub Desktop

GitHub Desktop

Gradle

Gradle

HTML5

HTML5

IntelliJ IDEA

IntelliJ IDEA

Jira

Jira

jQuery

jQuery

JSON

JSON

Jupyter

Jupyter

Java

Java

JavaScript

JavaScript

Kotlin

Kotlin

LaTeX

LaTeX

Linux

Linux

Markdown

Markdown

Material UI

Material UI

Maya

Maya

MongoDB

MongoDB

MySQL

MySQL

Next.js

Next.js

Node.js

Node.js

Notion

Notion

NPM

NPM

NuGet

NuGet

NumPy

NumPy

OAuth

OAuth

OpenCV

OpenCV

OpenGL

OpenGL

Pandas

Pandas

Postman

Postman

PowerShell

PowerShell

PyCharm

PyCharm

Python

Python

PyTorch

PyTorch

Qt

Qt

React

React

Rider

Rider

Ruby

Ruby

Rust

Rust

Scala

Scala

Scikit-learn

Scikit-learn

Solidity

Solidity

SSH

SSH

Svelte

Svelte

Swift

Swift

TensorFlow

TensorFlow

Three.js

Three.js

Trello

Trello

TypeScript

TypeScript

Ubuntu

Ubuntu

Unity

Unity

Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine

Vercel

Vercel

Vim

Vim

Visual Studio

Visual Studio

VS Code

VS Code

Webhook

Webhook

x86 Assembly

x86 Assembly

Xcode

Xcode

XML

XML

Qualifications

Certifications and Awards

Winner2024
Meta Quest Presence Platform Hackathon — 1st Place

Won 1st place in the Meta Quest Presence Platform Hackathon hosted by Meta with a $50,000 prize pool. Created "Catch Me If You Can," a local multiplayer mixed-reality hide & seek game with limited visibility.

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Finalist2024
DreamXR Hackathon — Finalist

Selected as finalist in DreamXR hackathon hosted by Founders Inc. with a $16,000+ prize pool. Created a spatially interactive music player that transforms passive music listening into an immersive spatial experience.

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Certification2018
VR Software Development

Comprehensive VR development program covering Unity, C#, VR interaction design, and immersive user experience development.

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Certification2021
AI for Algorithmic Trading

Advanced AI and machine learning program focused on trading algorithms, financial modeling, and quantitative analysis using Python and machine learning frameworks.

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Contact Me

Questions, opportunities, or just to say hi — let’s chat!

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