Ahmad is available for hire
Hire AhmadAhmad Abo Bakr
Verified Expert in Engineering
Game Developer
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Toptal member since June 16, 2022
Bio
Ahmad is a certified Unity expert with more than a decade of experience as a software developer. Most of his experience was as a game developer and virtual reality (VR) specialist. He co-founded a VR agency in 2017, where he led a team of talented developers and artists to create virtual reality games and training experiences that meet the criteria set by his clients. Ahmad believes the true potential of VR is not limited to entertainment but also training and communication.
Portfolio
Shababeek Labs
Unity, JavaScript, Blender, 3D, C#, C, Node.js, REST APIs, Docker
The School of Audio Engineering
3D Games, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), X Reality (XR)...
Big Viking Games
Unity, C#, Reactive Programming, Mobile Games, Unit Testing, Git, Multiplayer...
Experience
- Game Development - 9 years
- Unity - 8 years
- C# - 8 years
- Teaching - 8 years
- Performance Optimization - 6 years
- Virtual Reality (VR) - 5 years
- Game Design - 4 years
- Multiplayer - 4 years
Preferred Environment
JetBrains Rider, Unity
The most amazing...
...tool I’ve created was an interaction and hand presence system that I designed to help speed up the creation of VR experiences.
Work Experience
CTO
2025 - PRESENT
Shababeek Labs
- Designed and authored the studio's core Unity VR interaction framework — a ScriptableObject-driven architecture powering every client simulation, cutting integration time and letting a small team ship enterprise-grade VR on tight timelines.
- Built the studio engineering org from zero: hired and mentored the team, set code review and architectural standards, and established an Obsidian knowledge base that shortened onboarding and preserved institutional knowledge.
- Led technical delivery of a 26–28 week Unity VR simulation training program for a government/enterprise client, co-scoped with an accredited academic partner. Owned architecture, risk, and cross-team coordination end-to-end under NDA constraints.
- Drove the studio's commercial foundation alongside engineering — brand identity, LinkedIn content strategy, and enterprise VR pricing — routing margin into reusable internal tech that compounds the studio's technical moat.
Technologies: Unity, JavaScript, Blender, 3D, C#, C, Node.js, REST APIs, Docker
Head of the Games and XR Departments
2022 - 2025
The School of Audio Engineering
- Helped develop training programs in XR technologies for government entities to help re-skill some of their teams into being VR developers, and also consulted with them when building the experience.
- Managed a team of full-time and part-time lecturers conducting a bachelor's degree in game design, game development, and a diploma in XR.
- Taught multiple topics related to the field of game design and development.
Technologies: 3D Games, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), X Reality (XR), Game Design, Gameplay Development, REST APIs
Senior Game Developer
2022 - 2022
Big Viking Games
- Helped create a 2D avatar creator to be used in-game by the players to develop and manage their character avatars.
- Developed multiple optimized Unity UI animation scripts and generic components to be used to bring life to the game menus.
- Helped clean up and migrate the old codebase created in the prototype phase of the project to the new architecture, which was placed for work in the alpha release.
Technologies: Unity, C#, Reactive Programming, Mobile Games, Unit Testing, Git, Multiplayer, Jira, Scrum, Unity3D, 3D Games, UniRx, Unity Game Assets, User Interface (UI), Unity3D Native Plugin Interface, 3D, Android, Unity 5, API Integration, Visual Assets, 3D Rendering, Unity Shaders, C#.NET, Code Architecture, Prototyping, Unity Game Engine, Maintainable Code, Event-driven Architecture, System Architecture, Node.js, REST APIs, Docker
Technical Lead
2021 - 2022
Highstreet Marketplace
- Designed the project architecture, developed the interaction system, networking components, and quest management system for the project. Established the core gameplay loop.
- Helped interview and hire most of the core team. Conducted weekly sessions for the existing team to get them up to speed and improve their coding skills.
- Assisted to establish the project management structure, split and assign tasks, and created sub-teams. Made sure everything is delivered according to requirements by doing code reviews and doing constant individual feedback.
Technologies: Unity, Virtual Reality (VR), JavaScript, Game Programming, Multiplayer, Unit Testing, Git, Socket Programming, Team Leadership, Jira, Scrum, Unity3D, 3D Games, Notion, Oculus, Unity Game Assets, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Unity3D Native Plugin Interface, 3D, Immersive Experiences, Shaders, Unity 5, Visual Effects (VFX), Meta Quest, API Integration, Avatars, Visual Assets, 3D Rendering, 3D Graphics, Photon Unity Networking (PUN), Enterprise, Unity Shaders, C#.NET, Code Architecture, Prototyping, Unity Game Engine, Maintainable Code, Event-driven Architecture, System Architecture, Hand Tracking, REST APIs
Game Development Lecturer
2019 - 2021
SAE Institute
- Taught students pursuing a bachelor's degree in game development to understand the concepts of programming, game design, and how to use the Unity game engine.
- Facilitated students to develop their graduation game project by helping them split and manage their tasks. Provided help with technical topics and guided them towards resources they can use.
- Helped organize events like game jams, technical debates, and a monthly game design.
Technologies: Unity, C#, JavaScript, Game Design, Teaching, Game Physics, Git, Unity3D, 3D Games, User Interface (UI), 3D, Augmented Reality (AR), Unity 5, Meta Quest, API Integration, Visual Assets, 3D Rendering, Unity Shaders, C#.NET, Prototyping, Unity Game Engine, Maintainable Code, REST APIs
CTO
2017 - 2021
Kandooz Studio
- Worked on expanding the team from just me and my co-worker to having five developers and three artists working full-time, maintaining multiple projects for multiple clients.
- Created components that we could reuse for most of our VR projects that speed up the work for the team. Kept expanding it to accommodate more user cases. Sold this system as an asset on the Unity Asset Store.
- Maintained a good relationship with our clients and had multiple returning clients for other projects or maintenance on the same project.
Technologies: Unity, C#, Team Leadership, Game Development, Virtual Reality (VR), Unity2D, Augmented Reality (AR), Unit Testing, Game Physics, Git, Socket Programming, Multiplayer, Blender, Scrum, Unity3D, 3D Games, Three.js, A-Frame, WebXR, WebGL, WebVR, Oculus, Unity Game Assets, User Interface (UI), Unity3D Native Plugin Interface, Oculus Rift, 3D, Immersive Experiences, Shaders, Unity 5, Visual Effects (VFX), API Integration, Visual Assets, 3D Rendering, 3D Graphics, Simulations, Steam, Steam Web API, Web Development, iOS, 3D Graphics Engines, Architecture, Unity Shaders, C#.NET, Code Architecture, Human-Computer Interface, Prototyping, Unity Game Engine, Tooling Development, Simulation Systems, Maintainable Code, Event-driven Architecture, System Architecture, Hand Tracking, WebSockets, Real-time Systems, REST APIs, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Game Development Technical Supervisor
2015 - 2018
Information Technology Institute
- Helped students design, develop, and manage their game projects by providing technical and logistical help.
- Designed the study path for the different intakes applying to the nine-month post-grad game development degree. Selected what courses, their structure, and the topics of each class.
- Taught advanced topics on game physics and mathematics, computing graphics, the Unity game engine, and network programming.
- Organized game development events, such as the global game jam and run double jump, the first indie event in the MENA region that is still running every year in Egypt.
Technologies: Unity, C#, JavaScript, Phaser.io, Teaching, Game Physics, Git, Unity2D, Team Leadership, Scrum, Unity3D, 3D Games, WebVR, User Interface (UI), 3D, Unity 5, API Integration, Visual Assets, C++, 3D Rendering, Web Development, C#.NET, Prototyping, Unity Game Engine, REST APIs, TypeScript
Teaching Assistant
2012 - 2013
Modern Academy for Engineering and Technology
- Learned how to teach and present to a large group of students, which was a big fear of mine.
- Taught advanced topics in computer engineering like compiler design and computer graphics. Kickstarted and sparked my interest in pursuing a career in game development.
- Learned more advanced theoretical topics that were needed for teaching.
Technologies: University Teaching, Teaching, Git
Junior Web Developer
2011 - 2012
Holly Code
- Developed a web-based call management system that allows companies to route their call based on pre-determined patterns and conditions.
- Learned how to effectively use the Zend framework with MySQL to create REST back ends.
- Learned to create front ends using Bootstrap and jQuery.
Technologies: JavaScript, Git, Web Development, MongoDB
Experience
Highstreet Metaverse
http://Highstreet.marketDeveloped a virtual reality game experience that had a unique take on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by making them real-world tangible collector edition items provided by different brands. I helped create the project architecture, hire the core team, and design the gameplay loop.
Mold Removal Training Experience
Developed a virtual reality interactive training experience designed to teach workers how to safely handle and remove different kinds of mold from walls, wood, and bathroom tiles. I designed it to work with six dimensions of VR and required the user to use his hands.
An Untitled VR Racing Game
Designed a VR racing game experience with multiplayer and single-player modes. I included in-game voice chat and multiple levels using a custom networking solution hosted over multiple self-managed digital ocean droplets.
Retro Bouncer
Created a retro synth-wave style infinite runner game with a twist in the genre's mechanics. I set it up so that the player has no direct control over the character but rather indirectly controls it by controlling the environment
Mind Orb
https://github.com/mindorb/mindorbBuilt a 3D minimap authoring tool that enables users to visualize ideas and their relationships in a 3D environment that is Web Native. It was built with JavaScript using the Three.js framework.
Education
2020 - 2023
Master's Degree in Virtual reality
Middlesex University - United Kingdom
2014 - 2014
Postgraduate Diploma in Game Development
Information Technology Institute - Cairo, Egypt
2011 - 2014
Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Engineering
Arab Academy for Engineering and Maritime Technology - Cairo, Egypt
2007 - 2011
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering
Modern Academy for Engineering and Technology - Cairo, Egypt
Certifications
JULY 2022 - PRESENT
Unity Certified Expert Programmer
Unity Technologies
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Node.js, REST APIs, Three.js, WebVR, WebGL, WebXR, Steam Web API, Steam Integration, UniRx
Tools
Git, Unity 5, Blender, Jira, Notion
Languages
C#, C#.NET, JavaScript, C++, Swift, C, TypeScript
Frameworks
Unity, Unity2D, Unity3D, Photon Unity Networking (PUN), Phaser.io, A-Frame
Paradigms
Scrum, Event-driven Architecture, Unit Testing, Reactive Programming, Socket Programming, Mobile Development, Real-time Systems
Industry Expertise
Teaching
Platforms
Linux, Oculus, iOS, Mobile, Oculus Rift, Android, Steam, Docker, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Storage
MongoDB
Other
Virtual Reality (VR), Game Programming, Game Development, Game Design, Mobile Games, Programming, Software Engineering, Game Physics, 3D Games, Unity Game Assets, Immersive Experiences, Visual Assets, 3D Graphics Engines, Unity Shaders, Code Architecture, Prototyping, Unity Game Engine, Tooling Development, Maintainable Code, Performance Optimization, Team Leadership, Augmented Reality (AR), User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), 3D, Shaders, Meta Quest, API Integration, Avatars, 3D Graphics, Simulations, Enterprise, Architecture, Human-Computer Interface, Simulation Systems, System Architecture, Hand Tracking, Multiplayer, University Teaching, Research, Virtual Reality App Design, Design Tools, Unity Editor Scripting, Unity3D Native Plugin Interface, Visual Effects (VFX), 3D Rendering, Web Development, WebSockets, X Reality (XR), Gameplay Development
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