Benjamin Hopfer, Developer in Graz, Austria
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Benjamin Hopfer

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Computational Geometry Developer

Location
Graz, Austria
Toptal Member Since
June 13, 2014

Benjamin is an algorithmic problem solver with a strong background in C# and C++. His university education emphasized computer graphics and computer vision. In the past six years, he's mainly worked in computational geometry, computer graphics, and computer vision using C++, VTK, PCL, and Qt.

Computer VisionWindowsC#Microsoft Visual StudioQtC++CMake.NETVisual StudioUnit TestingSQLWindows Forms (WinForms)Microsoft SQL ServerGitVisual Studio Code (VS Code)

Portfolio

Freelance
Azure, C#.NET, Windows PowerShell, Eigen, PCL, VTK, CMake, Qt, C++17
Grazer Wechselseitige Versicherung AG
Excel VBA, ASP.NET, XML, SQL CE, SQL, C#.NET
VIRTUAL VEHICLE Reserach Center, Graz
LaTeX, Qt, ParaView, VTK, C++

Experience

Computational Geometry - 10 years3D - 10 yearsC# - 10 yearsC++ - 8 yearsQt - 8 yearsScientific Computing - 6 yearsVTK - 6 yearsData Visualization - 3 years

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

CMake, Google Test, Git, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Visual Studio, Windows 10

The most amazing...

...honor I've received is the the best thesis award for my master's thesis on processing and visualizing computational fluid dynamics results.

Work Experience

Lead Developer

2014 - PRESENT
Freelance
  • Researched and developed numerous 3D algorithms and visualizations in the dental field and integrated them into one prototype Qt GUI.
  • Developed and maintained an online licensing system for these software products using C#.NET and Azure.
  • Set up the prototypes' production and in the process of designing modern GUIs for final products.
Technologies: Azure, C#.NET, Windows PowerShell, Eigen, PCL, VTK, CMake, Qt, C++17

Software Developer and Tester (Life Insurance Calculator)

2008 - 2014
Grazer Wechselseitige Versicherung AG
  • Developed a new calculation core for life insurances in C# .NET.
  • Allowed the core to calculate all life insurance products and contract changes of the company and its foreign subsidiaries (~1000 products). Implemented a solid software design that included all products without duplicating code.
  • Replaced three other existing calculation cores with our new one.
  • Created a testing framework (both GUI and MSTest accessible) to ensure consistent quality of the core.
  • Supported another team within the company with their software design for a similar calculation core.
Technologies: Excel VBA, ASP.NET, XML, SQL CE, SQL, C#.NET

Scientific Software Researcher

2010 - 2012
VIRTUAL VEHICLE Reserach Center, Graz
  • Implemented 3D data processing and visualization of computational fluid dynamics results with C++ and VTK for my diploma thesis.
  • Created a novel algorithm for understanding and visualizing large air flow data sets.
  • Developed an evaluation framework to compare my algorithm with existing solutions and aid in the selection of the best algorithm.
  • Typeset my thesis in LaTex, using a highly customized style to achieve high typographic detail and quality.
  • Received the Best Thesis Award by the "Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD".
Technologies: LaTeX, Qt, ParaView, VTK, C++

Junior Functional Tester

2007 - 2008
IBM SkillTeam at Fortis Bank (Brussels, Belgium)
  • Developed and executed software test scenarios for a major Global Markets banking application (J/Rates).
  • Was hired as a Junior Functional Tester due to my young age, but was very quickly assigned the same tasks as Senior Functional Testers.
  • Was ultimately responsible for testing the whole interest rate derivatives branch.
  • Performed unstructured exploratory testing before important releases as the only member of the team because of my strong analytical abilities.
  • Collected my first foreign job experience within an international environment.
Technologies: Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), SQL

Software Developer and Tester

2006 - 2007
Grazer Wechselseitige Versicherung
  • Tested and developed software for the company and its foreign subsidiaries.
  • Carried out these tasks part time next to my studies and learned proper time management skills. Used Tim Allen's "Getting Things Done" philosophy ever since.
  • Worked directly within the life insurance department and acquired know-how about efficient communication with "Non-IT" people.
  • Gained practical knowledge about the unique requirements of insurance and finance products.
  • Experienced working in the environment fostered by a large, conservative company.
Technologies: XML, SQL, Excel VBA, C#.NET, Visual Product Modeling System (VP/MS)

Master’s Thesis on Large 3D CFD Datasets

https://benjaminhopfer.com/programming/2014/04/10/masters-thesis-large-3d-cfd-datasets.html
For my master’s thesis, I used C++ in conjunction with the VTK framework to process CFD datasets of up to two gigabytes in size. The main problem was to cluster a large, dense, three-dimensional CFD simulation result into homogeneous areas that could be used for graph-based simulation and visualization.

Life Insurance Calculation Core in C#

https://benjaminhopfer.com/programming/2014/04/10/life-insurance-calc-core.html
During my studies, I worked part time in the life insurance math department at the GRAWE. After smaller initial projects, I started working on a novel C# .NET program for prototyping new life insurance products.
Image of 3D Data Visualization With Open Source Tools: A Tutorial Using VTK publication
Publication

3D Data Visualization With Open Source Tools: A Tutorial Using VTK

https://www.toptal.com/data-science/3d-data-visualization-with-open-source-tools-an-example-using-vtk

Languages

C#, C++, SQL, C#.NET, XML, Excel VBA, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), C++17

Frameworks

Qt, .NET, Android SDK, Google Test, Windows PowerShell, ASP.NET Web API, ASP.NET

Libraries/APIs

VTK, Windows Forms (WinForms), Eigen, PCL

Tools

CMake, Microsoft Visual Studio, ParaView, Visual Studio, Git, LaTeX, Microsoft Team Foundation Server

Paradigms

Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Object-oriented Design (OOD), Unit Testing, Functional Programming, Logic Programming

Platforms

Windows, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Azure, Linux

Other

3D Geometric Analysis, Computer Vision, 3D, Computational Geometry, 3D CAD, Dental Care, Mesh Development, Point Clouds, Computer Graphics, Scientific Computing, Visual Product Modeling System (VP/MS), Data Visualization

Storage

Microsoft SQL Server, SQL CE, MSSQLCE, MySQL

2008 - 2012

Master's (with Distinction) Degree in Computer Science

Graz University of Technology - Graz, Austria

2004 - 2007

Bachelor's (with Distinction) Degree in Computer Science

Graz University of Technology - Graz, Austria