Ross Marinaro, Developer in Philadelphia, PA, United States
Ross is available for hire
Hire Ross

Ross Marinaro

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Software Developer

Philadelphia, PA, United States

Toptal member since October 10, 2024

Bio

Ross is a versatile and experienced full-stack and systems software developer specializing in graphical applications, games, and APIs that are web-based or hybrid via tools such as Electron, Cordova, and React Native. He also has a wide range of skills involving 2D and 3D modeling and asset development, which he utilizes to present eye-catching, visually appealing user experiences in client-side applications. Ross has a keen eye for creating sound foundational infrastructure and performance.

Portfolio

Fountain Partners LLC
JavaScript, React, Node.js, HTML, CSS, Tailwind CSS, Next.js
Self-employed
JavaScript, Node.js, Phaser.io, WebGL, Krita, Webpack, Unity, Game Development...
Self-employed
Illustrator CS5, Krita, Front-end Design

Experience

  • Illustration - 20 years
  • TypeScript - 7 years
  • Node.js - 7 years
  • JavaScript - 6 years
  • Phaser.io - 5 years
  • Three.js - 4 years
  • Next.js - 3 years
  • C++ - 3 years

Availability

Full-time

Preferred Environment

TypeScript, Node.js, C++, Three.js, Next.js, Phaser.io, Electron, React, Tailwind CSS, Python

The most amazing...

...2D content creation tool and game engine editor I've created is capable of tilemap rendering, thread pooling, and web assembly compilation.

Work Experience

Senior Web Developer

2024 - 2025
Fountain Partners LLC
  • Developed a full-stack web application with Next.js, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS client, with a Node.js back end for an innovative telehealth site.
  • Scheduled meetings and follow-ups regularly with the client to ensure optimum communication with the designer and CEO.
  • Converted Figma wireframes into clean React components and built custom ones like marquees and carousels.
Technologies: JavaScript, React, Node.js, HTML, CSS, Tailwind CSS, Next.js

Senior Software Developer

2023 - 2024
Self-employed
  • Developed a small-scale, web-based, retro-style, top-down promotional game for a former Brooklyn music venue in partnership with a musician duo artistic outfit.
  • Rewrote, extended, and simplified a legacy codebase, reiterating modern conventions and practices while eliminating code bloat and runtime errors.
  • Edited graphical inconsistencies and sprite sheets as needed.
Technologies: JavaScript, Node.js, Phaser.io, WebGL, Krita, Webpack, Unity, Game Development, Full-stack, Software Architecture, Architecture, CSS, React, Next.js, HTML5, TypeScript, REST APIs, Front-end, User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), Responsive UI, .NET, APIs, API Integration, API Development, Flask, Python, Front-end Design, MySQL, Socket.IO, Algorithms, Tailwind CSS

Illustrator

2022 - 2022
Self-employed
  • Illustrated a 34-page children's book for an independent author.
  • Handled the concept to the development process, from storyboarding to full-color illustration based on established characters from a previous book.
  • Compiled a production-ready layout with text and images to be sent to printing.
  • Assisted in securing a local printer and advised on international standard book number (ISBN) acquisition.
Technologies: Illustrator CS5, Krita, Front-end Design

Webmaster

2019 - 2019
Self-employed
  • Developed and maintained a simple landing page website for a small apparel business in Philadelphia.
  • Created custom components and styled them according to specific design schemas.
  • Built and manipulated graphics, including photographs, illustrations, and logos.
Technologies: CSS, HTML, WordPress, Headless CMS, HTML5, REST APIs, SQL, Front-end, User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), Responsive UI, APIs, API Integration, Front-end Design, MySQL, Tailwind CSS

Experience

Pastaboss | A Recipe For Disaster

https://pastaboss.onrender.com/
A WebGL-based cross-genre 2D and 3D adventure platformer game ported from the web to Android and Windows and written in TypeScript, JSDoc, and GLSL using libraries Phaser, Three.js, and enable3D (for physics with Three.js). The production builds are bundled with webpack 5, while the Windows builds are generated via Electron utilizing the IPC renderer to pass events like HTTP requests to the embedded Node.js server.

The full-featured builds enable online capabilities such as account login for remote game saves, Google AdMob integration, password encryption, and limited multiplayer chat. The official deployed web-based build has these features by default.

SpaghYeti Engine

https://github.com/rossmarinaro/spaghyeti_source-engine
A C++ and OpenGL-based 2D rendering content creation tool and game engine editor, where it uses Dear ImGui and the core dynamic runtime library, and in addition, games can be built dynamically or statically, either for Windows or WebGL. The system supports JSON and CSV tilemaps, thread pooling, and Box2D physics.

Print on Demand Web Store

https://rem-webstore.onrender.com
A full-stack client/API web store with session management, Stripe Checkout, JSON web token verification via cookies, and full API integration with print-on-demand service Printify. It has built-in Next.js and Express.js.

Swanky Crystals

https://pastaboss.itch.io/swanky-crystals
A simple endless runner in Unity. Collect crystals and fight machine elves; don't fall off the map. Built with custom assets and C# scripts, to demonstrate a basic understanding of a commercial game engine.

Web DAW

https://rossmarinaro.github.io/spaghyeti-daw/dist/
A web-ready digital workstation and music-making tool built using React, TypeScript, Phaser.js, and Tone.js. Windows builds are generated with Electron utilizing the IPC renderer to pass events to the embedded runtime.

A prior prototype was developed with an SVG front-end UI to replicate a Korg Electribe sampler but was later replaced with plain CSS. This version can be found on rossmarinaro.github.io/daw/.

Bluepoint Demo Game

https://rossmarinaro.github.io/bluepoint/
A short-term demo game commissioned by Brooklyn NYC-based musicians to commemorate employees of the late music venue renovation of Shea Stadium.

The article written about "Guy Blue" musician Jack Ladd and a link to their hosting of the game can be found on psychedelicbabymag.com/2022/02/guy-blue-shares-bluepoint-music-video-game-ft-no-visions-single-in-collaboration-with-shea-stadium.html.

Education

2007 - 2011

Bachelor's Degree in Media Arts and Animation

Art Institute of Philadelphia - Philadelphia, PA, USA

Skills

Libraries/APIs

Node.js, WebGL, React, REST APIs, Three.js, API Development, Socket.IO, OpenGL, OpenGL ES

Tools

Krita, Webpack, Emscripten, Illustrator CS5

Languages

TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, CSS, HTML, HTML5, C++, SQL, Java, ActionScript 3, GLSL, Bash, C#, C

Frameworks

Phaser.io, Tailwind CSS, Next.js, Unity, Electron, Express.js, Box2D, Express.io, .NET, Flask

Paradigms

Microservices

Storage

MySQL, MongoDB, JSON, Microsoft SQL Server

Platforms

Windows, WordPress, Android

Other

Illustration, Game Development, Front-end, Responsive UI, APIs, API Integration, Algorithms, Front-end Development, Cordova, 2D Animation, Web Development, Full-stack, Software Architecture, Architecture, Headless CMS, User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), Front-end Design, WebAssembly (Wasm), 3D Art, Pixel Art, 2D, CSV, 3D, Animation, Payment Gateways

Collaboration That Works

How to Work with Toptal

Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.

1

Share your needs

Discuss your requirements and refine your scope in a call with a Toptal domain expert.
2

Choose your talent

Get a short list of expertly matched talent within 24 hours to review, interview, and choose from.
3

Start your risk-free talent trial

Work with your chosen talent on a trial basis for up to two weeks. Pay only if you decide to hire them.

Top talent is in high demand.

Start hiring