Yolanda Correia, Developer in Lisbon, Portugal
Yolanda is available for hire
Hire Yolanda

Yolanda Correia

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Bio

Yolanda is a software engineer with over a decade of experience building mobile applications for clients, including Google, Samsung, and Nexus Studios. Her main interests lie in crafting visual, narrative-based experiences in extended reality. Yolanda likes to take challenges that push the boundaries between virtual content and the real world to create immersive and inspiring interactive experiences.

Portfolio

FLOAT LAND
Unity, C#, Meta Quest Presence Platform, AR Foundation, User Interface (UI)
Stealth Startup (Freelance)
Unity3D, ARKit, AR Foundation, C#, iOS, Unity, User Experience (UX)...
Nexus Studios (Freelance)
Unity3D, C#, Unity, Android, iOS, Mobile Game Development, User Experience (UX)...

Experience

  • Android - 8 years
  • Game Programming - 4 years
  • Unity3D - 4 years
  • C# - 4 years
  • Augmented Reality (AR) - 3 years
  • AR Foundation - 1 year
  • ARKit - 1 year

Availability

Full-time

Preferred Environment

Unity3D, Android, C#, AR Foundation, ARKit, ARCore, Mobile Game Development, Augmented Reality (AR), Android Jetpack

The most amazing...

...interactive experience I've developed was a set of open-source augmented reality game demos showcasing Niantic Lightship ARDK capabilities.

Work Experience

Systems and Gameplay Engineer

2023 - 2024
FLOAT LAND
  • Combined Meta Presence platform's mixed reality APIs to achieve key aspects of the gameplay, such as setting up the player's room and avatar, virtual object placement, and creating specific atmospheres throughout the experience.
  • Implemented gameplay features such as avatar interaction, state and feedback, scorekeeping, arcade mode gameplay, etc.
  • Implemented permission handling and scene set up game flows.
  • Collaborated in ideation process and concept development.
Technologies: Unity, C#, Meta Quest Presence Platform, AR Foundation, User Interface (UI)

Lead AR Engineer

2021 - 2022
Stealth Startup (Freelance)
  • Integrated new features on an existing location-based AR prototype.
  • Developed an entirely new functional prototype for iOS.
  • Designed and implemented complex back-stack architecture simulating native application behavior in Unity3D using the Finite State Machine design pattern.
  • Implemented a REST API for the full back-end integration.
Technologies: Unity3D, ARKit, AR Foundation, C#, iOS, Unity, User Experience (UX), Augmented Reality (AR), Object-oriented Programming (OOP), MacOS, Figma, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Postman, Front-end, Mobile, Mobile UX, Game Development, REST APIs, User Interface (UI)

AR Engineer

2020 - 2021
Nexus Studios (Freelance)
  • Collaborated on the development of open-source AR game demos to showcase Niantic Lightship's ARDK technology and SDK capabilities, including real-time mapping, shared multiplayer experiences, semantics, and depth.
  • Focused on implementation of networking capabilities and multiplayer gameplay.
  • Actively contributed during the game's ideation process.
Technologies: Unity3D, C#, Unity, Android, iOS, Mobile Game Development, User Experience (UX), Augmented Reality (AR), Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Game Programming, MacOS, Figma, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Front-end, Mobile, Mobile UX, Android SDK, Android Development, Game Development

Senior Android Engineer

2018 - 2021
Samsung Research America (Freelance)
  • Redesigned the platform architecture leveraged across all Samsung Research America (SRA) Digital Health Lab Android applications.
  • Adapted and expanded the development team's methods to include best practices, thereby improving code quality and reducing the downstream QA load.
  • Reduced development time and improved product results by devising a codebase for Android application development, enabling comprehensive technical support, and integrating insights based on synthesized feedback from UX designers and researchers.
Technologies: Android, User Experience (UX), Java, Kotlin, Firebase, Android Studio, Mobile Game Development, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), MacOS, Figma, Postman, Front-end, Mobile, Mobile UX, Wearables, Android SDK, Android Development, Game Development, REST APIs, RxJava 2, RxAndroid, Coroutines, Retrofit, Dagger 2, Butterknife, User Interface (UI)

Senior Android Engineer

2014 - 2018
Impossible
  • Developed multiple developer-facing Android applications to showcase Google Tango technology and SDK capabilities.
  • Collaborated in ideation and prototyping of Google Tango use cases, primarily focused on Google Maps indoor AR navigation.
  • Contributed to the Google Tango API and framework development.
  • Developed Android prototypes for case studies and UX research of Samsung music and video streaming applications.
  • Led a cross-functional team of three software engineers (Android, iOS, and backend) to develop the MVP of Bond Touch, a wearable mobile app for bringing people closer together.
  • Implemented an organic sketch tool algorithm for touch interfaces that became a core feature of an enhanced Android lock screen with a shared whiteboard that allowed connected users to share content.
Technologies: Android, User Experience (UX), OpenGL, C#, Unity3D, Java, Google, Unity, Tango, ARCore, Android Studio, Mobile Game Development, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Game Programming, MacOS, Figma, Front-end, Wearables, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), Mobile, Mobile UX, Android SDK, Android Development, Game Development, REST APIs, RxJava 2, RxAndroid, Coroutines, Retrofit, Butterknife, User Interface (UI)

Research and Game Development Intern

2013 - 2014
National Institute of Informatics
  • Implemented procedural generation techniques for automated content creation in 3D virtual worlds, such as traffic and pedestrian simulation, 3D city generation, dialogue generation, and verbal and non-verbal behavior of embodied animate agents.
  • Executed a port and conducted UI/UX/gameplay improvements targeting mobile platforms. This increased the user base and user active time, achieving 10,000+ installs in the Google Play Store.
  • Supported comprehensive system maintenance during worldwide, online campaigns.
Technologies: Android, User Experience (UX), C#, Unity3D, Unity, Mobile Game Development, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Game Programming, Front-end, Mobile, Mobile UX, iOS, Android SDK, Android Development, Game Development, User Interface (UI)

Software Engineer

2011 - 2013
YDreams
  • Developed Android application and Arduino firmware prototypes for the award-winning, Kickstarter-funded, and first-ever consumer aquatic drone with real-time video streaming.
  • Led UI/UX initiatives for a Microsoft Kinect-based, natural user interface (NUI) application for browsing medical images within sterile environments.
  • Implemented image processing solution using OpenCV and Microsoft Kinect SDK to recognize open/close hand gestures.
Technologies: Android, User Experience (UX), Unity3D, OpenCV, Microsoft Kinect, Java, C#, Unity, Android Studio, Augmented Reality (AR), Object-oriented Programming (OOP), C#.NET, Front-end, Mobile, Mobile UX, Android SDK, Android Development, User Interface (UI)

Stranger Things VR

https://tenderclaws.com/strangerthingsvr
A mixed reality experience with room understanding capabilities where the player has the ability to open portals into Stranger Things' scenarios and locations and interact with virtual objects within their own room.

I focused on integrating and combining the Meta Presence platform's mixed reality APIs like scene, movement, and passthrough to implement key aspects of the gameplay, such as setting up the player's room and avatar, placing virtual objects, and creating specific atmospheres throughout the experience.

Niantic Lightship Demo: AR Voyage

https://nexusstudios.com/work/niantic/
A series of open-source AR game demos to showcase Niantic Lightship's ARDK technology and capabilities, including real-time mapping, shared multiplayer experiences, semantics, and depth.

I focused on the implementation of networking capabilities and multiplayer gameplay.

Niantic Lightship "Early Explorers" Demo: Red Shift

https://youtu.be/GleXn-t_3X0
A hot potato-style AR game to showcase Niantic Lightship's ARDK technology and capabilities, including real-time mapping and multiplayer.

I focused on the implementation of UI, networking capabilities, and multiplayer gameplay. I also actively participated and contributed during the game's ideation process.

Bond Touch

https://www.bond-touch.com/
A wearable for bringing people closer together, currently used by thousands of couples every day.

I led a small, cross-functional team of three software engineers (Android, iOS, and backend) that released Android and iOS MVP apps with full back-end support and hardware integration within the proposed deadline.

LokLok

An enhanced lock screen with a shared whiteboard that allows connected users to share content.

I implemented an organic sketch tool algorithm for touch interfaces to simulate drawing with a marker. I also implemented core application features such as drawing tools and Facebook integration.

iCO2 Mobile Game

https://youtu.be/qv9-zBHx1ZI
A networked multiplayer mobile game for collecting large-scale, eco-driving behavioral data.

I implemented procedural generation techniques for automated content creation in 3D virtual worlds, such as traffic and pedestrian simulation, 3D city generation, dialogue generation, and verbal and non-verbal behavior of embodied animated agents.

I also executed the port and UX/UI/gameplay improvements targeting mobile platforms. This increased the user base and user active time, achieving over 10,000 installs on Google Play Store.

Ziphius

An award-winning, Kickstarter-funded, and first-ever consumer aquatic drone with real-time streaming.

I developed the early software and firmware prototypes using Raspberry Pi with camera modules for recording and streaming the video to the Android client, and an Arduino board to receive interfaced commands to control the motor servos that provided movement to the drone.

YScope

https://youtu.be/91F6zErnCrs
A Microsoft Kinect-based application for browsing medical images within sterile environments such as operating rooms.

I led the front-end UX/UI efforts to build a seamless NUI and implemented an image processing solution based on the k-means clustering algorithm, using OpenCV and Microsoft Kinect SDK to recognize open/close hand gestures. The solution was operational for nearly 10 years in the division of Neurosurgery at Hospital de Santa Maria, one of the biggest public hospital facilities in Lisbon, Portugal.

Raft Adrift Simulation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMEV5ax9XeA
This project was developed for the 3D Simulation and Game Programming master's course at my university, in which it earned top marks. The topic was: simulation.

I focused on volumetric clouds and light rendering, rain, and thunder. The project was completely developed in OGRE3D using C++.
2012 - 2015

Master's Degree in Computer Engineering and Multimedia Systems

Instituto Superior Técnico - Lisbon, Portugal

2006 - 2011

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

Universidade Nova de Lisboa - Lisbon, Portugal

JULY 2020 - PRESENT

ARCore and Sceneform for Android Augmented Reality (Java)

AR Deploy | via Udemy

Libraries/APIs

REST APIs, Butterknife, OpenCV, OpenGL, RxJava 2, Retrofit

Tools

Android Studio, Figma, Postman, Android Jetpack, RxAndroid

Languages

Java, C#, C#.NET, Kotlin, C++

Frameworks

Android SDK, Unity3D, ARKit, AR Foundation, Unity, Sceneform, Microsoft Kinect, OGRE, Dagger 2

Paradigms

Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Automation

Platforms

Android, MacOS, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Mobile, Firebase, ARCore, Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), Tango, iOS, Raspberry Pi

Other

User Experience (UX), Front-end, Mobile UX, Android Development, User Interface (UI), Mobile Game Development, Augmented Reality (AR), Game Programming, Game Development, Google, Task Automation, Multi-agent Systems, 3D Visualization, 3D Animation, 3D Simulations, Wearables, Bluetooth, Coroutines, Meta Quest Presence Platform, Mixed Reality (MR)

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