John Shaughnessy

Android · TypeScript · Three.js · Unity · AI/ML · Embeddings · Object detection · Speech · Backend APIs

• Wrote application, AI, 3D/game, web, and backend software for an unreleased educational device for children, using Android, Node.js, ONNX Runtime, Three.js, Unity, and Cloudflare.
• Built Montessori-inspired learning systems with species/object scanning, collectible cards, quests, and activities designed to foster curiosity about the world outside of the screen.
• Developed experiences using on-device AI constrained by the hardware, including local image classification, object detection, depth processing, image/text embeddings, and speech workflows.

New York, NY

AI prototypes · Browser extensions · Local LLMs · RAG · Vector search

• Built several prototypes focused on local and open-source AI, including Memory Cache, browser-based AI app experiments, local model workflows, document ingestion, vector retrieval, RAG, and desktop packaging.
• Evaluated open-source AI project submissions and interviewed developers applying for admission into Mozilla Builders' accelerator / grant program.

Mountain View, CA

TypeScript · JavaScript · React · Elixir · Phoenix · WebRTC · WebGL · WebXR · Postgres · AWS · GCP · Engineering management

• Managed a 12-person team of software engineers and technical artists for Mozilla Hubs, an open-source social VR platform whose front-end runs in the browser and whose backend is built for decentralized self-hosting. Led hiring, onboarding, technical planning, releases, incident response, and security audits while continuing to write production code.
• Wrote the Hubs game networking layer for state replication, authority/ownership, presence, permissions, physics sync, media sync, and plugin-oriented extensibility.
• Worked across the rest of the platform, including avatars, animation, identity/auth, WebRTC voice/video, WebGL/WebXR rendering, the Elixir/Phoenix backend, Hubs Cloud, AWS, and GCP.

Redwood City, CA

Unity3D · C# · JavaScript · Motion capture · VR

• Built Unity3D/C# avatar and motion-capture systems for a social VR platform, unifying skeletal input from Leap Motion, Kinect, and Perception Neuron.
• Created in-game screenshot sharing, personal-space safety features, artist tools, network-synced animations, and synchronized Netflix, YouTube, and Twitch video experiences.