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AI & DESIGN ENGINEER
EUGENE
UPSTON
I build AI-native interfaces, agentic systems, and high-craft web experiences for ambitious products.
Advisory + full project builds.
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ABOUT
I'm an engineer who works at the intersection of AI, Design craft, and creative technology. I help companies ship AI-powered products, build scalable Design systems, and create web experiences that actually stand out.
I work as an advisor and hands-on builder — equally comfortable in a strategy conversation as I am deep in a codebase.
“The best software doesn't just work — it makes you lean forward.”
EXPERIENCE
8+ years shipping production systems — AI digital humans, blockchain infrastructure, and agentic AI platforms.
SpaceportBamburaiParagons NFTCentrality (CENNZnet)Non-Fungible LabsinMusicSoul Machines
Side Chat, agentic AI platform · 1,000+ commits in 2026 · Feb 2026 – Present
- ▸Built the durable workflow engine on Vercel Workflows, then led its migration to Restate: workflow builder, versioned step runs, fan-out/for-each, cron scheduling and human-in-the-loop approvals.
- ▸Built services in Canopy, the runtime between agent harnesses (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor) and LLMs: browser sessions, a Functions sandbox, tables, messaging and OAuth; contributed to our MCP server.
- ▸Led design engineering: the Canopy brand and design-system kit (tokens, Storybook, Chromatic), generative UI, approval UX and a live theme switcher for agent-generated apps.
- ▸Built real-time delivery: SSE streaming for agent chat and Postgres-to-WebSocket notification fan-out.
- ▸Designed a Postgres tables service (optimistic concurrency, schema versioning, CSV/XLSX import) with Drizzle migrations.
- ▸Built agent browser automation on Browserbase and Cloudflare: portal login engine, OTP capture and session recordings.
- ▸Work on GCP infrastructure as code with Pulumi (GKE, Cloud SQL, Pub/Sub, monitoring), plus CI gates and Claude API–powered code review.
Cultura IP-licensing protocol & marketplace · Oct 2024 – Jan 2026
- ▸Led development of the Cultura SDK (TypeScript, viem/ethers, TypeChain, GraphQL/The Graph, Vitest), shipping versioned RC and stable releases through devnet and testnet, plus its documentation site.
- ▸Built the Cultura dApp and subgraph, plus six GitHub Actions pipelines for RC/stable releases and PR end-to-end tests.
- ▸Built marketplace features on Postgres: role-based access, licensing approval flows, a Printify integration with a mock API service, and a Playwright end-to-end suite.
TypeScriptNode.jsHonoNext.jsPostgresDrizzleRestateStorybookGCPGKEPulumiMCPClaude APIPlaywrightVitest
Director of Technology · Apr 2023 – Oct 2024
- ▸Set technical direction and managed the development team across AI, Web3 and web products.
- ▸Built BrandPro.ai, an AI branding platform generating brand kits with image models (Next.js, Supabase/Postgres, Replicate), plus its product API.
- ▸Launched a self-serve web-product subscription on Stripe, Webflow and Zapier.
Next.jsTypeScriptSupabasePostgreSQLAWSStripeReplicate
Founder & Technical Lead · Jan 2022 – Feb 2023
- ▸Led a team of three developers from concept to launch. Built Solidity contracts (Hardhat), a Node/TypeScript API, Discord bots, a Python/Blender render pipeline on AWS, and an immersive 3D web experience (Next.js, R3F, WebGL).
SolidityHardhatNode.jsNext.jsThree.jsPythonAWS
Full Stack Developer · May 2021 – May 2022
- ▸Built a Node.js/RabbitMQ relayer bridging CENNZnet and Ethereum, plus Hardhat-tested bridge contracts.
- ▸Maintained the explorer backend (NestJS, SQL, Redis) and extended the open-source TypeScript SDK.
- ▸Built DeFi dApps for swaps, liquidity pools and bridging (React, TypeScript); CI/CD with GitHub Actions.
TypeScriptNode.jsRabbitMQNestJSRedisSQLReactDockerJenkins
Senior Developer · Sep 2021 – Nov 2021
- ▸Core developer on a multi-million-dollar NFT launch; built the minting and holder dApps with Next.js and TypeScript.
- ▸Built the 3D render pipeline on AWS, MongoDB and Blender that generated the collection assets.
Next.jsTypeScriptAWSMongoDBBlenderPython
Software Engineer in Test · Sep 2020 – May 2021
- ▸Designed a TypeScript/Jest/Docker test framework for a gRPC service; automated tests in Qt/QML, C++ and Python.
- ▸Tracked CPU, memory and performance metrics with the ELK stack and Vega; maintained Jenkins CI and CMake builds.
TypeScriptgRPCDockerC++Qt/QMLPythonELKJenkins
Software Pipeline Engineer · Jun 2019 – Sep 2020
- ▸Automated the artist pipeline for AI digital humans with Python, Qt, Flask and MongoDB; built batch tools for Maya, Nuke and Agisoft.
- ▸Built and managed a serverless render farm on AWS (Deadline, EC2 Spot Fleet); deployment tooling with Git and Jenkins; Pytest unit and integration tests.
Technical Artist · Apr 2018 – Jun 2019
- ▸Built text-to-speech voices for enterprise clients, Python TTS tooling and a client-facing web app on GCP.
PythonFlaskMongoDBAWSGCPJenkinsPytest
Core stack
AI & AgentsClaude API · MCP · Vercel AI SDK · Agent runtimes & evals · Generative UI · Claude Code · Cursor
FrontendReact · Next.js · TypeScript · Tailwind · Design systems · Storybook · Three.js / R3F · WebGL / GLSL
BackendNode.js · Hono · NestJS · Restate · gRPC · GraphQL · REST · SSE / WebSockets · Python
DataPostgreSQL · Drizzle · Supabase · Redis · MongoDB · The Graph
Cloud & DevOpsGCP (GKE, Cloud SQL, Pub/Sub) · AWS · Pulumi · Docker · GitHub Actions
Quality & OpsVitest · Playwright · Chromatic · OpenTelemetry · Sentry · PostHog · Auth0 / OAuth
HIRE ME
STATUS: AVAILABLE
|RESPONSE: < 24HI take on a small number of engagements at a time. If you have an interesting problem, let's talk.
Engagement Types
AI Feature Build
Ship AI capabilities into your existing product
Agentic Systems
Design and build multi-agent workflows and automations
Technical Advisory
Strategic guidance on AI/frontend architecture decisions
Full Product Build
End-to-end from design to deployed product
Work With Me
Socials
CLIENTS & WORK
Selected engagements. Scroll the 3D gallery to explore projects directly.
Todd Tally
Full-Stack / SaaS Build · 2026
Next.jsNode.jsSaaS
[+]SCOPEFull ownership of the build end-to-end — proactively making technical decisions so the founder could stay focused on product.
SCOPEFull ownership of the build end-to-end — proactively making technical decisions so the founder could stay focused on product.
BUILDLed the Wurkbox build end-to-end with minimal input needed from the founder. Took full ownership of technical decisions, keeping the project moving proactively. The client plans to use Eugene as their ongoing development partner for all future work.
RESULTClient plans to use Eugene as their ongoing development partner for all future needs.
Spaceport
Agentic Platform & Design Engineering · 2026
Agentic AIRestateDesign SystemsNext.jsTypeScript
[+]SCOPEAgentic operating system for businesses — cloud tools that abstract CRM, research, comms, and ops behind a discover → design → execute → learn loop.
SCOPEAgentic operating system for businesses — cloud tools that abstract CRM, research, comms, and ops behind a discover → design → execute → learn loop.
BUILDSidechat is a Spaceport product: an AI agentic platform where businesses run operations through composable cloud tools instead of stitching together point solutions. The Agent Operating System (AOS) tackles hard business problems on a repeating cycle — discover context, design the approach, execute across connected services, then learn and compound. Agents run on OpenClaw. I built the durable workflow engine — first on Vercel Workflows, then led its migration to Restate — with versioned runs, fan-out, scheduling and human-in-the-loop approvals. I also built services in Canopy, the runtime between agent harnesses and LLMs (browser sessions, a Functions sandbox, tables, messaging, OAuth), real-time SSE and WebSocket delivery, and Composio integrations. On the design side I led the Canopy brand and design-system kit, generative UI, approval UX and a live theme switcher for agent-generated apps — plus client onboarding and solution design with customers.
RESULTCore engineer with 1,000+ commits in 2026: durable workflows, agent runtime services, browser automation, and the design system and UI powering live agent operations on side.chat.
Tectonic Labs
Full-Stack / Web3 · 2025
Web3Browser ExtensionPost-Quantum Cryptography
[+]SCOPEBrowser wallet built for quantum-secure blockchain transactions — post-quantum cryptography for the EVM, pre-launch.
SCOPEBrowser wallet built for quantum-secure blockchain transactions — post-quantum cryptography for the EVM, pre-launch.
BUILDBuilt the browser extension wallet for Tectonic Labs — a post-quantum cryptographic security infrastructure company backed by alumni from Coinbase, Google, MIT, and the Ethereum Foundation. The wallet supports Falcon-512 signatures for quantum-resistant EVM transactions. Full details coming soon — project not yet officially released.
RESULTDetails coming soon — project not yet officially released.
Salty Fruit
Creative & 3D Engineering · 2025
BlenderSpline3D Animation
[+]SCOPE3D hero scene and interactive card selector in Spline and Blender for a DeFi launchpool platform.
SCOPE3D hero scene and interactive card selector in Spline and Blender for a DeFi launchpool platform.
BUILDProduced 3D hero page animations and an interactive card selector in Blender and Spline for Perq Finance — a DeFi launchpool where users stake to earn tokens before TGE. The goal was to create visually distinctive 3D assets that cut through the noise of the crowded DeFi space.
RESULTDelivered a visually distinctive set of 3D hero assets for the DeFi platform.
Aries
3D & Creative Engineering · 2024
Spline3D Animation3D Modelling
[+]SCOPECustom 3D animations and models in Spline for a commission-free trading platform — optimised for real-time web rendering at launch.
SCOPECustom 3D animations and models in Spline for a commission-free trading platform — optimised for real-time web rendering at launch.
BUILDBuilt fully custom 3D animations and interactive models in Spline for the Aries trading platform launch. Every asset was optimised for real-time web performance while maintaining visual fidelity — delivering a production-ready 3D brand experience on time and on budget.
RESULTDelivered a production-ready 3D brand experience on time for a verified $4,000 engagement.
Geist × Harvey AI
Creative & 3D Engineering · 2024
Spline3D AnimationMotion Design
[+]SCOPEAnimated 3D logo loader for Harvey AI — the $11B legal AI platform — built through Geist Studio with a Law & Order TV show aesthetic.
SCOPEAnimated 3D logo loader for Harvey AI — the $11B legal AI platform — built through Geist Studio with a Law & Order TV show aesthetic.
BUILDContracted through Geist Studio to build an animated 3D logo loader for Harvey AI — a legal AI platform used by 100,000+ lawyers across the world's top law firms, valued at $11B. The brief called for a Law & Order TV drama aesthetic: weighty, authoritative, cinematic. The result is a faceted geometric 'H' letterform that animates with dramatic lighting — high-contrast, dark, and precise.
RESULTDelivered a production-ready animated logo for one of the most high-profile AI companies in legal tech.
Visioned
Creative & 3D Engineering · 2024
Spline3D AnimationBlender
[+]SCOPEHero section Spline scene with a 3D logo transforming into an eye — crafted for Switzerland's first Webflow agency.
SCOPEHero section Spline scene with a 3D logo transforming into an eye — crafted for Switzerland's first Webflow agency.
BUILDCreated the hero section 3D scene in Spline for Visioned, Switzerland's first Webflow agency. The centrepiece is a 3D logo that morphs into an eye — a visual metaphor for the agency's vision-forward brand. Described as an amazing Designer and Animation Expert who comes up with ideas to really suit your special case.
RESULTDelivered a signature hero animation that became central to the agency's brand identity.
Deck Doctors
Creative & 3D Engineering · 2024
Spline3D AnimationBlender
[+]SCOPESpline 3D hero section and interactive project selector for a branding and PR agency's website.
SCOPESpline 3D hero section and interactive project selector for a branding and PR agency's website.
BUILDDesigned and animated a Spline 3D hero section and interactive project selector for the Moonlanding Agency website. Created 3D rocket ship renders and immersive scene elements that give the agency site a distinctive visual identity aligned with their bold, space-themed brand.
RESULTDelivered a full 3D hero experience and interactive project selector for the agency site.
Snowball
Creative & 3D Engineering · 2024
Spline3D AnimationMotion Design
[+]SCOPESpline 3D hero and section animations for a YouTube content-engine agency — training brands to build in-house franchises at scale.
SCOPESpline 3D hero and section animations for a YouTube content-engine agency — training brands to build in-house franchises at scale.
BUILDBuilt immersive Spline 3D scenes and motion sections for Snowball — the agency behind YouTube's most-viewed franchises, helping brands build internal content engines. Delivered hero, timeline, and product-section animations for desktop and mobile across the marketing site.
RESULTDelivered a full set of 3D hero and section animations for the Snowball marketing site.
Infisical
Creative & 3D Engineering · 2023
Spline3D Animation3D Design
[+]SCOPEAn infinite abstract Spline loop that morphs colors and shapes over time — created for Infisical Radar.
SCOPEAn infinite abstract Spline loop that morphs colors and shapes over time — created for Infisical Radar.
BUILDDesigned and animated an infinitely looping abstract 3D scene in Spline for Infisical's Radar product. The piece morphs fluidly between colors and organic forms, creating a hypnotic visual identity for the platform. Published to the Spline community as a remixable template, it reached 136K+ views, 4.8K likes, and 42.6K remixes.
RESULT136K+ views, 4.8K likes, and 42.6K remixes on the Spline community.
Bamburai
AI & Agentic Engineering · 2023
Next.jsSupabaseAI Integration
[+]SCOPEEnd-to-end AI branding platform — full-stack build with Next.js, Supabase, and AI-powered branding kit generation.
SCOPEEnd-to-end AI branding platform — full-stack build with Next.js, Supabase, and AI-powered branding kit generation.
BUILDBuilt the Brand Pro AI branding platform from scratch for Bamburai using Next.js and Supabase, with AI integration for automated branding kit generation. The platform blends creative image generation with brand consistency tools including a Vault, Brand Preview, and Style Reimagine across 50+ styles.
RESULTDelivered a working AI branding platform ready for user onboarding.
Paragons NFT
Creative & 3D Engineering · 2022
React Three FiberNext.jsthree.jsTeam Lead
[+]SCOPELed a team of three JS devs building an immersive 3D web experience with React Three Fiber and Next.js for a Web3 gaming platform.
SCOPELed a team of three JS devs building an immersive 3D web experience with React Three Fiber and Next.js for a Web3 gaming platform.
BUILDManaged a team of three JavaScript developers and personally wrote code using React Three Fiber and Next.js for the Paragons NFT Paraverse — an immersive 3D gaming world for the Ethereum-based Paragons collection. Responsible for optimising and creating 3D assets alongside coordinating the full development effort.
RESULTDelivered a fully immersive 3D web experience for the Paragons NFT community.
Warehaus
Creative & 3D Engineering · 2022
BlenderCinema 4DSpline3D Animation
[+]SCOPE3D hero and brand animations for a digital product collective — immersive WebGL scenes on warehaus.co.
SCOPE3D hero and brand animations for a digital product collective — immersive WebGL scenes on warehaus.co.
BUILDDesigned and animated 3D scenes in Blender, Cinema 4D, and Spline for Warehaus — a collective of creators building digital products, brands, and Web3 experiences. Delivered multiple looping hero pieces for the live site, including the strap-in launch sequence and brand vignettes showcased across their work and services pages.
RESULTShipped production 3D animations integrated into the Warehaus marketing site.
TESTIMONIALS
What clients say. All reviews verified on Contra.
“We're now working on our third project together and Eugene's work is truly exceptional. His ability to create materials to look as realistic as possible on the web is astounding, 11/10 recommend hiring Eugene for any Spline work.”
Waldo Broodryk · Client
“The 3D spline animation created by Eugene is mesmerizing and exactly what we wanted. He truly understood our brief and provided valuable supporting information along the way. The entire process and communication was smooth and enjoyable.”
Pixelida · Client
“His mix of hard skills, speed, and great communication made our collaboration easy. Hire him!”
Tim Kamerer · Client, Geist
“I highly recommend Eugene. He is a pleasure to work with and more importantly for me, he led the way with minimal needed input from me. I plan on using him for the rest of my development needs for my company.”
Todd Tally · Client, Wurkbox
“Eugene built exactly what I wanted at a crucial time when I needed it. He gave me a very fair price and got the work done ASAP. I will be hiring Eugene again for all Spline and 3D web work + blender.”
Nick Lamela · Client
“Eugene is an amazing Designer and Animation Expert. He comes up with ideas to really suit your special case!”
Aramas Schmitter · Client, Visioned
“Eugene is a rockstar. Work with him!!!”
Mark Golub · Client
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