Danny Lee

Danny Lee

Game Technical Director

sonan0721@gmail.com Korean (Native) / English (C1)

About Me

I'm a Game Technical Director with over a decade of experience setting technical direction, designing system architectures, and leading cross-platform game and application development.

My career began in C++ engine programming — DirectX rendering, HLSL shaders, and GPU pipeline profiling. As a Technical Director, I still dive into low-level rendering optimization: from real-time rendering for 500 concurrent users, to GPU instancing and Vertex Animation Textures (VAT) for large-scale entity rendering, to cross-platform build optimization across iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows.

I've built UGC editors, data authoring tools, and creator platforms that bridge complex engine internals with accessible workflows. I communicate technical concepts through published articles, video presentations, and internal tech talks — focused on making technology usable for developers and creators.

With 7+ years of engineering leadership at Nexon, NCSoft, Zigbang, and LINE Games, I drive technical decision-making, mentor engineering teams, and lead cross-functional collaboration.

Tech Stack

Performance & Optimization

Profiled and optimized GPU rendering pipelines in a custom C++ engine with DirectX. Optimized real-time rendering for 500 concurrent users in a virtual space. Delivered cross-platform build performance optimization across iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows.

C++ DirectX HLSL GPU Profiling Unity

Technical Direction & Architecture

Designed system architectures and set technical direction across 4+ engines — custom C++, CryEngine, UE4/5, and Unity. Directly architected core systems including gameplay, multiplayer, and animation, making decisions that enable teams to execute.

Unity Unreal CryEngine In-house Engine C++ C#

Developer Tools & Platforms

Built a sandbox game editor that lets users create their own games without coding. Set up CI/CD build automation using Jenkins and TeamCity with Declarative Pipelines across iOS, macOS, Linux, SteamOS, Windows, Android, and console platforms. Built internal project management tools and custom workflows to keep teams running smoothly.

Jenkins TeamCity WPF Roblox Lua CI/CD

Communication & Developer Advocacy

Early adopter who discovers and evaluates new tools and technologies, then shares findings through presentations and internal talks. Reviews and implements techniques from industry conferences in areas like animation. Started leading teams early in my career — communication and presentation are core strengths.

Technical Writing Presenting Mentoring Code Review Git
C++ C# DirectX HLSL Lua Python Unity Unreal Engine CryEngine In-house Engine Roblox GPU Profiling Git Jenkins TeamCity CI/CD

Experience

Technical Director

LINE Games

2024.4 — Present · 1yr 11mo

Unity C# GPU Instancing VAT Rendering Optimization
  • Led the project from inception: established team culture, set technical direction, and drove both architecture and implementation
  • Ran macOS and Linux builds from day one alongside Windows, proactively identifying and resolving cross-platform issues before they compounded
  • Drove rendering optimization across the full pipeline: GPU instancing, VAT, code-level profiling, and graphics quality tuning for production
  • Implemented and developed core gameplay systems, ensuring high-quality player experiences through production stage
  • Console platform support in preparation

Tech Advisor

2080 Ventures Part-time

2025.3 — Present · 1yr

Digital Platforms Web
Web Tech Strategy
  • Building internal platforms and advising on tech strategy — researching, evaluating, and sharing emerging technology trends
  • Providing hands-on engineering support and helping build services as needed

Lead Software Engineer

Zigbang

2021.9 — 2024.2 · 2yr 5mo

Soma Unity 5+ engineers
Unity C# CI/CD MV(R)P Rendering Optimization
  • Led the client engineering team as team lead, owning architecture and technical decisions
  • Built cross-platform CI/CD pipelines and optimized builds for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows
  • Introduced MV(R)P pattern and async/await for stable, maintainable UI across platforms
  • Pushed extreme optimization for an always-on virtual office: physics, rendering, and idle resource usage
  • Profiled GPU/CPU bottlenecks using Unity Profiler and Frame Debugger, supporting 500 concurrent users

Senior Gameplay Programmer

NCSoft

2021.2 — 2021.6 · 4mo

Miniverse (Early Stage) Unreal Engine 5
UE5 C++ Godot
  • Joined the early-stage team and contributed to initial Unreal Engine framework development
  • Drove engine evaluation and tech stack decisions to minimize technical debt from the start
  • Created onboarding documentation and set development conventions for new team members

Engineering Lead

Nexon Korea

2018.3 — 2021.1 · 2yr 10mo

Unannounced Sandbox Game Unity
Unity C# WPF Netcode UGC Lua
  • Diagnosed and recovered a stalled internal legacy project — identified root technical problems and led the team to resolve them
  • Designed and built a UGC game editor using WPF and Unity, enabling non-technical users to create and publish their own games
  • Architected user scripting and abstraction layers to let player-created games run performantly on iOS and Android
  • Implemented data-driven gameplay logic with custom netcode optimized for mobile multiplayer

Quest Team Manager (Support)

Nexon Korea

2019.6 — 2020.1 · 7mo

Unity C# Quest System
  • Stepped in as support to lead the quest team through a critical milestone
  • Drove vision and coordination across the part-time support team to keep work moving
  • Completed all quest content for the milestone build and developed required features along the way

Senior Gameplay Programmer

Nexon Korea

2016.5 — 2018.3 · 1yr 10mo

Project Meta Unreal Engine 4
UE4 C++ Animation Blueprint
  • Built real-time animation systems in Unreal Engine 4 C++: locomotion, combat, and parkour
  • Implemented parkour movement and interaction system with performance optimization

Gameplay Programmer

ESTsoft

2013.11 — 2015.11 · 2yr

Cabal 2 CryEngine 3
CryEngine C++ C# WPF Qt RenderDoc Nsight
  • Developed diverse gameplay features for a live-service CryEngine 3 MMORPG
  • Built UI tools (WPF) and narrative authoring tools for the development team
  • Built a P2P game launcher using Qt with torrent-based download system
  • Fixed CryEngine physics bugs and rendering issues (cloth rendering) using RenderDoc and Nvidia Nsight

Engine Programmer

MAIET Entertainment

2012.8 — 2013.11 · 1yr 3mo

Gunz 2 In-house Engine
C++ DirectX HLSL GPU Profiling Rendering
  • Worked on the game engine team for this stylish action TPS, the sequel to the original GunZ
  • Debugged and fixed character shader and environment shader rendering issues across AMD and Nvidia GPUs
  • Implemented HDR tone mapping as a new engine feature using HLSL shaders
  • Improved internal engine editor tooling

Education

Kwangwoon University

2008 — 2016

Bachelor of Science, Computer Engineering

GPA: 3.73 / 4.5 (4.2 / 4.5 Korean scale)

Portfolio

Ember and Blade
Unity | Technical Director

Ember and Blade

Led from inception to production — technical direction, rendering optimization, and core gameplay

Unity C# GPU Instancing VAT Rendering Optimization
Gunz 2
In-house Engine | Engine Programmer

Gunz 2

GPU rendering pipeline profiling and HDR tone mapping in HLSL

C++ DirectX HLSL GPU Profiling Rendering
Soma
Unity | Client Team Lead

Soma

Extreme always-on optimization for 500 concurrent users across 4 platforms

Unity C# Rendering Optimization Cross-platform CI/CD
Cabal 2
CryEngine 3 | Gameplay Programmer

Cabal 2

Diverse feature development, developer tools, engine-level physics and rendering fixes

CryEngine C++ WPF Qt RenderDoc Nsight
NC Miniverse
UE5, Godot | Early-stage Member

NC Miniverse

Helped establish the founding team and development workflow

UE5 Godot C++
Mabinogi Mobile
Unity | Quest Team Lead

Mabinogi Mobile

Created all quest content and led team through successful internal playtest

Unity C# Quest System

Speaking & Writing