Nikki Asteinza Aguilar

Software Engineer · Tech Lead in transition · XR & Platform

nikki@notipad.com · +31 634 383 670 · Spanish (native) · English (advanced)


Professional summary

I'm a psychologist by training who pivoted into computer graphics and software. After my Psychology degree I specialised with a Master's in Graphic Computing, VR & Simulation, and have built 10+ years of experience across XR, defence, and enterprise domains. Technically grounded in Unity, C#, web development, and test automation, with recent progression into engineering leadership: mentoring teams, shaping architectural direction, and driving code quality.

Currently moving into a formal Tech Lead / Developer Lead role: leading a small team technically, owning architecture, mentoring engineers and continuing to code where the problem warrants it.

That grounding in psychology, together with advanced Coaching & NLP training, shapes how I lead: architecture decisions are also communication decisions, and a team that doesn't talk well does not ship well.


Technical skills

Area Stack
Languages C#, TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, PHP, SQL, C++, PowerShell, Bash
Frameworks & Tools OpenXR, Oculus, Angular, Node.js, Vue.js, Symfony, WPF, WinForms, Docker, AWS, CI/CD, Firebase, MQTT, NATS, Protocol Buffers, GraphQL
Automation & QA SharePoint, Power Automate, n8n, Selenium, Unit Testing, automated reporting pipelines
XR / 3D Unity, Unity Editor Scripting, Unreal, OpenGL, Metahumans
Leadership Architecture reviews, mentoring, PR culture, team coaching, structural mentoring (background in Psychology + NLP)

Professional experience

Bloque de codigo - json
{
  "professional_experience": [
    {
      "area": "Defence and naval",
      "company": "7 Days IT",
      "role": "Senior XR Consultant",
      "period": "2025-10/2026-07",
      "programme": "F126 Frigate Programme",
      "context": "Damen Naval · German Navy · 6 multi-mission frigates",
      "responsibility": "Lead Developer",
      "impact": "Codebase analysis, 2-month refactor, and Unity process and configuration automation for VR course production. The combined effort increased output from 0.6 to 1.8 VR courses/month in under 6 months.",
      "responsibilities": [
        "Development team mentoring",
        "PR review",
        "Architecture standards enforcement"
      ]
    },
    {
      "area": "Defence and naval",
      "company": "Indra",
      "role": "Senior XR Consultant",
      "period": "2024-02/2025-10",
      "programmes": [
        {
          "name": "ACHILE",
          "context": "EDF 2021 · EUR 45M · AR soldier systems · Safran / Thales / Rheinmetall / Leonardo",
          "responsibility": "Technical Lead"
        },
        {
          "name": "EDINAF",
          "context": "EDF 2021 · Navantia · 31 entities · 8 countries · digital warship architecture",
          "responsibility": "Lead Developer"
        }
      ],
      "stack": ["Unity C#", "C++", "Node.js", "OpenXR", "MQTT", "NATS", "Protocol Buffers", "Python", "Docker", "CI/CD"]
    },
    {
      "area": "Industry 4.0 and enterprise",
      "company": "Capgemini Engineering",
      "role": "Advanced Software Developer",
      "period": "2021-06/2024-02",
      "context": "Industry 4.0 solutions for pharmaceutical, semiconductor and railway clients",
      "domains": ["VR/AR training", "Digital twins", "Maintenance assistants", "Image recognition", "LMS", "GraphQL", "AR", "VR", "SQL"]
    },
    {
      "area": "Software and technology",
      "company": "SpatialPort",
      "role": "Software Engineer",
      "period": "2021-05/2022-12",
      "work": [
        "AR app with OpenCV / MediaPipe for real-time wrist try-on",
        "Unity Editor tooling",
        "Automated 3D NFT generation system"
      ]
    },
    {
      "area": "Software and technology",
      "company": "Unity Technologies",
      "role": "Software Engineer",
      "period": "2020-11/2021-06",
      "work": [
        "Cross-platform VCS frontend for Windows, macOS and Linux",
        "WPF, WinForms and Avalonia",
        "Unit testing"
      ]
    },
    {
      "area": "Software and technology",
      "company": "International educational platform",
      "role": "QA Web Automation Tester",
      "period": "2018/2020",
      "impact": "Developed Selenium suites for end-to-end pre-production validation, reducing defective builds reaching production.",
      "work": [
        "Automated reporting pipelines",
        "Automated notification flows",
        "Improved release confidence and reduced manual QA effort"
      ]
    },
    {
      "area": "Earlier roles",
      "period": "2015/2020",
      "roles": [
        { "role": "Web Developer", "context": "Freelance, Artenea 3D" },
        { "role": "VR/AR Developer", "context": "Xoia" },
        { "role": "Technical Support", "context": "Quental" },
        { "role": "Digital Innovation", "context": "Grupo SM" },
        { "role": "Graphic Design and Web Dev", "context": "ITM Platform" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Education

Bloque de codigo - json
{
  "education": [
    {
      "period": "2010-2014",
      "degree": "Bachelor's Degree in Psychology",
      "institution": "Universidad Autónoma de Madrid"
    },
    {
      "period": "2011",
      "degree": "Advanced English studies · Language Institute",
      "institution": "Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta"
    },
    {
      "period": "2012-2013",
      "degree": "Advanced Coaching, NLP and Systemic course",
      "institution": "Escuela Increscendo"
    },
    {
      "period": "2015-2016",
      "degree": "Adaptive web design with HTML5 and CSS3",
      "institution": "CICE"
    },
    {
      "period": "2017-2018",
      "degree": "Master's Degree in Game Development and Virtual Reality with Unity",
      "institution": "CICE"
    },
    {
      "period": "2019-10/2020-10",
      "degree": "Master's Degree in Graphic Computing, Virtual Reality and Simulation",
      "institution": "U-tad"
    },
    {
      "period": "2022-11/2023-06",
      "degree": "Full Stack Bootcamp",
      "institution": "Upgrade Hub"
    }
  ]
}

Personal projects

  • Notipad — Markdown editor with rich rendering (diagrams, formulas, columns, callouts), being evolved into a platform of products: desktop editor, public publishing SaaS, client portal and export API. See the blog for architectural decisions and the public roadmap.

Beyond the keyboard

Futsal player for 20+ years — team sport since long before any technical title. Devoted to my pets, close to my family, and frequently building side-projects and inventions for the pure pleasure of making things.


PDF version available on request.