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
{
"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
{
"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.