Panos Karabelas

Panos Karabelas

Rendering/GPU Engineer | Creator of Spartan Engine | Podcast Host

I believe in high goals, self-teaching, and hard work. I'm looking to develop bleeding-edge technology, collaborate with top talent, expand my knowledge, and have fun. I value personality over skills.

WORK EXPERIENCE

MTS Developer Technology Engineer

AMD (2022 - 2024, All of UK, parts of Europe)

  • Worked with Rocksteady (Suicide Squad) and other top UK studios, offering support (remote and onsite), and helped them optimize for AMD hardware.
  • Traveled to places like Dubrovnik, Croatia, to give tech talks.
  • A client-facing technical position, multifaceted; it felt just right for me.

Senior Graphics Programmer

Codemasters (EA) (2020 - 2022, Manchester, UK)

Generalist Programmer

Sony Interactive Entertainment (2016 - 2019, Manchester, UK)

  • Worked on a PSVR title for years; sadly, it was cancelled.
  • Created an environmental analysis AI system, coupled with fuzzy logic to deliver behavior with human-like cover/navigation tactics. Added a GUI with 3D/VR support, Jenkins CI, and a ton of other features.

Gameplay Programmer

Kickback Studios (2015 - 2015, Larisa, Greece)

  • Worked on a game that was a Ludum Dare entry.

Gameplay Programmer

Genesis Game Studios (2013 - 2014, Larisa, Greece)

  • Worked on four mobile games (doubling as an AI programmer when needed).
  • This was also the Imagine Cup team (made of Microsoft Student Partners).

Microsoft Student Partner

Microsoft (2012 - 2016, Larisa, Greece)

  • Acted as a university campus leader and was mentored by Microsoft.
  • Delivered presentations and organized workshops.
  • Was part of a global community; learned to play well with others.

Waiter & Bar Tender

Bars/Hotels (2008 - 2010, Zante, Greece)

  • Cleaned tables, made drinks, served, and chatted with people.
  • This is the job I'm most proud of.

GAME ENGINE (KNOWN FOR)

Spartan - One of the most advanced and longest solo-developed game engines out there.

  • Comes with a 600+ people Discord community, which I maintain.
  • Working on it almost daily for 10+ years.
  • It attracts young ambitious people; I've mentored as many as I could.
  • Pivotal for getting hired by AMD (clients trusted me as a result).
  • Available on GitHub: https://github.com/PanosK92/SpartanEngine

PODCAST (NEXT BIG PROJECT)

Panos Karabelas Podcast - I seek out people with signs of exceptional ability across different industries and talk to them for about 60 minutes. Three pilot episodes are available on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@panos_karabelas) and Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/5F27nWKn9TZdClc5db9efY).

EDUCATION & ACHIEVEMENTS

Computer Science & Telecommunications

University of Thessaly (2010 - 2016, Larisa, Greece)

  • Collaborated with a professor/mentor on a Minority Report-like, Kinect-assisted natural user interface which attracted national attention. Was promoted to a Microsoft Student Partner as a result (campus leader).

Certificate of Proficiency in English

University of Michigan (2000 - 2010)

  • A 10-year study program, provided by Michigan University authorized organizations in Greece.

Imagine Cup World Finalist

Microsoft (2014)

  • World-class distinction in the games category with a turn-based strategy game. This was the first sign that I might be good at it.

SKILLS

  • Vulkan
  • DirectX
  • HLSL/GLSL
  • Trigonometry and Linear Algebra
  • C/C++
  • Unreal
  • Unity
  • Qt
  • ImGui
  • GPU Debugging & Profiling
  • Physics

INTERESTS

  • Food
  • Running
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Friday Beers

WHY DO I DO THIS

In 2004, I played Doom 3, learned about John Carmack, and had a Eureka moment; I knew what I wanted to be. As I’ve grown, my scope and ambitions have only expanded; I don't think I will ever stop as I believe that life should be exciting.