David Zobel
1430 9th Street, Manhattan Beach CA 90266–6125
dzobel@alumni.caltech.edu
(310) 874–3997
http://davezobel.peasecommon.net
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR: HANDS-ON
Articulate, motivated leader with extensive engineering and mentoring experience.
BS / Computer Science
Caltech (California Institute of Technology), Pasadena CA
6/84
CREDITS (partial list)
N-tier enterprise software and database management systems
YaYa Media
Web-based advergames: user-facing apps, intranet tools, and back-end datamart
Save.com
Multi-database data mining system for online store coupon distribution
DeskTalk
Phone/PC network deployed at commodities exchange and on commercial aircraft
Ashton-Tate
Core engineering on dBASE 5, the world’s leading consumer DBMS
Games and multimedia
Disney Interactive
Activision
IGN/GameSpy
Mattel/APh
independent consulting
Top-selling CD-ROM games: Animated StoryBooks, Print Studio series, etc.
Single- and multiplayer PC and console games: Return to Zork, MechWarrior 2, etc.
Middleware, networking tools, etc., used by world’s largest console game developers
Video game cartridges for the Intellivision system
MPEG conversions of CD-ROM games: Dune, Conspiracy, Inside the Vatican, etc.
Systems, tools, and specialty software
Design Science
Mathematics formatting and publishing tools
Calera
Patented software for best-selling optical character recognition system
TRW
Military-standard firmware for networked terminal concentrators
Symult
Massively parallel operating systems and multiprocessor network protocols
Vertisoft
Disk compression utilities bundled with MS-DOS 6
SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE
Languages:
C/C++/C#, Java, Visual Basic (VB/VBA), JavaScript/PHP/Perl, assembly (PowerPC, 680x0, 80x86, ARM,
VAX, 6502, Z80, CP1600), FORTRAN, Lingo/ActionScript, Pascal, Eiffel, Forth, PL/1, BASIC, COBOL, etc.
Operating systems and development environments:
Windows (xp/NT/2k/Me/9x/3.x), UNIX (Linux/Solaris/AIX/XENIX), MacOS, DOS, VMS, AmigaDOS, JCL, MPW
Multimedia platforms and services:
Flash/Shockwave/Director, MPEG, JPEG, MJPEG, CCIR-601, DAT, DirectX
Networking and web services:
Client/server model, .NET/C#, JSP/J2EE/EJB, ASP, XML/HTML/DHTML, CGI, COM, TCP/IP, ISO, Novell
Database management systems:
Oracle 8i/PL-SQL, SQL Server, Sybase, MySQL, Access, dBASE
Coding standards and methodologies:
OOA/OOD/OOP, MIL-STDs, MIL-SPECs, Structured Analysis, Structured Design
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
Professional organizations: Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. MPEG Consortium. Multimedia PC Committee.
Book: Dave Zobel’s Bent Book of Boatspeak (McGraw-Hill, 2000); http://boatspeak.peasecommon.net
Patent: #5046114: Separation of Joined Characters in an Optical Character Recognition System.
Who’s Who in...: …the Media and Communications; …the West; …Science and Technology.
Awards: TRW Special Award: exceptional performance. Rensselaer Medal: excellence in math and science.
Foreign languages: Russian, Spanish, French.
Résumé
David Zobel / 2
EXPERIENCE
VP Development
Design Science, Inc., Long Beach CA
7/05 – 12/05
Mathematics formatting and publishing software.
Specified and directed development and testing of software and tools. Hired and supervised engineers, QA, CS.
Director, Software Development
Worlds, Inc., Boston MA
11/04 – 7/05
Worlds, Inc. created the online 3D chat room paradigm a decade ago and now hosts some of the best recognized properties in the space.
Specified and coded upgrades to software, tools, and UI.
Director, Gaming Software Engineering (Middleware)
IGN/GameSpy, Irvine CA
6/04 – 12/04
IGN/Gamespy is the leader in online gaming software and middleware. Its software powers the online experience in literally hundreds of games.
Directed software development and documentation efforts for middleware, tools, and gaming software. Handled
staffing, scheduling, work assignments department-wide. Reported to CTO and General Manager.
Technologies: C++, Microsoft Project.
Senior Engineer
7/03 – 5/04
Savage Entertainment, Los Angeles CA
Savage is the powerhouse behind all manner of highly immersive games content for the top gaming platforms, including:
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
James Bond 007: Nightfire
He-Man: Defender of Grayskull
James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire
The Naked City
Strike Force
Producer/developer on Sabertooth, Savage’s multiplatform gaming engine. Designer/lead developer on
speech-recognition technology demonstration game. On-site game designer/developer at Electronic Arts.
Technologies: Metrowerks CodeWarrior, AlienBrain, Perforce, ProDG, Visual Studio .NET, Visual SourceSafe.
Technical Lead/QA Manager
9/01 – 7/03
YaYa Media, Los Angeles CA
YaYa develops advergames: heavily branded freeware games distributed via brand websites, e-mail, and CD. The viral
marketing component of these games uses an automated e-mail process to “spread the word” among users. Titles include:
Honda Adventure
Kmart/Joe Boxer
Get Up & Go
Race stock Honda automobiles through a virtual city—even go off-roading
Click on Vaughn’s underwear and watch him dance
Take a fun personality test and learn what kind of Chrysler car best suits your style
Hands-on direction of engineering and QA teams, both internal and external. Wrote test plans and
procedures. Nexus of communication for technology issues among key departments and at C-level.
Championed software scalability. Deconstructed and rearchitected websites and data warehouse. This single
effort made multiple simultaneous deployments feasible and increased our user base by 900%. Created and
enforced technology standards. Developed and implemented strategic plans.
Supervised eight engineers (four senior), two toolsmiths, and three testers.
Technologies: XML/JSP/JavaScript, Java/J2EE/EJB, Flash/Shockwave/ActionScript/Lingo, Oracle 8i, Windows xp, Linux.
Director, Client/Server Development
Save.com, Los Angeles CA
6/99 – 7/01
Save.com pioneered the distribution of grocery coupons on the World Wide Web. Clients included General Mills,
Duncan Hines, Procter & Gamble, Kraft, and Revlon.
Oversaw development of shrink-wrapped client application, datamart/data mine, and user-facing website.
Rearchitected barcode scanning and data mining technology, saving the company $10,000/month.
Pre-sales support, investigation, and presentations. Championed ancillary technology acquisition.
Supervised four engineers (three senior) and two tech writers.
Technologies: C++, Visual Basic (VB/VBA), HTML/PHP/Perl, SQL Server/MySQL/Access, Windows NT/2K, MacOS, UNIX.
Senior Technology Manager
Disney Interactive, Burbank CA
Disney Interactive creates and distributes the world’s most popular family-based computer games.
Directed internal and external software teams on titles including Lion King Activity Center and Mulan
Animated StoryBook. Technical liaison for producers, artists, and audio staff. Distributed division-wide
information on international advances in technology. Screened and approved external developers.
Supervised three technology managers (one senior) and five engineers.
Technologies: C, C++, assembly (PowerPC, 680x0, 80x86), Windows 9x, MacOS.
10/95 – 6/99
Résumé
Technology Executive/Senior Engineer
David Zobel / 3
Activision, Los Angeles CA
6/93 – 10/95
Activision is a leading developer and publisher of action and strategy computer games.
Directed technology on the network version of MechWarrior 2, the MPEG port of Return to Zork, and
Activision’s universal software installer. Developed cross-platform engine enhancements, network modules,
and prototyping and development tools. Approved specifications and assessed risks. Analyzed new
platforms: PlayStation, 3DO, Sega Saturn, multimedia PC, RealMagic full-motion video card.
Created internal engineering standards and supervised software consultants.
Technologies: C, assembly, DOS internals, Windows 3.x/9x, TCP/IP.
Senior Software Engineer/Principal Engineer
various, Los Angeles and Santa Clara CA
7/84 — 6/93
Network management systems: Managed hardware integration testing on an Air Force network. Credited with
programming the world’s first complete implementation of military-standard RFC 1038 Revised IP Security Option.
Database management systems: Ported dBASE to three distinct operating systems. Built a modular DBMS for a local
business, now in worldwide use.
Robotics and integrated circuit design: Doubled the speed of a real-time thin-film deposition system. Lectured and
advised students in a VLSI design course.
Disk compression utility bundled with DOS 6 and later acquired by Microsoft.
Seatback PC/telephone network used in commercial jetliners and on the trading floor of the Chicago Board of Trade.
Multimedia and 3D graphics: One of the earliest retail fractal generators for the Amiga. MPEG ports of two adventure
games—originally programmed entirely in French.
Massively parallel operating systems for hypercube- and matrix-architecture multiprocessor systems.
Patented optical character recognition software for separating joined characters, now found in one out of every three
desktop OCR devices.