Senior Software Engineer

Vladimir Chopine

Full-stack systems. AI-native engineering.

A decade of technical leadership at Hughes Network Systems — architecting, reviewing, and shipping production software — now building agentic systems daily with Claude Code, Cursor, and MCP.

Salt Lake City, UT · Open to remote or relocation

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Years technical leadership at Hughes

400+

GitHub stars, 85+ repositories

1996

Building self-learning systems since

96K+

Developers and artists taught

Summary

For the last decade I’ve been a senior engineer and technical lead at Hughes Network Systems — owning architecture, code review, and mentoring more than ten engineers, several of whom moved into senior roles. I was the first there to adopt agentic AI programming, and I built the internal education that brought the rest of the team with me.

That sits on decades of production software — Ruby on Rails, Angular, React, TypeScript, Node.js, and AWS — and a long habit of arriving early. In 1996 I built a self-learning weighted-logic system on personal hardware. I was working with DALL·E in 2022, paying for OpenAI API access by April 2023, and treating agentic tools as production instruments rather than novelties.

Featured projects

Independent engineering, designed and shipped outside of day-job employment.

Mesh / Security

HiveLink / Ash-Mesh

Self-healing mesh-network security

Self-healing mesh for ESP32-class devices, LoRa, and MQTT — detect and quarantine compromised nodes without human intervention.
Seven-state quarantine machine, federated trust lists, and a decoy-data generator. Offensive capability was deliberately declined.

ESP32LoRaMQTT AEADSystems security

Analytics

EventFlow Analytics

Real-time UX friction detection

Client tracker, Express ingestion API, and a React dashboard capturing clicks, scroll, and timing in real time.
Friction overlay as a live heatmap, with client-side PII filtering so passwords and payment fields never leave the browser.

ReactNode.jsExpress Vite

Creative tools

Image Express

Open-source AI-native design platform

A creative workspace orchestrating local and cloud generative models — canvas, retouching, 3D layers, and production export.
Owned solo end to end. Live at imageexpress.xyz.

Generative AIOpen sourceComfyUI

Agentic

TripCraft

SaaS, built end-to-end with agentic tools

Next.js / Tailwind / Vercel application built live with Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Kiro, Continue.dev, and Ollama.
A demonstration of production-grade output from AI-native development — not a prototype dump.

Next.jsTailwindClaude Code Cursor

38 repositories, 174+ stars on GitHub →

Experience

Senior Software Engineer — Hughes Network Systems

Aug 2014 – Present

Enterprise training, management systems, and consumer-facing media signage. Greater Salt Lake City Area.

Led full-stack development in Ruby on Rails, Angular, React, TypeScript, and Node.js at enterprise scale.
Technical lead on a small engineering team — architecture, code review, and delivery.
Mentored 10+ engineers; several promoted into senior roles.
AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD. First to adopt agentic AI programming; built the internal education around it.
Satellite realignment UI through a successful launch; currently building a digital-signage platform end to end.

Founder & sole developer — Geekatplay Studio

2001 – Present

Digital production and engineering lab. Salt Lake City, UT.

Originate the ideas, build the technology, and direct the creative side end to end.
HiveLink mesh-network security architecture; 38 public repositories covering AI tooling and automation.
Sponsor-management automation handling 48 active deals. Teaching practice reaching 96,000+.

Earlier: Senior UI Developer, Softwise · Senior Interactive Technologist, Merit Medical Systems · Senior UI Developer & Art Director, iCentris — plus full-stack and backend roles across financial services, healthcare, advertising, semiconductor, and gaming.

Skills

Languages

JavaScript / TypeScriptPythonRuby JavaC#SQLPHP

Frontend

ReactNext.jsAngular TailwindHTML/CSS

Backend

Node.jsRuby on RailsASP.NET MVC REST APIsMicroservices

Cloud / DevOps

AWSDockerKubernetes CI/CDGitHub Actions

AI / LLM

LangGraphLangChainMCP OpenAI APIAnthropic APIRAG Claude CodeCursor

Hardware / IoT

ESP32LoRaMQTT Mesh networkingAEAD

Credentials

SIGGRAPH

Speaker

Focal Press

Contributor, 2 titles

IMDb

Film credits

Teaching & community

Alongside engineering roles, I’ve built a technical-education practice at Geekatplay Studio — 3,000+ tutorials and a 96,000+ audience across English and Russian YouTube channels, with training used by artists at ILM, Blizzard, DreamWorks, and Ubisoft.

I was teaching prompting for the first wave of AI image models in 2022, and I’m publishing on agentic and ComfyUI workflows now. Same practice, same audience, three years apart.

Geekatplay Studio → YouTube → Channel network → GitHub →

Digital Artist & Photographer

Vladimir Chopine

Capturing moments, creating art.

Welcome to Chopine Photography, where every frame tells a story and every moment becomes timeless art. With over three decades behind the lens, the work lives in theatrical portraiture — Baroque, Rococo, and Victorian elegance — and in the places photography meets invented worlds.

Salt Lake City, UT · By appointment only

View portfolio Book a session (801) 231-1773 Galleries

35+

Years experience behind the lens

5,000+

Photo sessions

Collections in the live gallery

100%

Satisfaction

The artist behind the lens

My passion lies in theatrical portraiture — bringing to life the elegance of Baroque, the whimsy of Rococo, and the grandeur of Victorian aesthetics. Each photograph is a collaboration between artist and subject, a dance of light and shadow that reveals the soul within.

From intimate portraits to grand events, from fantastical cosplay to apocalyptic visions, every project is approached with the same dedication to excellence and artistic integrity. The best photographs capture not just the image, but the essence of the moment.

Portfolio

Collections from Chopine Photography. Open the full galleries on the photography site.

Theatrical

Theatrical portraits

Baroque · Rococo · Victorian artistry

Period-inspired sittings where costume, light, and posture do the storytelling. Each frame is directed like a still from a film that was never made.

PortraitPeriodStudio lighting

Portraits

Timeless portraits that reveal the soul

Quiet, precise character studies — built to hold as a print. Intimate sessions and formal commissions.

PortraitPrintEditorial

Compositing

Compositing works

Creative composites and VFX imagery

Photography married to invented worlds — digital backdrops, matte painting, and layered composites as finished pictures.

PhotoshopVFXMatte painting

Concept

Post-apocalyptic

Conceptual and themed sessions

Cosplay, steampunk, and cinematic worlds. Character, grit, and light designed as one picture — closer to a frame of cinema than a snapshot.

ConceptCosplayNarrative

Also in the archive: Events, Promos, and the full galleries at chopinephotography.com →

Practice

Photographer — Chopine Photography

1990s – Present

Theatrical portraiture, events, commercial, and conceptual work. Salt Lake City, Utah.

5,000+ sessions: portraits, period work, events, promotional, and concept shoots.
Specialty in Baroque, Rococo, and Victorian theatrical portraiture.
Cosplay and post-apocalyptic concept work directed with cinematic lighting.
Commercial and promotional photography for brands and campaigns.

Digital compositing & VFX imagery

Ongoing

Photography married to invented worlds.

Creative composites, digital backdrops, and matte painting as finished pictures — not filters.
Integration of digital renders with live photography.

Also: Event coverage · Promotional campaigns · Sessions by appointment · (801) 231-1773 · contact@chopinephotography.com

Services

Sessions

Portrait sessionsTheatrical portraits Event coverageCosplay photography

Concept & commercial

Post-apocalypticSteampunk FantasyPromotionalBrand photography

Craft

Studio lightingCompositing VFX imageryPeriod styling

Recognition

SIGGRAPH

Speaker

Focal Press

Two titles

IMDb

Film credits

What clients say

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” — Edgar Degas

Working with Chopine Photography was an absolutely magical experience. The attention to detail and artistic vision brought my Victorian portrait dreams to life in ways I never imagined possible.
Elizabeth Montgomery · Theatrical portrait client

The cosplay photos exceeded all expectations. Every shot looked like it belonged in a professional magazine. The understanding of character and lighting is unmatched.
Sarah Chen · Cosplay enthusiast

Our wedding photos are absolute treasures. Every emotion, every detail was captured with such artistry. These aren’t just photos — they’re heirlooms.
James & Maria Rodriguez · Wedding clients

The promotional shots for our brand campaign were stunning. Professional, creative, and delivered on time. We’ve already booked our next session.
Michael Torres · Marketing director

Chopine Photography → Book a session →

Educator & Presenter

Geekatplay Studio

Professional 3D training for visionary artists

Geekatplay Studio brings 35+ years of film, VFX, and design experience into focused tutorials. Build cinematic worlds, refine photo-real composites, and level up 3D storytelling — the same checkpoints, peer reviews, and delivery standards used inside professional productions.

Trusted by artists from ILM · Blizzard · DreamWorks · Ubisoft

Browse tutorials YouTube Talk with us All channels

104+

On-demand tutorial series

3,000+

Episodes and workshops released

Focus areas, Vue to Photoshop

35 yrs

Production experience

The studio

Each collection moves from concept to final grade so artists can ship cinematic environments with confidence. Founders Vladimir and Ami Chopine have authored Focal Press titles including 3D Art Essentials and Vue 7: From the Ground Up, with techniques featured in 3D World Magazine, Mac User, and Digital Image Magazine.

The catalog documents modern pipelines for Vue, Terragen, World Machine, Photoshop, and beyond — production-grade training used by studio artists worldwide, with project files and assets included so the lesson survives the pause button.

Catalog highlights

Browse by discipline on Geekatplay. Four of the flagship libraries:

Vue

Cinematic environments

Vue · Epic Landscapes

Craft cinematic worlds inside Vue — atmospheres, terrains, and lighting pipelines that hold up in production stills and film-style matte work.

VueEnvironmentsLighting

Photoshop

Compositing & retouching

Adobe Photoshop collections

Photo-real composites, digital backdrops, and retouching workflows for artists and photographers — from Camera Raw through finished illustration.

PhotoshopCompositingRetouching

Terragen

Natural worlds

Terragen · realistic environments

Rendering and animating natural environments — the Terragen library for artists who need believable skies, terrains, and atmosphere.

TerragenAtmosphereLookdev

World Machine

Terrain pipelines

World Machine · production terrains

Build realistic 3D terrains and integrate them with Vue, Photoshop, and matte-painting workflows used on professional deliveries.

World MachineTerrainsPipeline

Full catalog — Photokey, Hexagon, Filter Forge, Cinema 4D, and more — at geekatplay.com →

Studio

Founder & presenter — Geekatplay Studio

2001 – Present

3D tutorials and digital art training. English and Russian channels.

3,000+ tutorial episodes and workshops across 18 focus areas.
104+ on-demand series with downloadable project files and assets.
Training used by artists at ILM, Blizzard, DreamWorks, Ubisoft, Lucasfilm, Disney, and Sony Pictures.

Author & speaker

Published

Focal Press, SIGGRAPH, and the trade press.

Focal Press: 3D Art Essentials (Ami Chopine) and Vue 7: From the Ground Up, the official Vue guide.
Articles and interviews in 3D World Magazine, Mac User, and Digital Image Magazine.
SIGGRAPH speaker. Studio-wide training programs, one-on-one coaching, and pipeline audits.

Also: Lead, Adobe digital-photographers user group (Salt Lake City) — monthly workshops for 200+ local creatives · IMDb film credits.

Craft

Environments

VueTerragenWorld Machine The Plant FactoryCity Engine

2D & compositing

Adobe PhotoshopPhotokey Pro Filter ForgePhotomatix

3D tools taught

HexagonCinema 4DModo Daz StudioPoser

How we help

Studio-wide trainingCoaching Pipeline auditsProduction assets

Published & featured

Focal Press

Two titles

SIGGRAPH

Speaker

3D World

Magazine features

What artists say

Geekatplay is a goldmine for Vue artists. Tutorials are thoughtful, detailed, and freely shared with the community.
Digital Image Magazine · Review

Your tutorials sparked my love for Vue. Each new series helps me push my environments further.
Bob Lovell · Artist

Thank you for the outstanding Hexagon training. It is hands-down the best resource I have found.
Daniel Gilliland · Artist

Filter Forge tips from Geekatplay transformed our onboarding for new artists.
Mark Evdokimov · Filter Forge, Inc.

Studios we have collaborated with

Geekatplay Studio → YouTube → Channel network → contact@geekatplay.com