Anthony Avancena-Brigante
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
July 2021
DigiPen Institute of Technology
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Programming Languages:
Modern C++, C, C#, Python
Libraries:
Wwise SDK, ImGui, Qt
Game Engines:
Entity-Component-System (ECS) Architecture, Unreal Engine, Unity
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
ZeniMax Online Studios
Senior Audio Engineer - Unannounced MMORPG
Nov 2021 - July 2025
- Led a three-person audio engineering team in building a State of the Art audio tech stack.
- Mentored associate audio engineers in best practices for our custom engine’s ECS architecture and tool development in Qt.
- Oversaw comprehensive task planning and prioritization for the audio team in collaboration with audio and production leadership.
- Nurtured a culture of technical ownership, serving as the sole technical product owner for audio and championing our sonic vision.
- Implemented an ECS-centric Wwise integration creating a ergonomic event-based API for interacting with the Sound Engine
- Developed a full suite of in-house audio tools and pipelines from the ground up, with a focus on rapid Sound Designer iteration.
- Engineered a background service application that automatically synchronized Wwise Assets with our Engine Asset database
- Invented a robust data assignment pattern for Audio that was promoted to be a core engine feature adopted by multiple teams
- Enabled our Composer to create dynamic musical soundscapes by designing and implementing a highly flexible Music System.
- Rearchitected our Acoustics integration resulting in a more maintainable codebase alongside performance gains of over 100ms.
- Authored a projectile whizzby system with user facing design parameters to allow Sound Designers to express their artistic vision
- Prototyped a dynamic game mix system driven by various pieces of game context such as combatant threat and player significance.
- Built a robust suite of ImGui-based debugging tools for easily visualizing all relevant audio data for any given entity
- Spearheaded dynamic resource loading initiatives and enhanced resource dependency tracking methodologies.
DPS Games
Audio Programmer - Tomorrow Falls
Jan 2021 - July 2021
- Collaborated with the Audio Design team to develop and implement foundational C++ Audio Systems in the Unreal Engine that allowed for a more responsive soundscape
- Architected networked game utilties that consolidated widespread code into a single location for use by all development disciplines.
- Documented both technical design documents and user guides for all implemented audio systems.
- Implemented audio debugging tools to help quickly locate bugs and iterate on features.
- Developed a dynamic whoosh system that triggered sound effects as players passed geometry at high speeds, accurately simulating the Doppler Effect.
Qualcomm
Audio R&D Intern, Multimedia R&D Team
June 2020 - Sept 2020
- Researched methods of minimizing audio motion latency in interactive experiences to provide a more enjoyable and responsive experience for the listener.
- Prototyped new spatial audio streaming technologies to bring high-quality immersive audio experiences to a wider consumer audience.
- Developed a custom end-to-end audio experience in C++ and JavaScript to demonstrate the viability of the prototyped technologies.
Tsugi Studio
Audio Programming Intern
May 2019 - Aug 2019
- Built an application in C# to dynamically generate and compile C++ software for 3 different platforms.
- Optimized C++ DSP Code to achieve a performance increase of ~4900% via Data Oriented Design and SIMD assembly intrinsics.
- Ported C# DSP objects into C++.
- Wrote a C/C++ Fast Fourier Transform capable of using a 4096-byte window in real-time.
AUDIO PROGRAMMING PROJECTS
Granular Synthesizer
March 2019 - May 2019
- Learned the fundementals of the JUCE Audio C++ API
- Implemented an effecient system capable of running 10 large grain clouds simultaniously in real-time.
- Architected a randomization system for a grain’s start/stop positions to create unique sound textures.
HRTF Wwise Plugin
September 2018 - December 2018
- Researched HRTF filter design and architecture to gain experience with spatialization DSP.
- Developed a custom time-domain HRTF plugin in C++ capable of spatializing ~100 concurrent audio sources to allow for creation of more immersive player experiences
- Learned the inner workings of the Wwise Plugin API to expand my understanding of Wwise and it’s API ecosystem.
MIDI Synthesizer
Jan 2017 - May 2017
Course: Introduction to Audio Programming (ECE101L)
- Prograbundlmmed an ARM Microcontroller to be an Additive MIDI Synthesizer.
- Designed a system to parse and understand MIDI Commands in real-time.
- Gained Experienced with Q-Format Integer Math
ACADEMIC GAME PROJECTS
Gameplay Programmer
September 2020 - December 2021
Aster - Team Size: 6
- Developed a Spell Crafting and Combat Game built in Unreal Engine 4 focused on making players feel like a powerful Mage.
- Prototyped a basic Spell interface that helps the team quickly create new and interesting spells.
- Designed a Spell Crafting System implementation that lets players combine spell components to create a variety of unique spells.
Gameplay Programmer | Technical Director
September 2018 - April 2019
Higher Power - Team Size: 7
- Built a VR God Game for the Oculus Rift using Unreal Engine 4.
- Designed and Programmed a C++ Temperature System to provide new and exciting emergent gameplay experiences for our players
- Implemented a Blueprint Wrapper around the Temperature System to help designers quickly tweek and modify the underlying logic.
- Ensured that code quality adhered to style and performance standards by using an Unreal Style Guide.
Core Engine Programmer | Tools Programmer
Sept 2017 - April 2018
Contingency - Team Size: 7
- Created a Custom 2D Game Engine in C++ and OpenGL with a user-friendly API.
- Architected and Implemented a component system for dynamic Game Object Creation to allow for robost and rapid prototyping.
- Designed and Built a scene and game object editor using ImGUI to allow our Game Designers to work in-engine with no programming required.
TEACHING & LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Teacher’s Assistant - Introduction to Audio Programming
Jan 2018 - May 2020
- Mentored over 40 students on the fundementals of audio programming.
- Taught students how to build an Additive MIDI Synthesizer on an ARM microcontroller.
- Graded programming assignments based on high-quality code via style and performance metrics.
ProjectFUN
Lead Instructor - Video Game Programming (AP Computer Science A)
May 2018 - August 2018
- Co-instructed a class of 30 students the foundations of Java through video game programming
- Refined the existing course curriculum to be bought up to date with modern Comp. Sci. content
- Engaged students in hand-on learning of Java programming with well-defined benchmarks and game development milestones
We Connect the Dots (Non-Profit)
Community Ambassador
Jan 2016 - Jan 2017
- Taught a weekly extracurricular TouchDevelop course a class of 20 5th graders to encourage the learning of Computer Science at an early age
- Lectured an audience of 150+ students ranging from 13 - 18 on the basics of Computer Programming
- Presented We Connect the Dots to a panel of Harvard Business School Judges as a part of a venture captial competition