Michael Galbraith Purvis
Forward Deployed Engineer · Real-Time & Applied-AI Systems
Fort Collins, CO · open to remote
founder@contextarcana.com
Experience
20 yrs
UE perf win
8→60 fps
Teams led
3–5 eng
Shipped
Solar Ash
Forward deployed engineer with 20 years building real-time, interactive, and AI-driven systems — from Unreal Engine HMI shipped in production vehicles to live MetaHuman + LLM-agent platforms. I parachute into ambiguous, early-stage problems, integrate messy systems end-to-end, and lead small teams to delivery. A deep C++/Unreal specialist now fluent in applied agentic AI and high-leverage LLM-assisted development, I also run Context Arcana — designing AI-native websites, automation, and agentic workflows for growing businesses.
Skills
Real-Time & 3D Engineering
Unreal Engine 5 (C++/Blueprint)Pixel StreamingMetaHumanQt / QMLShaders & materialsWebGL
Applied AI & Agentic Systems
Agentic AI integrationLLM-assisted developmentRAG / context systemsConversational AIPrompt engineeringComputer vision (OpenCV)
Languages & Platforms
C++C#PythonJavaScript / TypeScriptSQLNode.js · Vue · GraphQL
AI Strategy & Delivery
AI needs assessment & roadmapsWorkflow & process automationStripe commerce automationTechnical team leadership & hiring3rd-party studio delivery
Selected Work
Experience
Founder & Principal Engineer · Context Arcana LLC
May 2026 – Present
Growth for small business through AI-native websites, automation, and AI integration.
- Design and ship AI-native websites and automation pipelines for small-business clients, from architecture through deployment.
- Deliver applied-AI integrations (LLM workflows, content and automation systems) that replace manual work and accelerate client growth.
Staff Real-Time Software Engineer (Pre-Seed) · Prodigy Labs — The Art of Intelligence
Oct 2025 – Jun 2026
Built the real-time MetaHuman layer of an AI-mentor platform fusing Unreal Engine Pixel Streaming with a cloud agentic LLM backend.
- Implemented MetaHuman behavior and animation blending for live conversational sessions.
- Built the RPC link between Unreal Engine and the cloud agent; debugged Pixel Streaming performance and graphics.
Director of Engineering (Pre-Seed) · Grimigeon Games
Jun 2025 – Apr 2026
Led gameplay engineering and technical direction for a UE5 studio as part of founding leadership; set technical pillars and ran engineering hiring.
Senior Software Engineer (Contract) · Mercor Intelligence
Jan 2025 – Aug 2025
Authored prompts and evaluations to train advanced AI models on complex C++/Python software-engineering tasks; built AI developer-productivity tooling.
Lead HMI Software Engineer · Canoo
Nov 2021 – Jan 2025
Led a 3-engineer UI/HMI team delivering the in-vehicle main touchscreen and dash-display interfaces across 3 vehicle programs.
- Owned HMI architecture in C++, Qt/QML, and Unreal Engine (API Gear meta-programming, UE shader/material work).
- Ran hiring, engineering interview panels, mentoring, and internal demos; drove team standards.
8→60+ fps
Unreal Engine on NXP i.MX8 automotive hardware
Senior Systems Engineer · Heart Machine
Apr 2021 – Nov 2021
Shipped Solar Ash (PS4 / PS5 / PC, Dec 2021): UI and systems programming in Unreal Engine C++ and Blueprints.
Software Engineer IV → Team Lead · Konami Gaming, Inc.
Jun 2019 – Apr 2021
Team Lead in Games R&D; C++ development and debugging for video slot machine games.
- Managed a team of 5 engineers; led tasking, mentoring, interviewing, planning, and time budgeting.
- Managed and trained 3rd-party studios on Konami's development process and hardware, driving their on-platform delivery.
Senior Game Programmer / Team Lead · United Power
Aug 2018 – Jun 2019
Team lead and JavaScript game programmer for a web-based MMO.
- PlayCanvas, Vue, Apollo/GraphQL, HTML5, WebGL shader programming.
Software Engineer III · Konami Gaming, Inc.
Feb 2017 – Aug 2018
C++ development and debugging for video slot machine games.
- Evaluated Unreal Engine 4 and prototyped for a next-gen game platform.
- Built internal C# tooling.
Earlier Experience
Jul 2016 – Jan 2017
Simulation Software Developer · TecMasters, Inc. — C++ programming for modeling & simulation applications; GUI work with GTK.
Aug 2015 – Jul 2016
Simulation Software Developer · Alatec, Inc. — C++ refactoring from legacy C to modern object-oriented C++ to meet military requirements.
Oct 2013 – Jul 2015
Software Engineer III · Midnight Studios — Designed and led development for a small UE4 arcade game; AAA UI contributions.
Mar 2012 – Oct 2013
Principal Software Engineer · Janus Research Group — Promoted from Senior Engineer; Unreal Engine 3 / C++ / UnrealScript gameplay systems.
Oct 2011 – Mar 2012
Software Analyst III · Alatec, Inc. — Java 2D graphics for military simulation; engineering documentation automation.
Nov 2009 – Oct 2011
Senior Software Engineer / Project Lead · Chickasaw Nation Industries — Designed and developed an Intelligent Agent military simulation and led the project.
Dec 2008 – Nov 2009
Software Analyst I · Alatec, Inc. — Wargame and ground-combat simulation programming; built a GUI tool suite for scenario creation for COMBATXI.
Sep 2006 – Oct 2008
Application Programmer · Lifetouch National Studios — Office automation for assembly and printing using C#, VB, SQL, and .NET.
May 2007 – Aug 2007
Intern Programmer · White Wolf / CCP North America — Developed a combat-system prototype for the MMO World of Darkness (Python in EVE engine).
Education
The Art Institutes of California (San Francisco, CA)
Sep 2005 – Dec 2008
B.S. — Visual & Game Programming · GPA 3.5
Heald Institute of Technology (San Francisco, CA)
Jan 1994 – Jul 1996
A.S. — Electronics Technology · GPA 3.8
Certifications
Applied Agentic AI for Software Engineers · Interview Kickstart (2025)
Computer Vision · OpenCV (2025)
Pixar Certificate for RenderMan · Pixar / Autodesk Maya
Service
Specialist E-4, M1A1 Armor Crewmember (19K10), U.S. Army
Jan 1990 – Dec 1993
Operations: Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Desert Defense; Honorable Discharge.