Erik Kranjec

About Myself

A software engineer focused on understanding systems from the ground up. Always seeking to solve problems from first principles. I specialize in low-level systems and high-performance applications, with extensive C++ expertise gained across academic, personal and professional work. Equally skilled with higher-level languages with proven fluency in JavaScript/TypeScript for complex product delivery.

My core interests lie in complex domains like language design, real-time graphics (mostly experienced with SDL and OpenGL), and the challenges of building networked systems and multiplayer games (I implemented one from scratch). Beyond that, I actively enjoy recreational programming and participating in hackathons and CTF challenges. I use these side projects to expand my knowledge and explore new domains. This has provided me with direct experience with modern systems languages like Rust and Go, as well as functional paradigms like Haskell.

email • linkedin • github

Projects

Duel Arena

Networked game with destructible terrain, built from scratch in C++
  • Designed and implemented a turn-based multiplayer architecture in C++, including client–server synchronization and custom message serialization.
  • Built a low-level rendering and UI stack with SDL2, OpenGL, and ImGui, maintaining explicit control over the game loop, frame timing, and input handling.
  • Owned the full system end-to-end: engine structure, networking, rendering, tooling, and debugging of latency and synchronization issues.
repository

NP-Hard Problem Optimization

Heuristic based approaches to solving various NP-Hard problems, using Haskell and C++
  • Implemented a genetic algorithm + Solomon L2 heuristic solver in modern C++ for the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (CVRPTW).
  • Implemented GRASP and Tabu Search for Fantasy Football and Quadratic Assignment problems.
  • Designed custom data structures, fitness evaluation, crossover, and mutation strategies with a focus on performance and scalability.
  • Structured the project as a reusable optimization engine rather than a one-off solution, with clear separation of algorithmic components.
repository

Open Source & Smaller Tools

Automation, developer utilities, and various technical experiments
  • mermaid-erd-to-sql – Added a standalone command-line interface to an existing VS Code extension, enabling headless usage and scripting.
  • ToDoBot – Automation bot project for Discord (with 7 GitHub stars), focused on Discord API integration and maintainability.

Experience

Google — Software Engineering Intern

Linux GUI tooling for MediaPipe & real-time media effects (C++, system-level UI)
  • Designed and implemented a native Linux GUI application in C++ to configure and preview real-time MediaPipe effects, integrating with internal pipelines.
  • Worked close to the system boundary: windowing, rendering loops, input handling, and component interactions between UI and backend pieces.
  • Focused on performance and responsiveness under real-time constraints, debugging frame timing, event loops, and resource usage.
  • Navigated a large, production-grade C++ codebase with strict correctness, style, and review standards.
  • Built an internal developer tool that reduced iteration time on a key workflow by ~10×.

Reactor Studio — Software Engineer

Backend systems for geospatial & meteorological data processing
  • Built a map-based Spot Manager platform enabling creation and management of geo-located entities with configurable attributes.
  • Developed a meteorological weather prediction API integrating spatial queries and forecasting logic with an emphasis on data integrity, observability, and fault tolerance.
  • Prototyped early-stage backend services for processing and serving large-scale geospatial and meteorological datasets, including working with time-series data, spatial queries, and data transformation pipelines where correctness and performance were critical.
  • Tech stack: node.js, TypeScript, Prisma with PostgreSQL, React, leaflet, tailwind

KRTECH — Software Engineer

Backend, databases, and cloud infrastructure for IoT systems
  • Developed backend services in Node.js/TypeScript backed by PostgreSQL for IoT device data ingestion and management.
  • Designed database schemas and queries optimized for reliability and long-running data accumulation.
  • Worked with AWS infrastructure to deploy, monitor, and scale services in production environments.
  • Integrated hardware-facing systems with cloud services, bridging device concerns with backend reliability.
  • Developed web-based projects using React, Next.js, and TypeScript, contributing to production applications from early in the tenure.

Academic & Independent Systems Work

Low-level programming, algorithms, and performance-oriented projects
  • Extensive C++ experience across academic, personal, and professional contexts, with a focus on correctness and explicit control over resources.
  • Regularly explore systems languages like Rust and Go, and functional paradigms like Haskell through side projects, hackathons, and CTF challenges.
  • Strong interest in language design, real-time graphics, networking, and building performance-sensitive systems from first principles.

Yep. That's all (for now :D).