BC
Brandon Coffey

Building High-Performance Real-Time Graphics & Immersive Worlds

Specializing in Unreal Engine, Unity, custom shaders, and cross-platform XR pipelines. Bridging the gap between cutting-edge visual fidelity and reliable systems engineering.

Brandon Coffey

Brandon Coffey

UT Dallas MFA • VAST Lab

Primary Toolkit:
Unreal EngineUnityC++C#PythonHLSL
Connect:

Featured Highlights

Award-winning VR Experiences, training simulations, and interactive projects.

Thumbnail for UTD Campus Digital Twin
2024Released
UnityC#MayaBlenderWebVRMobile

UTD Campus Digital Twin

Technical Artist & Programmer

Interactive Metaverse Digital Twin of the Edith Oโ€™Donnell ATEC Building

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Thumbnail for UTD Vivarium Digital Twin
2025Ongoing
Unreal Engine 5BlueprintBlenderSubstance PainterPC

UTD Vivarium Digital Twin

Technical Artist & Programmer

High-Fidelity Virtual Twin of an Advanced Biomedical Research Facility

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Thumbnail for XR Technical Operations Training
2025Ongoing
UnityC#MRTK3OpenXRAndroid StudioJavaAutodesk MayaVuzix M4000Magic Leap 2Microsoft HoloLens 2RealWear Navigator Z1Meta Quest 3

XR Technical Operations Training

Lead Developer & XR Researcher • Federal Aviation Administration

Augmented Reality Training & Human Factors Research for Aviation Maintenance

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Thumbnail for OpenWater Sports
2025In Development
UnityC#UGSBlenderPCMobile

OpenWater Sports

Lead Programmer & Networking Engineer • OKC Riversport

Interactive Whitewater & Athletic Training Simulation

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Thumbnail for Woodbearers of Chimayo VR
2024Released
Unreal Engine 5BlenderPhotogrammetryPCPCVR

Woodbearers of Chimayo VR

Lead Developer & Technical Artist • New Mexico Museum of Art | Vladem Contemporary

Immersive Virtual Reality Museum Experience Stepping Inside a Painting

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Thumbnail for VR 9/11 Memorial
2026Released
UnityC#BlenderVRMeta Quest 3

VR 9/11 Memorial

Lead Technical Artist & Programmer • UT Dallas Military and Veterans Center

Immersive Historical Commemoration & Virtual Exhibition

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Thumbnail for Death Bloom
2023Released
UnrealPC

Death Bloom

Lead Programmer

First Person Horror Puzzle Game

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Thumbnail for Tobor Quest
2022Released
UnityC#PC

Tobor Quest

Lead Programmer

Whacky Car Platforming Time Trial Game

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Thumbnail for Kitty City
2023Released
UnityC#MayaMeta Quest Pro / 3Spatial AnchorsMeta Quest ProMeta Quest 3

Kitty City

Lead Developer & Technical Artist

Augmented Reality Cats at the New Mexico Museum of Art

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Professional Experience

Track record of research grants, museum installations, and collaborative engineering.

VAST Lab (UT Dallas)

Lead Technical Artist & XR Programmer

Richardson, TX

Architecting interactive extended reality simulations, museum exhibits, and digital twin pipelines for high-profile institutions including the FAA and NM Museum of Art.

  • Lead developer on $5M FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute grant research studying AR ergonomic tolerances in aviation maintenance.
  • Spearheaded award-winning immersive exhibitions for the New Mexico Museum of Art (Judy Chicago 'Kitty City' AR, 'Woodbearers' VR).
  • Authored automated DCC-to-engine rigging pipelines and editor tools that accelerated team delivery by over 40%.
๐Ÿ…5ร— Davey Awards (1 Gold, 4 Silver)๐Ÿ…UTD ROAR Research Award 2026๐Ÿ…Communicator Award 2025
Explore VAST Lab Projects โ†’
Multimodal Interaction Lab (MI Lab)

VR Programmer & Researcher

Richardson, TX

Engineered multi-sensory virtual reality systems integrating mid-air ultrasound haptics and thermal feedback alongside Computer Science PhD researchers.

  • Built networked digital twins synchronizing physical laboratory spaces with virtual Meta Quest environments via IoT telemetry.
  • Implemented scientific flow data visualization in Unity using UltraLeap acoustic radiation pressure arrays.
  • Co-authored research papers presented at ACM VRST '21 and VRST '22.
๐Ÿ…VRST 2022 Best Poster Award๐Ÿ…MI Lab Outstanding Accomplishments Award
Explore MI Lab Projects โ†’
UT Dallas โ€” Bass School

Graduate Teaching Assistant & Academic Outreach

Richardson, TX

Mentoring multi-disciplinary student cohorts, delivering guest lectures on real-time rendering, and demonstrating lab research to VIP delegations.

  • Graduate Teaching Assistant for Small Group Game Lab (Spring 2025), guiding student cohorts through milestone-driven agile sprints.
  • Delivered guest lectures on technical art pipelines, shader writing, and tool automation in Unreal Engine and Unity.
  • Conducted over 28 VIP lab showcases and research demonstrations for institutional partners including the Texas House & Senate, State Farm, and Perot Museum.
๐Ÿ…$5M+ Grant Research Contributor
View Full Curriculum Vitae โ†’
UTD Game Lab

Lead Gameplay Programmer

Richardson, TX

Directed programming teams in multi-disciplinary studio cohorts (40+ artists, animators, and designers) releasing polished 3D titles on strict deadlines.

  • Architected modular player locomotion, procedural camera rigs, and extensible gameplay state machines in Unreal Engine and Unity.
  • Established multi-branch Git workflow and continuous integration practices across all developer sub-teams.
  • Profiled runtime bottlenecks, mitigating canvas raycasting overhead and optimizing mesh draw calls for 60fps locked targets.

About & Technical Skills

Bridging Art & Systems

I am a Lead Technical Artist and Graphics/XR Programmer who thrives at the intersection of aesthetic fidelity and robust systems architecture. Whether developing real-time shaders in HLSL, crafting custom Maya rigging tools in Python, or profiling rendering passes for standalone VR headsets, I build solutions that empower teams and delight users.

Currently pursuing an MFA in Game Development at The University of Texas at Dallas, following a B.A. in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication with a Computer Science minor.

My work with the VAST Lab has been recognized with 5ร— Davey Awards, the 2026 UTD ROAR Research Award, and featured in The New York Times, Fox News, and 12 peer-reviewed IEEE/ACM publications.

Languages & Shading

C++C#HLSL / GLSLPython (PyMel/Qt)JavaTypeScriptSQL

Engines & Graphics APIs

Unreal Engine 5UnityMRTK3 / OpenXRVulkanOpenGLWebXR

DCC & Pipeline Tools

Autodesk MayaHoudiniBlenderNukeSubstance PainterGit / Perforce

Specializations & Systems

Custom Shader Graph / Material NodesDigital Twins & IoT SyncUltrasound HapticsPerformance OptimizationEditor Scripting

Get In Touch

I'm currently seeking new opportunities and am always open to connecting with fellow developers and creatives. Feel free to send me an email.

Say Hello