Kyle Smith

About Kyle Smith

Technical artist specializing in developer tools, real-time pipelines, and end-to-end performance optimization for mobile and VR experiences. I currently work at Meta Platforms within Reality Labs on the Horizon Experiences team, helping scale the creator ecosystem behind Horizon Worlds.My work focuses on improving developer and creator experience (DevEx) through automated performance validation systems, scalable animation pipelines, and AI-driven creator workflows. I enjoy building tooling and infrastructure that enable developers and creators to produce immersive worlds while ensuring performance across real-time platforms.Previously at Cruise, I worked on synthetic data generation pipelines used to train and validate perception systems for autonomous vehicles, helping drive the creation of simulated environments and datasets that supported machine learning perception models.Earlier in my career I worked across feature film, commercial, and interactive media as a technical artist and CG pipeline specialist, developing tools and workflows in Maya, Unreal, and Python to support production teams and creative pipelines.I’m particularly interested in developer platforms, creator tooling, and performance systems that enable developers and creators to build scalable interactive experiences

Experience

1. Technical Artist

   Meta

   Aug 2023 — Present · Chicago, IL, US

   Technical Artist — Horizon Experiences, Reality LabsMeta Platforms | 3 yrs | PresentTechnical artist focused on developer tooling, AI workflows, and platform performance systems supporting the Horizon Worlds creator ecosystem.• Built platform-wide performance validation tooling ensuring creator-built avatars and worlds meet mobile and VR runtime constraints.• Developed automated end-to-end performance testing infrastructure for avatars and worlds, enabling scalable validation of user-generated content.• Defined requirements and partnered with engineering teams to improve avatar animation pipelines and runtime systems, optimizing performance and creator usability.• Designed AI-driven agent workflows that automate multi-step creator tasks such as scene setup, asset configuration, and performance validation.• Advocate for developer and creator experience (DevEx) by translating creator feedback into improvements for Horizon’s tooling and platform capabilities.

Education

• DePaul University

  masters, Software Development/Computer Graphics

  2007 — 2011

• Columbia College Chicago

  BFA, Film and Animation

  2000 — 2004

Skills

• Css
• Compositing
• Python
• Renderman Shading Language
• Linux
• 3d
• Java
• Animation
• Motion Builder Api
• Mental Ray
• Unreal Engine 3
• Mac Os
• Visual Effects
• Networking Protocol
• Threading
• C++ Language
• Actionscript
• Rigging
• Mel
• Character Animation
• Video Games
• Windows
• Openmaya
• Opengl
• Gameplay
• Game Development
• Zbrush
• 3d Studio Max
• Maya
• Unity3d
• Directx
• Renderman
• Lighting
• Visual Storytelling
• Computer Animation
• Texturing
• Lua
• Hlsl
• Corona Sdk
• Tortoise Svn