Toronto, Canada · Open to remote roles

Software engineer

Zhili Mai

[email protected] · github.com/mai1015 · linkedin.com/in/zhili-mai-361066136 · www.mai1015.com/resume

I build backend services, Rust developer tools and game clients. I work in Go, TypeScript, Rust and C++, and connect APIs, data workflows and client code with the builds and releases that ship them.

[email protected] GitHub LinkedIn Blog PDF
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All work, across three kinds of role.

What I work in

Backend and full stack

  • Go with Gin, Kratos and GORM
  • TypeScript with NestJS and LoopBack 4
  • React and Next.js
  • PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, BullMQ
  • REST APIs and event indexing

Rust and developer tools

  • Rust with Tokio, Actix Web and Reqwest
  • Serde, Clap, typed SDK and API models
  • Asset packaging and streaming uploads
  • Anchor programs and event processing
  • Tauri desktop apps

Game client and engine

  • C++ and Unreal Engine
  • CEF browser integration
  • Lua runtime and debugging
  • Godot and C++ GDExtension
  • CMake, Unreal Automation Tool

Delivery and operations

  • Docker and Kubernetes
  • GitLab CI and Drone CI
  • Build, cook and packaging workflows
  • Release and version automation
  • Git and Linux

Selected work

Three samples from paid work, then independent projects. The rest of my client and employer work is described under Experience.

Contract work · 2024 – present

Anamon

A game with squads, quests, map exploration and tradable cards. I built its backend and worked on the web client.

  • Go game services for squads, levels, map exploration, energy, items, quests, rewards, friends and card trading, on PostgreSQL and Redis.
  • A NestJS card backend with persistent match identity, durable retries and safeguards around match finalization and rewards.
  • Rust/Anchor programs on Solana for card packs, rewards, redemption and escrow, with a Rust event stream that decodes game events.
  • Web client work in Next.js: wallet sign-in, the embedded Unity game, a slot mini-game with claim and mint, and pack opening.

Go · PostgreSQL · Redis · NestJS · MongoDB · BullMQ · Rust · Anchor · Next.js

Slot mini-game shown with sample data in place of the live API. Game art is by the studio's artists.

LDFPlayer
ERC-1155 player shares, pausable.
LDFExchange
Prices trades from currency and share reserves. Buys are signed; fees go to the treasury.
LDFPlayerPack
ERC-1155 packs.
LDFPackOpen
Fulfils signed pack-open requests with player shares.
LDFContest
Paid entry. Winners claim with a Merkle proof; entries are refunded if a contest is cancelled.
LDFTournamentRegistry
Signed tournament registration.
LDFTreasury
Holds fees and tokens for operations.
LDFAccessManager
One set of roles across every contract.

UUPS upgradeable · OpenZeppelin · Foundry · Base

LeaguesContract suite

Contract work · 2025

Leagues

A fantasy sports platform where player shares trade on-chain. I wrote its smart contracts and worked across the backend, app and indexers.

  • Upgradeable Solidity contracts for player shares, packs, an exchange, paid contests and tournament registration, with EIP-712 signatures for buys, pack opening and registration.
  • Go APIs on Gin, GORM, PostgreSQL and Redis for player stats, lineups, contests and tournaments.
  • TypeScript indexers for trades, candles, supply and pack transfers, and a React trading app with smart-wallet and paymaster support.

Solidity · Foundry · OpenZeppelin · Go · PostgreSQL · Redis · TypeScript · React

The figure lists the contracts and what each one does.

Full-time work · Helix · 2023

HELIX land maps

Tooling that rendered a map image for every parcel in the HELIX land collection.

  • A React and TypeScript view places each parcel on a styled 3D city map with its address, area and tier.
  • A Puppeteer script runs ten parallel workers over the collection and writes one image per parcel, about 15,000 in all.
  • Upload scripts push the results to S3-compatible object storage and to IPFS.

React · TypeScript · Google Maps · Puppeteer · MinIO · IPFS

Six of the generated images.

Open source · Public beta

Forge

A local-first workflow engine for coding agents, written in Rust.

  • Runs each agent task through a lifecycle of todo, in progress, review, merging and done, with an audit log and cancellation paths.
  • Gives every task its own isolated git worktree, and blocks merge until the task's CI steps pass review.
  • Ships a REST API, an MCP endpoint, a CLI and a React web UI in one binary, with SQLite persistence.

Rust · SQLite · REST · MCP · React

github.com/ForgeAILab/forge

Open source

Smith and Agent Runtime

A terminal coding agent, and the Rust runtime underneath it.

  • Smith has a TUI and a headless mode, with layered configuration, coding tools, workspace and approval boundaries, and session continuity.
  • Agent Runtime is the reusable part: provider integration, the tool loop, cancellation, checkpoints, context handling and usage accounting, with deterministic testing.
  • The same runtime is shared by three products: Smith, Nyx and Forge.

Rust · TUI · Provider adapters · Deterministic tests

ForgeAILab/smith ForgeAILab/agent-runtime

Game · Playable local slice

Zerkov

An extraction game in Godot 4, built around an offline raid loop.

  • One continuous path: title, bunker, loadout, deployment, combat and looting, extraction or death, summary, and back home.
  • Game systems for combat, grid inventory, raid progression, enemy AI and persistent player state with local saves.
  • HUD, inventory, tasks, maps and summary screens are bound to real local game state.

Godot 4 · Local saves · Native UI

Private repository. Multiplayer is outside the current slice.

Desktop app · In development

NovelKit

A local-first writing desk for long fiction, with a setting wiki beside the manuscript.

  • A React and CodeMirror editor on Tauri, with Rust commands as the only local file I/O boundary.
  • Projects are plain Markdown folders with a derived SQLite index for the wiki of characters, places and plot threads.
  • Hovering a name in the manuscript opens its card, and AI-assisted flows continue the text with that context.

Tauri 2 · Rust · React · TypeScript · CodeMirror 6 · SQLite

Private repository.

More projects

NyxRust

Self-hosted agent platform with chat adapters, provider integration, workflows, vector-memory options and WASM plugins.

FrameRillReact · Tauri · Rust

Video editor foundation with SQLite project persistence, an FFmpeg and Whisper pipeline, and preview and scrubbing performance work. In development.

rust-releaseRust

File comparison and hash library with asynchronous processing.

GitHub

SparkTypeScript · Bun

Project scaffolding and a composable pack registry in a Bun monorepo.

GitHub

WorkbenchNestJS · React

Plugin application with calendar and task widgets, a Kanban board, Docker and systemd deployment, and MCP publication.

Furry Culture2020 – 2021

Community web services: Spring and React Native services, Keycloak identity, self-hosted GitLab and Docker CI/CD, OAuth and object storage.

Native Godot addonsC++ · GDExtension

Reusable modules for gameplay abilities, inventory and weapon mechanics, with deterministic state and bounded protocols.

Hold Till DawnGodot · C#

Survival game work covering settlement, combat and playable milestones.

WorldTypeScript

Colony simulation with job and logistics systems.

VoxelWorldUnreal Engine 4 · C++

Prototype with gameplay actors, GameMode and Pawn, plugin and Blueprint work.

Experience and education

Oct 2024 – Present

Self-employed

Contract developer for a game studio. Several products developed under separate names.

Blockchain and Backend Developer

  • Designed and built the backend for all of the studio's games, from initial design through delivery.
  • Developed Go game services for player progression, squads, quests, map interactions, rewards and card trading.
  • Implemented Rust/Anchor card-pack and reward programs, with supporting Rust event-processing modules.

Feb 2026 – Mar 2026

Duo

Confidential client. Part-time.

AI Agent Platform Developer

  • Primary developer, with a second engineer reviewing. Built the NestJS control plane and Cloudflare Worker sandbox runtime for a multi-tenant AI assistant: agent orchestration, BullMQ chat processing, approvals, sandbox lifecycle and persistent workspace storage.
  • Added user-scoped integrations, credit usage tracking and React chat and session interfaces.

Dec 2022 – Oct 2024

Helix

Game platform. Later part-time work through January 2026.

Game Client, Creator Tools and Platform Development

  • Implemented Unreal client and studio integration changes across player controllers, game instance, main-menu game modes and native client code.
  • Built a Rust creator CLI, the Bifrost upload service and an HTTP SDK for asset packaging, streaming uploads, validation and retry handling.
  • Developed a Go/Kratos inventory service with NFT item and address APIs, contract-event handling, PostgreSQL/Redis integration and deployment tooling.
  • Maintained CI, release and client deployment tooling across platform and studio updates.

Oct 2020 – Dec 2022

Dataraction

Backend Developer

  • Developed website backend services using LoopBack 4 microservices.
  • Built the backend for a live interaction room where users chat and interact in real time.
  • Coordinated backend APIs across multiple teams and produced API documentation for integration work.
  • Supported Kubernetes deployment and management for the microservices.

2025

York University

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

Open source contributions

Merged pull requests in other people's projects.

ZeroClawRust agent runtime

Agent-managed scheduling with cron, at and interval job kinds, six job-management tools, a migration and run history.

#293

ZeroClawRust agent runtime

Native structured tool calling for the OpenRouter and Anthropic providers, with provider test updates.

#274

ZeroClawRust agent runtime

Verbose logging and observability work.

#251

CoduxAgent terminal

Agent lifecycle indicators and terminal and task layout fixes.

#36

godot-minigameGodot WeChat export

iOS pixel-ratio handling, loading-progress normalization and loading-frame behavior.

#2

godot-minigameGodot WeChat export

Guard against synchronous registration of long audio streams, which was associated with input stalls.

#3

HybridAuthPHP social login

QQ authentication provider.

#1134

Nextcloud social loginNextcloud app

QQ login integration, provider autoload changes and localization.

#143#144#145

n8n Bark noden8n community node

Notification grouping.

#2

Contact

[email protected]

github.com/mai1015 LinkedIn mai1015.com PDF

Toronto, Canada. Open to remote roles in backend and full stack, Rust and developer tools, and game client work.