Hi, I am Sebastiano Mandalà—Seb for short—and I am based in Portsmouth, UK.
I offer my experience to game studios that need senior technical expertise without immediately committing to a permanent hire. I worked for a long time with Unity and online free to play games, but my engineering background in C++ and cross-platform game development allows me to contribute effectively in other technical environments as well.
With more than 20 years in game development, I combine hands-on engineering with technical leadership and production experience. I can join a project at any stage, quickly understand the product and codebase, identify the most important technical risks and work with the team to implement practical solutions.
How I can help
Project analysis and technical direction
I review projects, codebases, architecture and development processes to identify technical risks, bottlenecks and areas that may slow down production, including client and backend sides. I then work with the team to define realistic priorities and implement solutions appropriate to the product’s current stage.
I help teams improve how they build, test and iterate their games. This may include refining development workflows, shortening iteration times, improving collaboration between engineering, design and production, and identifying where technical decisions are limiting the product.
For live and free-to-play games, I can also help teams connect development priorities to player behaviour and business goals. This includes reviewing KPIs, forming testable hypotheses and implementing changes intended to improve areas such as retention, engagement, performance and conversion.
High-performance systems development
I design and implement performance-critical game systems where scale, latency or frame time matter. This can include gameplay architecture, large simulations, multiplayer and networking systems, backend integrations and cross-platform features.
Profiling and optimisation
I profile and optimise CPU, GPU, memory, loading times and runtime allocations across mobile, PC and consoles. I can investigate specific performance problems, work directly on the implementation and help the team establish a sustainable optimisation strategy. I am a Data Oriented Design and ECS expert, so if you are using Unity and DOTS or any other ECS system, I can show you how to optimally use these architectures.
Team building and hiring
I help studios build effective engineering teams by defining roles, reviewing candidates and conducting technical interviews. I can also mentor existing programmers and improve technical ownership, communication and decision-making across the team.
MVPs and prototypes
I create or can help create focused MVPs and prototypes to validate gameplay ideas, technical assumptions and production feasibility quickly. This allows studios to learn early, change direction when necessary and avoid committing significant time and budget before an idea has been proven.
AI workflow integration
I help engineering teams integrate modern AI tools into their daily development process. Rather than replacing engineers, AI should remove repetitive work, accelerate prototyping and improve productivity while keeping experienced developers in control. I can help define practical workflows, evaluate the right tools, establish coding and review practices, and ensure AI becomes a reliable part of production rather than a source of technical debt.
What I bring to a project
I am equally comfortable joining an established team or helping build a new one from the ground up. I can contribute to an existing product, support a team through a difficult stage or help turn a new idea into a working game.
Before proposing changes, I take the time to understand the product, the codebase, the development process and the people already working on it. I listen to the team, identify what is working and focus on the areas where my experience can make the greatest difference.
My background as a hands-on engineer, Technical Director, CTO and studio founder allows me to look at both the technical details and the wider needs of production. I can provide direction, work directly in the codebase and help the team carry improvements through to delivery.
Day rate
£500 / €600 / US$700 per day
Remote engagements are preferred. Longer contracts, hybrid work (within 2 hours from Portsmouth) and fractional Technical Director arrangements can be discussed separately. Any project-specific software, service subscriptions or other external costs required for the engagement will be agreed in advance and charged separately.
Let’s talk
Tell me about your project, the problems you are facing and what you need to achieve.
If your studio has similar needs and would like to discuss potential collaboration, feel free to send me a message on Github https://github.com/sebas77 or LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastiano/ or an email at sebastiano.giga AT gmail.com