~/vancouver/bc

Derek Lawrence

Software Engineer Casino H5 Games & DevOps

I build performant browser-based casino games, internal developer tooling, and the infrastructure that keeps it all running. Based in Greater Vancouver.

derek.config.js
const derek = {
  role: "Software Engineer",
  location: "Vancouver, BC",
  focus: [
    "Casino H5 Games",
    "Developer Tooling",
    "DevOps",
  ],
  stack: [
    "JavaScript", "TypeScript",
    "C#", "C++", "Java",
    "Docker", "Node.js",
  ],
  available: true,
};

Building games people play
and tools developers love

I'm a software engineer with deep experience in the iGaming industry, specializing in browser-based casino games built on HTML5. I've spent years working at the intersection of gameplay engineering, real-time systems, and the internal tooling that makes game studios run smoothly.

Beyond the games themselves, I care deeply about developer experience — building the pipelines, dashboards, and automation that let teams ship faster and with more confidence. Whether it's a slot game running in a browser or a deployment pipeline keeping production healthy, I like making things work well.

Currently at Golden Hearts Games in Vancouver, where I work on H5 casino games and the engineering infrastructure around them.

H5 Casino Game Dev
4+ Languages
QA to Production
YVR Vancouver, BC

What I work with

Languages

JavaScript TypeScript C# C++ Java HTML5 CSS3 Bash

Game Development

Casino H5 Games Custom Game Frameworks Slot Mechanics Game Loops Canvas / WebGL PixiJS Real-time RNG Animation Systems

DevOps & Infrastructure

Docker CI/CD Pipelines GitHub Actions Linux Nginx / Caddy DigitalOcean Git

Tooling & Process

Internal Dev Tools Node.js REST APIs Build Systems QA & Testing Project Management Code Review

Where I've worked

Golden Hearts Games Jul 2022 — Present
Senior Software Engineer · Contract

Senior software engineer working on casino game development — building H5 games, custom frameworks, internal tooling, and the DevOps infrastructure that keeps everything running.

H5 Games JavaScript DevOps Tooling Docker
Firefly Software (Vancouver) Apr 2020 — Jul 2022 · 2 yrs 4 mos
Team Lead → Software Developer

Joined as a Software Developer building casino games, then promoted to Team Lead of Firefly's Casino Team. Led the team through project delivery while staying hands-on with development.

Team Lead Casino Games H5 Vancouver
IGG Canada Aug 2019 — Apr 2020 · 9 mos
Senior / Lead HTML5 Developer

Developed a 2D and 3D H5 advertising framework for building advertisement games — a custom engine for deploying interactive game-based ads at scale.

H5 Framework 2D / 3D Ad Games Vancouver
Genesis Gaming May 2017 — Aug 2019 · 2 yrs 4 mos
Senior Game Engineer → Game Engineer → Frontend Developer

Progressed through three roles at Genesis Gaming — starting as a Frontend Developer, advancing to Game Engineer, and ultimately Senior Game Engineer. Built and shipped casino games across the full stack.

Casino Games Frontend Vancouver
FlyCow Games Jun 2014 — May 2017 · 3 yrs
Front End Web Developer

Front end web developer at FlyCow Games, contributing to game and web development projects in Vancouver.

Frontend Web Dev Vancouver
BaddaMedia Inc. Jul 2013 — Feb 2014 · 8 mos
Jr. Software Engineer

Developed a multi-platform slot framework using EaselJS and a custom SWF exporter, enabling deployment to both Flash and HTML5 from a single codebase.

EaselJS HTML5 Flash Slot Framework
Blitzoo Inc. Jul 2011 — Jul 2013 · 2 yrs 1 mo
QA Specialist / Programmer

Combined QA and programming role at Blitzoo, ensuring game quality while contributing to development.

QA Programming Vancouver
Disastercake Apr 2010 — Jul 2010 · 4 mos
Software Engineer

Software engineering at a small indie game studio.

Indie Games
Hothead Games Jan 2009 — Jul 2011 · 2 yrs 7 mos
QA

Quality assurance at Hothead Games, one of Vancouver's leading game studios.

QA Vancouver
Cosmic Logic Aug 2009 — Jan 2010 · 6 mos
Software Engineer

Worked on small XBL Indie games in the Vancouver game development scene.

XBL Indie Vancouver
The Art Institute of Vancouver Oct 2007 — Jul 2009 · 1 yr 10 mos
Student — Visual & Game Programming

Visual and Game Programming course at the Art Institute of Vancouver — the foundation for a career spanning over 15 years in the games industry.

Game Programming Vancouver

Areas of focus

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Casino H5 Games

Slot games, table games, and specialty titles built for the browser. High performance, smooth animations, and reliable RNG integration — designed to run on any device.

Internal Developer Tools

Custom dashboards, build systems, asset pipelines, and automation that make teams more productive. The unglamorous work that makes everything else faster.

DevOps & Infrastructure

Containerized deployments, CI/CD pipelines, and server configuration. Getting code from a developer's laptop to production reliably and with minimal friction.

Let's work together

Whether you're building a game studio, need a hand with infrastructure, or want to talk shop about iGaming engineering — I'm always up for a conversation.