Hello, I am ...

Sebastian Elsner

... a Software Team Lead and Engineer

I am experienced in designing, writing and maintaining desktop and web software of all sizes in Python, managing Infra with DevOps and teams with .

Having developed software and lead teams in the visual effects industry for 15 years, I understand the needs of small and high-end customers and productions alike. Find my IMDB entry and work references below.

... a Hurdy-Gurdy player

I play the Hurdy-Gurdy in my German folk band called FIOR. Come visit a concert or contact me for lessons!

hello@sebastianelsner.de

Experience

RISE Fellow / Software Engineer

RISE | VISUAL EFFECTS

Currently I am focussing on Machine Learning driven applications to improve daily business tasks.

July 2023 - today

Head of Pipeline

RISE | VISUAL EFFECTS

In the pipeline department we build and maintain complex mission-critical software systems which help management and artist reach their production's goals. I drove the whole software lifecycle across design, implementation and maintenance of standalone applications and plugins for DCCs in an ever growing and changing environment, which started with a handful of people and reached 400 in peak times - all while managing a team of peak 20 people.

January 2009 - August 2022

Systems Architect and Software Engineer

Freelance

I build complex systems, simple CURD Applications and everything in-between for small customers like "VitaGen" or large ones like "LIDL / Schwarz Gruppe".

2003 - today

Education

University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart

Bachelor of Science
Audiovisual Media
2004 - 2009

Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium Rottweil

Ancient Languages Program
2000 - 2003

Skills

  • Python and it's ecosystem, especially Qt, SQLAlchemy, Flask, Django
  • Distributed Compute and queues with many different backends
  • Docker and its ecosystem
  • Databases like MySQL and PostgreSQL
  • Key-Value Stores like Redis
  • DCCs like Nuke, Maya, Houdini
  • Version control systems like Git, Mercurial and Perforce
  • Infra as Code with Terraform
  • Cloud Infrastructure, deployment and management on Azure and private clouds.
  • Strong on-prem infra and ops knowledge
  • Linux Enthusiast
  • Code Review with Github and Gitlab
  • Cross Functional Teams with IT/Ops
  • Agile Development & Scrum

Music

Apart from being a software engineer, I play the hurdy-gurdy in my band FIOR. We play original 18th century music from Germany in a modern fashion.

I teach the hurdy-gurdy to others in workshops and private lessons. Please contact me for any questions you might have!

Awards & Certifications

  • German Academic Scholarship Foundation Alumni
  • Memeber of the Visual Effects Society
  • Machine Learning Specialization Coursera