Curriculum Vitae

Contact Information

Dion van Huyssteen
+27 82 326 7797
dion@darkervision.com
linkedin.com/in/dionvanhuyssteen/
Durban, South Africa

Professional Summary

A highly accomplished software engineer with a 25-year record of continuous growth and technical leadership at Derivco. My career has evolved from foundational C++ game development to architecting and leading the development of high-performance C# APIs for critical financial and regulatory systems.

My key areas of expertise include:

High-Performance APIs: Designing and building robust, scalable systems in C# and ASP.NET Core for high-throughput financial transactions (60k TPM).
AI & Innovation: Championing and building practical AI tools with Large Language Models (LLMs) that demonstrably accelerate developer onboarding and productivity.
Technical Leadership: Mentoring developers across business units, leading architectural design reviews, and optimising the SDLC to enhance team velocity and code quality.

Technical Skills

Languages & Frameworks:

Core: C#, ASP.NET Core
Proficient: C++, Python, SQL

Cloud & DevOps:

Core: Azure DevOps, Git
Proficient: Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Docker, Kubernetes, Helm

AI / Machine Learning

Proficient: LLM API Integration (e.g., OpenAI, Google AI), Python AI/ML Libraries

Core Skills & Methodologies:

REST API Design, Agile Methodologies, NUnit, System Architecture

Familiar & Previous:

Confluence, Win32, HTML/CSS/JavaScript, Adobe Flash, Microsoft Access

Professional Experience

Senior Software Developer Level 2

Derivco (October 2018 - Present)

Led development of high-throughput (60k TPM) C# APIs for critical financial transactions and regulatory compliance.
Designed and integrated complex bet orchestration systems managing multi-region regulatory constraints.
Improved team efficiency through implementing and refining automation testing frameworks, SDET test creation rate increased by 90%.
Expanded mentorship beyond the core team to guide developers across other business units, fostering widespread technical growth and improving cross-functional project alignment.
Drove comprehensive code and architectural design reviews to enforce best practices, ensuring system scalability and maintainability.
Maintained and optimised the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), resulting in more predictable delivery schedules and improved team velocity
Championed AI adoption, creating AI-based tools to accelerate developer onboarding and system comprehension.

Senior Software Developer

Derivco (May 2006 - October 2018)

Engineered the core architecture for a multi-process downloadable client, successfully integrating complex technologies including C++, Adobe Flash, and HTML.
Led a critical modernisation project to replace the legacy IE engine with the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF), significantly enhancing client performance, security, and web standards compatibility.
Progressed to become the team's architectural lead, assuming primary ownership of the client's design, long-term stability, and technical roadmap.
Mentored and coached junior developers on C++ and client architecture best practices, accelerating their growth and improving team-wide code quality.

Software Developer

Derivco (September 2000 - May 2006)

Developed games and interactive content for downloadable clients using C++ (frontend) and SQL (backend).
Implemented foundational C++ frameworks for core table games (e.g., roulette, blackjack), which became the standard for all subsequent C++ table game development and remained in active use by players for over 15 years.

Programmer

African Gabions (February 1997 - September 2000)

Developed and maintained key business applications using Microsoft Access to manage factory production and commercial operations.
Designed, built, and deployed a critical stock, sales, and ordering system that was adopted by the parent company.
Spearheaded the international rollout of this system to sister companies in the US and Canada, personally conducting on-site implementation and user training as a junior developer.
Provided comprehensive IT support to ensure high system reliability and user productivity.

Certifications

Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) - Microsoft, 2023

Education

BTech, Information Technology (Software Development) - Durban University of Technology, 1998
National Diploma: Information Technology (Software Development) - Durban University of Technology, 1996

Personal Projects

I strategically select my projects as a vehicle for hands-on learning, often choosing to explore a new technology or a more challenging architecture over a familiar solution.

Entelect Challenge Bot (2017) Achieved 2nd place nationally, demonstrating strong algorithmic and strategic problem-solving skills in a highly competitive coding environment.

CodeChat (2024-Present) - AI-powered code analysis assistant designed to simplify the development and comprehension of large, unfamiliar codebases. - Tech: Python, Docker, VS Code Extension, LLM API Integration (OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Azure).

High-Speed Crypto Trader (2018-2021) - Developed a high-frequency trading bot in C++ with competitive early results until increased market competition reduced effectiveness. - Tech: High-performance C++, multithreading, low-latency networking, GCP.

DRL Crypto Trader (In Analysis and Design) Deep Reinforcement Learning-based trading bot, currently exploring adaptive trading strategies and risk management. Investigating different ML frameworks and learning DRL from scratch.