Wilhelm's Portfolio — Developer

About Me

A pioneer mindset

During my bachelor studies I discovered a fondness for the term 'Pioneer'. The pursuit of exploring new worlds — or in my case, creating them — is ingrained in me. The idea of a professional path steeped in routine and creative limitations was simply inconceivable. Initially, I entertained the idea of becoming a marine biologist, as nature and the undiscovered have always captivated me. However, my inclination to constantly explore new boundaries might have led me to drift into the depths of the oceans. For safety reasons, I ultimately decided to pursue my passion for the unknown in a different field.

So, why not turn a hobby into a profession?

Games have always been a passion of mine, especially the challenging and difficult ones like "Dark Souls". In the game's routine of failing and trying again I found a fascination years ago that internally drives me. This type of game forces one to think ahead about the next steps and to discover new ways to handle a situation — and if you're not careful, it rewards you with the last checkpoint.

My favourite game genre closely resembles my profession, because it reflects several aspects of being a software developer — starting with the same frustration tolerance that should be brought along. Solving coding problems and rethinking to implement new solution approaches: all of this is demanding, and that's exactly what I like.

Something else shaped me long before any game engine did: anime. Characters like Goku were the idols of my childhood — not for the spectacle, but for the pattern underneath: take the hit, train, come back stronger. That energy and stubborn endurance still define how I face challenges today.

As a tribute to a fulfilled childhood, sharing virtual adventures with friends and my passion for creation, I want to be part of a team that drives the latest development in virtual and mixed reality. I aim to create simulations and developments that will leave both you and me in awe.
Wilhelm Gerner — Portrait
It's me, hi! I'm the problem, it's me.

Away from the screen

Below the surface

Somewhere along the way I earned my diving license. Underwater is where my head goes quiet: the deep feels strangely familiar, everything slows down, becomes clearer, more focused. Maybe it's the marine biologist I never became — he checks in regularly.

I find a similar calm at the zoo, camera in hand, waiting for an animal to do exactly the kind of thing only animals do. Animals, water and nature keep my mind from trying to solve every problem in the world at once — which is useful when, like me, you tend to run several projects in parallel.

> vibe_coding --with architecture

The age of pure clockwork is over — and that is no reason to panic. It's an invitation.

As a programmer, I have watched the rise of AI with a sharp, curious eye — not from the sidelines, but from inside the toolbox. Machines, artificial intelligence and creative tools are fundamentally changing how software gets built. To me, AI is exactly that: a tool. And a tool has never automatically replaced the person who directs it.

"Vibe coding" is a wonderful term — as long as the vibes come with load-bearing walls. What matters is not having code generated. What matters is understanding it, steering it, correcting it and giving it an architecture. Prompts don't ship products. Judgment does.

Experience, creativity, technical depth and AI assistance add up to a genuinely new way of working. I use it every day — as an amplifier for the creative and analytical mind. Never as its replacement.

Education

Academic path

March 2021 — late 2024

HAW Hamburg

Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Digital Reality

October 2017 — October 2020

SRH Hochschule Heidelberg

Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Virtuelle Realitäten

Experience

Professional experience

February 2025 — expected end of 2027

Academic Staff / Unity & XR Developer

Hochschule Karlsruhe — XR2ACH Research Project

Development of immersive XR training environments for refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump technology. Responsibilities include Unity/XR development, project coordination, thesis supervision, trade fair presentations, partner communication and translating research concepts into interactive training systems.

More about XR2ACH →

June 2022 — late 2024

Student Assistant — Fraunhofer CML

Fraunhofer-Center for Maritime Logistics and Services CML

  • Unity3D development
  • XR development (including Varjo XR3, Quest 2, HTC Vive, HoloLens)
  • VR interface development for Boston Dynamics' Spot robot
  • Gesture recognition
  • Animation and VFX creation

More about my work at Fraunhofer CML →

April 2019 — September 2019

Airbus Defence and Space Friedrichshafen

Mixed Reality and User Experience (UX). Developed and implemented a VR application for Microsoft HoloLens and the Lenovo Explorer VR headset in Unity (.NET).

More about my internship at Airbus →

More than code

Responsibility in a research environment

My work as academic staff goes far beyond programming — it means translating research into workable systems and keeping a team moving in the same direction.

  • Bachelor thesis supervision
  • Master thesis supervision
  • Project management
  • Trade fair presentations
  • Partner networking
  • Technical coordination
  • Time management
  • Teamwork & cohesion
  • Research → workable systems

Capabilities

Skills

  • C# Programming
  • Virtual & Augmented Reality
  • XR Development
  • 3D Animation
  • Rigging & Body Tracking
  • Godot & Unreal Engine
  • Git (Source Control)
  • SCRUM
  • MoSCoW Methodology
  • Project Management
  • UX Design for VR
  • Confident and outgoing

Languages

Languages

  • German
  • English

Interests

Development interests

  • VR, AR & XR
  • Animations
  • Voice Commands
  • Hand Tracking
  • Full-body Tracking
  • MoCap
  • Haptic Feedback
  • Robotics
  • Nature Integration in Technology
  • Animal Behaviour Integration in Technology
  • Psychology Applications in Technology

The next horizon

Where XR Meets Instinct

As a kid, I dreamed of knight's castles, fantasy worlds and nature — machines were nowhere in that picture. Today, one of my big dreams is to one day build my own animal-inspired robot: a creature of engineering that borrows its movement from nature — where mechanics, motion, animal observation, robotics and artificial intelligence meet.

I look forward to the challenge of uniting my XR knowledge with AI, robotics, animal-inspired movement, nature observation and the passions that have always shaped the way I imagine worlds.

  • XR
  • AI
  • Robotics
  • Nature
  • Imagination
Visit Private Projects
Wilhelm Gerner — where engineering meets instinct

Contact me

Interested in working together? I'd love to hear from you.

Get in touch