Who I am
I write systems software in C and Rust. My main interest is compilers and language runtimes — the part where text *magically* becomes running programs. I'm currently a Sr Systems / CX Engineering Lead in Dublin, and I'm building depth in this space.
XDA / Memnoc
I got into programming through hardware. On XDA-Developers, as Memnoc, I ported ROMs to HTC devices — mostly back-engineering firmware from newer phone models to run on older hardware. I became an XDA-recognized developer doing that work. It's where I learned what it means to actually understand a system from the bottom up: no documentation, just binaries, diff tools, and reading what the machine tells you.
That background set a habit for customizing things in general.
Linguistics → languages
Alongside the hardware hacking, I studied Linguistics — a BA in Linguistic Mediation and then an MA in Linguistics: International Communication. Natural languages and programming languages have more in common than people expect. Syntax trees, grammar rules, ambiguity resolution, scope — these aren't metaphors borrowed from linguistics, they're the same structures.
Thinking back, that background is probably why compilers feel intuitive to me in a way that surprised me when I first found it. It also explains why I care about language safety and syntax design beyond just "does it compile."
Professional path
Linux and open-source years during my degrees. Then Android developer (Java) — natural step from the XDA work. Then frontend: HTML/CSS/JS, then TypeScript and React. I'm now leading systems and customer experience engineering. Rust opened the systems world for me. It's where the language interest and the low-level interest finally connected into something I want to spend the next decade on.
Currently
Working on StarScript — a Lox-flavored interpreter in C. Following Crafting Interpreters as a foundation, but extending past the book: named grammar rules, custom error recovery, going where the material takes me. The AST viewer in the demo section on the home page is wired directly to StarScript's grammar.
Also personalizing Build Your Own Lisp (BYOL), and revisiting r_command_line — a Rust CLI I built that generates commit messages. Finished but needs a proper second pass.
Outside
I paint. You can find the work at labotteghina.art. I bake — bread, pizza, cakes. I build custom keyboards, which is an excuse to get closer to embedded hardware without committing to writing firmware full-time. Yet.