almost Beta
José Maria Sousa Guedes cover
José Maria Sousa Guedes

Portugal

Junior

Hello there, I'm José Maria! I am a 25-year-old java developer with the goal to create inspiring games. I'm here to learn and network, with the hope of one day becoming a game director!

Biography

I began computer hardware/software engineering and computer science in Coventry (UK) and then in Porto. I had a bit of a hard time fitting in the stereotypical university experience, so I wound up doing a Java bootcamp, which pushed me into software development. Although I'm working in banking now, game development has been a subject of interest for me. Storytelling, level design, and character design, seems very interesting subjects to me.

My aspiration is to create sincere, meaningful games in a collaborative environment built on trust, empathy, and a shared vision. After a lifetime of playing and imagining new worlds, I realized I want to give back to the same community that offered me so much inspiration, hope, and escapism. I’ve dabbled with engines like Unity, Unreal, and GameMaker, enjoying the process of brainstorming ideas with friends and watching them come to life. Games such as Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Elden Ring remind me of just how powerful a well-crafted experience can be—not because they fuel me daily, but because they show what’s possible when creativity and passion converge. That’s exactly what I hope to share with players someday.

I'm here to network with people who are already in the field, learn from them, and hopefully find the way that will lead me from banking developer to full-time game creator. One day, I'd love to be project lead on a title that brings a positive message to gamers, and builds a positive community around something that we can all be proud of.

Skills

Roles

  • Intermediate

Work Experience

2023 – 2025

Junior - Software Developer

Natixis (Porto)
At Natixis, I worked on REVA, a tool for reevaluating financial collaterals. I migrated its legacy codebase, added features (Spring, Oracle, S3), and deployed on OpenShift, orchestrated by XLRelease.

2021 – 2022

Junior Consultant

Capgemini Engineering (Porto)
I maintained Scenarisk at Natixis, a VaR tool for loans and investments, employing Java, Shell scripts, Control-M, Jenkins, Jira, and dBeaver, ensuring all updates were delivered smoothly on schedule.

Education

2021 – 2021

Java Software Development

<​Academia de Código_>

Java Software Development

Intensive Java training covering OOP, concurrent programming, Spring, and Java web development for real-world applications.

2018 – 2020

Mestrado Integrado de Engenharia de Redes e Sistemas Informáticos

Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto

Ciências da Computação e Informática

Prepares professionals to design, implement, and manage complex computer networks and secure distributed data systems. NOTE: I only finished the first course year

2017 – 2018

Computer Hardware and Software Engineering

Coventry University

Computer Science

This course combines hardware and software skills to create smart, future-ready tech like IoT, smart cities, and green solutions. NOTE: I only finished the first course year