Charles Zimmerlin
I build fast, data-heavy software for biotech research.
I'm a full-stack engineer working on real-time, data-heavy applications. At Genedata I build the tools scientists use to explore large biological datasets, where speed and getting the small details right actually matter.
Currently
Software Engineer · Genedata AG
Where I come from, and what I do now.
I studied engineering at ECAM Strasbourg-Europe and have spent the last few years building and shipping products, first on my own and now inside a product team. The work I like most is the demanding kind: fast, full of data, and something people can actually rely on.
At Genedata I build the interfaces scientists use to explore large biological datasets. In practice that means drawing millions of points on screen in real time with Web Workers and the Canvas API, and working with the data engineers who run the NGS pipelines behind it. I like working across the whole stack, from the pipeline that moves the data to the interface that finally shows it, and I spend a lot of time on testing and performance because slow or wrong is not an option here.
Before Genedata I ran my own studio, building full-stack web platforms for clients and launching a dozen apps of my own. Across those years I've worked right across the stack: React and Next.js on the front, Node, Python and Java on the back, deployed with Docker and the cloud. These days I lean on AI and agentic coding tools every day to move quickly without letting the quality slip.
“When the data stands for real science, the software has to be right. That is the part of the job I take most seriously.”
Where I've worked.
From a first frontend internship in Zürich to scientific software in Basel. I've also taught and run my own studio along the way.
- Sep 2024 – Present
Software Engineer
Genedata AG · Basel, Switzerland
Building software for the biotech industry, mostly around analysing and visualising large scientific datasets.
- Build React interfaces on top of REST APIs that use Web Workers, the Canvas API and custom event handling to render large datasets in real time.
- Work with the data and backend teams on Nextflow pipelines that acquire, process and prepare large NGS (Next-Generation Sequencing) datasets for analysis.
- Keep things solid with unit, integration and end-to-end tests, CI checks and profiling when performance gets tight.
- Work in an agile team: sprint planning, reviews and daily stand-ups.
- Gave a talk on the solo app developer journey at our internal conference, “Dream, Code, Market, Crash, Repeat”.
ReactTypeScriptREST APIsCanvas APIWeb WorkersNextflowTesting - Aug 2021 – Sep 2024
Full-Stack & Mobile Developer
Freelance · Colmar, France
Ran my own practice building web and mobile products, for clients and a few of my own on the side.
- Built and shipped full-stack web apps with React, Next.js and Node, from SaaS products to landing pages.
- Designed and released a dozen apps of my own in React Native and SwiftUI, from idea to the App Store.
- Handled the whole thing end to end: the build, the client, the project management and the invoices.
- Worked with local customers alongside my engineering studies.
ReactNext.jsReact NativeSwiftUINode - Sep 2023 – Feb 2024
Trainer & Lecturer, Web & Mathematics
ICAM Strasbourg · Strasbourg, France
Taught web technologies and mathematics, and put together the lectures, lab sessions and assessments that went with them.
- Web for bachelor's students: UI/UX in Figma, responsive design and hands-on HTML and CSS.
- Maths for engineering students: analysis, linear algebra and differential equations.
- Ran workshops on network basics (OSI, TCP/IP) and the fundamentals of cybersecurity.
FigmaHTML/CSSMathematicsNetworking - Mar 2023 – Aug 2023
Full-Stack Developer Intern
ALTEN · Strasbourg, France
Designed and built an internal CRM inside an eight-person team where we took turns as Product Owner and Scrum Master.
- Built the app on Angular and Spring Boot with a Python service layer.
- Set up deployment with Docker, Azure, Kubernetes and Terraform.
- Took my turn running the backlog and the stand-ups as PO and Scrum Master.
AngularSpring BootPythonDockerKubernetesTerraformAzure - May 2022 – Sep 2022
Frontend Developer Intern
WebGate Consulting AG · Zürich, Switzerland
Designed and built “GoodMeeting”, a meeting-planning tool that lives inside Microsoft Teams.
- Shipped a responsive frontend in four months with React and FluentUI.
- Worked alongside the backend developers in a Scrum team.
ReactFluentUIMicrosoft Teams
What I work with.
A full-stack toolkit. I'm at my best where performance and data visualisation meet the browser.
Languages
- TypeScript
- JavaScript
- Python
- Java
- Swift
Frontend
- React
- Next.js
- Angular
- React Native
- Tailwind
- CSS
Backend & Data
- Node
- Python
- Java / Spring Boot
- REST APIs
- GraphQL
- SQL / databases
Data & Visualization
- Canvas API
- Web Workers
- Real-time rendering
- Large-scale data
Cloud & DevOps
- AWS
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- Terraform
- Git
- CI/CD
Ways of working
- Agile
- Software architecture
- Testing
- Code clarity
- Public speaking
- Figma & UX
- AI-assisted / agentic coding
A few things I've built.
I've launched a dozen apps of my own, from the first sketch to the App Store. These three are the ones I keep coming back to.
Studies, and a few certificates.
ECAM Strasbourg-Europe
2018–2023Engineering degree, Computer Science specialization · France
Graduated with the “Avenir” award for high performance.
Hochschule Kaiserslautern
2019–2020Academic exchange (ERASMUS) · Germany
EPFL, Lausanne
2017–2018First year, Bachelor's in Mathematics · Switzerland
Beyond the desk: 15 years of trombone at the Colmar Conservatory, plus running, fitness, skiing and drone filming.
Let's talk.
I'm always happy to talk about interesting software, especially where engineering meets science and data. Email is the quickest way to reach me, and I read everything that comes in.