Software Engineer · Maker

Assaf Halfon

Senior software engineer with expertise in Apple platforms, and a general maker.

Over a decade of experience with Apple platforms development in general, and iOS in particular. Loves creating things. Hungry and Foolish.

Summary

Former Autodesk engineer. Indie developer of QwertyMe.

I am an Apple-platforms software engineer focused on building high-quality product experiences for iOS and macOS. I have experience in large-scale mobile applications, and product-oriented engineering.

I combine strong engineering skills with a data-driven mindset. I am known for ownership, adaptability, and attention to detail. I care about clean user experiences, maintainable codebases, and shipping software that works well outside the happy path.

SwiftObjective-CUIKitSwiftUIRxSwiftCombineTCAKMMXCTestNimbleXcodePlaygroundsInstrumentsGitJenkinsCocoaPodsSPMVS CodeAI code assistantsDesign patternsTDDSOLIDSoftware architecturePerformance profilingCI/CDC++PythonKotlinSQLEmbedded systemsHardware integrationIoTML

Experience

A concise path through the work behind the claims

Independent Software Developer

QwertyMe

Built and managed QwertyMe, a macOS productivity utility application that leverages the power of accessibility APIs to work across the OS. Used Core Animation for delightfulness, and algorithmic optimizations for efficiency while continuously working in the background. Owns the full stack, from product idea through production and maintenance. The stack includes a native macOS app, a web app, backend APIs to manage payments and licensing, and full CI/CD pipelines to automate distributions. Besides engineering, owning the project also includes being responsible for all product research, product decisions, UI & UX design, marketing of the app, finance, and legal.

Senior Software Development Engineer

Autodesk

I have worked together with dozens of developers, from multiple time-zones, in a large monorepo, on a single app with millions of active users. The app includes "archaeological layers" of legacy patterns and code, including Objective-C, MVVM, FLUX, and most recently, SwiftUI+TCA. With this large number of developers in such a complex project, teamwork is key. I led an initiative for code modularization to optimize build times, an initiative for overnight syncing of the app, which has been praised by our users, and proactively pushed multiple other initiatives.

Senior iOS Developer

Au10tix

Developed an SDK with a complex multi-framework architecture, which is using image processing and machine learning to validate the authenticity of users. Other than delivering quality tasks in short periods of time, I have also led a mission to completely re-architect our SDKs codebase for efficiency and simplicity of use, I have pushed the team for implementing unit tests with high coverage, and I have initiated several technological initiatives throughout the project. Our service is implemented in numerous apps and has been used by tens of millions of end-users.

iOS Developer

Reali

As a part of the team I participated in the development of the Reali app with tens of thousands of active users. We worked in an agile development environment, together with teams in the US and Ukraine. Our development team had put strong emphasis on software architecture, code quality and SOLID principles. While the essence my work there was to deliver quality tasks in short periods of time, it was also known for its bigger thinking and proactively executing internal tasks.

iOS Developer

Positive Apps

I started working there after self-taught iOS development. The company produced tailored apps for a variety of clients, which had given me an opportunity to work on numerous projects of different styles. Some projects I have started from scratch while others I inherited from previous developers. This diversity had given me an opportunity to experience with a wide range of iOS technologies, frameworks, tools and design patterns.

Education

B.Sc. in Life Sciences

Tel-Aviv University

Military service

Operations officer

Lieutenant

Projects

Practical work with thoughtful execution

A showcase of selected work across software development, personal DIY projects, and practical engineering stories.

Featured project

QwertyMe

A native macOS utility for fast wrong-input-scource fixing.

Independent solopreneurship from an early messy idea to a polished published product, with full ownership over engineering, product management, design, marketing and finance, including a desktop app, a web app and backend APIs.

  • AppKit
  • SwiftUI
  • Swift
  • Node.js
  • TypeScript
  • SQL
  • CI/CD

Software development

Autodesk Forma

A software platform for project management, under the umbrella of Autodesk Construction Solutions.

Drove initiatives, both for developer productivity such as decreasing build times and simplifying code architecture, and costumer facing, such as reducing app sync times.

  • SwiftUI
  • TCA
  • KMM
  • Objective-C

Technical leadership

Independence Trail

A feature-packed iPad app, with high focus on augmented reality, developed for the Tel-Aviv Municipality.

Championed the entire project, pushed towards excellency and customer polished experiences. Managed to deliver the project in an unrealistic time frame.

  • AR
  • MDM
  • Swift
  • Core Graphics

SDK engineering

Identity Verification SDK

Multi-framework SDK for ID verification, including on-device computer vision ML models, and NFC data decryption.

Steered the team towards innovation, high coverage testing, and delivery automation. Initiated an effort to use local ML models to accelerate verification responses and security.

  • ML/AI
  • Security
  • Core NFC
  • TDD

Case studies

Engineering Stories

A short selection of case studies and success stories, focused on judgment and outcomes, involving innovation and ownership, and revolving around KPIs.

Developer Productivity

Significantly Improved Build Times

SituationThe 15-year-old codebase spanned legacy Objective-C and MVVM, through FLUX, to modern SwiftUI and TCA, all in a single colossal framework. This led to build times of over 10 minutes. Considering dozens of developers built the project multiple times a day, the productivity loss was inconceivable.

ImpactI initiated and orchestrated a cross-team effort for project modularization, with a multiple framework, sophisticated layered architecture. This reduced build times and increased developer productivity by a magnitude.

  • Ownership
  • Cross-team Leadership
  • Long-term Thinking

Product Reliability

Boosted Customer Satisfaction

SituationOur offline-first construction app had evolved into a product whose users were roughly 85% online, but many still had to wait through long manual syncs before work could begin.

ImpactAfter identifying the opportunity, I led a background sync initiative using iOS background execution APIs to refresh project data overnight while devices were charging, helping users start the day with up-to-date data. The feature was praised by our customers.

  • Data-informed Judgment
  • Pragmatism
  • Ownership

Engineering Quality

Scaled Product Documentation

SituationDevelopers of AU10TIX iOS SDK maintained customer-facing documentation in Word documents, that then passed a Technical Writer audit, returned with rejections, and so on. Versioning needed to be maintained manually. Quickly enough, this became an engineering burden.

ImpactI Led the adoption of an IDE-integrated Documentation Compiler, that enables inline markdown text to be compiled into external documentation archives and automated publishing of web documentation. This unlocked easy editing, simple versioning, source control, and automation.

  • Process Improvement
  • Quality Mindset
  • Delivery Excellence

Delivery Automation

Streamlined SDK Delivery

SituationThe AU10TIX iOS SDK release and integration process depended on manual steps, making delivery slower, less consistent, and harder to repeat confidently.

ImpactI initiated and co-built a CI/CD pipeline for the SDK. I contributed shell scripts and automation steps to eliminate manual work, enhance consistency, and establish a reliable delivery workflow.

  • Ownership
  • Execution Discipline
  • Mentoring

Hands-on builds

Personal DIY Projects

Outside work, on leisure time, I love creating things. Personal makings are usually around reducing daily friction, home improvements, and general fun stuff. These are some selected projects.

HomeKey
Intercom
Wiring

Removing friction

HomeKey Building Lobby Entry

My building lobby door uses a keypad to unlock. This security measure felt like an obstacle delaying me on my way home.

I created a frictionless secure lobby entry system by placing a Matter-configured ESP32 inside the wall behind my home intercom, with electrodes wired to the intercom opening button. An Apple-HomeKey-configured ESP32 connected to a PN532 NFC module, is placed inside my mailbox. Waving my hand in front of the mailbox authenticates my Apple Watch, and automates the in-home module to close a circuit in the intercom, sliding the lobby door open.

  • Embedded Systems
  • HomeKit
  • Matter
  • Automation
Before
During
After

Visual makeover

Self-Watering Vertical Garden

My new apartment had a metallic net fixture in the balcony, which I did not like the looks of.

I built an automatic self-watering vertical garden to cover the net and turn the balcony into a greener space. The system uses a Y-shaped faucet splitter, watering timer, pressure regulator, concealed 16mm hose, and split 4/7 drip lines feeding 72 carefully mounted and leveled planters, with excess irrigation water routed into a concealed disposal path.

  • Space Design
  • Home Improvement
  • Craftsmanship
Break
Build
Wire

Smart home infrastructure

Matter over Thread Home Retrofit

My home had no electrical infrastructure prepared for a modern smart-home setup.

I opened walls to route the missing electrical wiring, rebuilt them, and rewired switches through in-wall smart modules. The finished setup connects lights, ceiling fans, shades, and ACs with professional-grade coverage, avoiding professional installation quote of ~$50K without compromising the result.

  • Electrical Retrofit
  • Home Automation
  • Autodidacticism

Contact Me

Let's Talk

We can discuss software, technology, product craft, or the hands-on interests that keep me building outside work.

Professional fit

I’m interested in Apple-platform engineering roles, especially teams building high-quality iOS/macOS products with strong technical standards and meaningful product ownership.

Beyond software

Outside of software, I’m interested in product design, industrial design, electronics, 3D printing, and close-up magic. I also practice karate — a useful reminder that precision, repetition, and calm execution matter.

Israel

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