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About Jakub Jirák

Principal Software Engineer · AI · Automation · Performance

Who I Am

Hi, I'm Jakub Jirák — a Principal Software Engineer helping product and engineering teams ship faster by tightening architecture, removing delivery bottlenecks, and using automation and AI where they actually pay off. With over 10 years of enterprise experience, I've trained 10,000+ professionals and automated over 1,000,000 workflows across diverse industries.

I'm also the author of 12 published books, including the award-winning Think Different: How AI and Automation Are Changing Software Development, and a JetBrains plugin developer with 10 published plugins for testing, accessibility, security analysis, and developer productivity. I founded HTJ2K MetaWave, a Metal-accelerated HTJ2K codec for Apple Silicon, and led the project to a successful exit — it's now owned and operated by its acquirer.

My Journey

Principal Software Engineer

Builds production systems, shapes architecture, and keeps delivery predictable without sacrificing speed or maintainability. Specialized in GPU acceleration with Metal, CUDA, and OpenCL for compute-intensive workloads.

Automation & Delivery Architect

Designs automation that removes repetitive work, lowers release risk, and gives teams more time for high-value engineering. Built frameworks with Selenium, Playwright, and Cypress that reduced repetitive work by 80%.

Engineering Advisor

Helps teams make sharper technical decisions, unblock delivery, and align product goals with implementation reality — from architecture reviews to AI adoption strategy.

HTJ2K MetaWave — Founder (acquired)

Founded and architected a Metal-accelerated HTJ2K codec for Apple Silicon, then led the project to a successful exit. It's now owned and operated by its acquirer.

Author & JetBrains Plugin Developer

Writing books on AI, automation, GPU programming, Rust, and Kubernetes, and building 10 professional JetBrains IDE plugins for security, accessibility, testing, and observability.

What I Do

  • Performance Optimization: Profiling bottlenecks, tuning algorithms, and using CPU (x86/ARM), GPU (Metal, CUDA, OpenCL), and SIMD acceleration where it matters
  • Delivery Strategy & Leadership: Delivery plans that survive leadership changes, keep teams aligned, and make it easier to ship without drama
  • Engineering Quality Strategy: Assessing delivery flow, finding the biggest friction points, and building roadmaps that improve reliability without slowing the team down
  • Automation Systems: Automation that removes repetitive work from the pipeline — built with Selenium, Playwright, and Cypress
  • DevOps & CI/CD: Connecting code, build, and deployment into a smoother delivery path so releases feel routine instead of risky
  • Principal Engineering Advisory: Direct technical advice on architecture, delivery, and tradeoffs — no slide decks, just decisions that move work forward
  • Workshops & Team Enablement: Hands-on sessions on AI, automation, and better workflows — 10,000+ professionals trained
  • Accessibility Engineering: Products usable by more people, with accessibility built into the delivery process — audits up to WCAG 2.2 AAA
  • Custom Product Engineering: Design and implementation of production-ready web, mobile, and desktop software with a focus on performance, reliability, and user experience

Tech Stack

JavaPythonCC++SwiftSwiftUIMetalCUDAOpenCLSIMDJavaScriptTypeScriptSeleniumPlaywrightCypressJenkinsGitLab CIDockerKubernetesGitHub CopilotChatGPTClaudeGemini

Books

Twelve books for engineers — on AI, automation, GPU programming, Rust, Kubernetes and more. Highlights include:

  • Think Different — How AI and automation are changing software development (Best New Software Automation Book — BookAuthority)
  • The Complete AI Model & Mode Selection Guide — For software engineers
  • AI for Non-Technical People — A complete guide for professionals without an IT background
  • The Power User's Guide to AI-Powered CLI Tools — For software engineers

Browse them all at books.jakubjirak.com or on Amazon.

About This Blog

Think Different is where I share practical insights, tutorials, and deep dives into the topics I work with every day — from AI-powered development workflows and test automation strategies to performance optimization and modern QA practices.

I don't just write about technologies — I use them in production, test them thoroughly, and share what actually works. My background in software engineering, automation, and performance means I approach every topic with a critical eye, verifying claims and testing edge cases before publishing.

Connect With Me

Find me on these platforms: