Emilio Cruzfrom theCiudad de México
Personal website and portfolio of an iOS engineer and software developer.
Emilio Cruz Vargas
A note on the way
dear reader,
life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards. he who has a why to live can bear almost any how — and the why, more often than not, appears after the first step, not before.
it's not that we have little time,
it's that we lose too much
waiting to feel ready.
build slowly, listen often,
Kombo
About the author
I’m Emilio, an iOS & software engineer based in Ciudad de México. UNAM-trained, currently at PwC México, and obsessed with Swift, RealityKit and the small details that make software feel alive.
My work lives at the intersection of native iOS, spatial computing and well-crafted tooling — SwiftUI, async/await, ARKit, Metal and Core ML, with a soft spot for type, motion and good defaults. I build apps, internal tools and side projects that aim to be quietly precise.
Stack
Things I build
and take to the podium.
Projects, hackathons and experiments. Tap any card to read the full case.
AirWay — NASA Space Apps 2025
1st Place Mexico City + Global Nominee. Air-quality monitoring app powered by NASA TEMPO satellite data with AR visualization and exposure routing.
AirWay — Case Study
Full walkthrough of AirWay: architecture, exposure model, AR views and the integration with NASA TEMPO data.
Atenea — World Cup 2026
Groundbreaking iOS app to make the 2026 World Cup accessible: on-device AI, AR navigation, mesh network for emergencies and a digital Panini album.
Atenea — Talent Land 2026
Talent Land edition of Atenea: on-device experiences, AR and a connected collectible album for attendees.
Flux — Threat Not Found
An app built around a virtual buddy that teaches digital-threat detection through TikTok-style interactions and micro-lessons.
EduFinance AI
2nd place at Banorte Hackathon 2024. AI-powered financial literacy platform that personalizes content by user profile and learning pace.
FoodSave
A platform that reduces food waste by connecting merchants and consumers through predictive AI.
Atrium — Clinic
Clinical experience with generative UI: anatomical atlas, digital twin and assisted flows for patients and medical staff.
(04) — Stack & Capabilities
What I take to the podium
in every project.
The stack I use in my winning hackathons and production apps — native iOS, on-device AI and local-first networking. The same pieces behind AirWay (NASA 1st), Atenea (CSC Winner) and EduFinance (2nd Banorte).
See projectsiOS & Spatial Computing
Native iOS + RealityKit and ARKit. The foundation of AirWay (AR air-quality visualization with NASA TEMPO data) and Atenea (spatial navigation, digital Panini album and Apple Watch for emergencies).
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Available · Q3 2026
iOS engineer for your next launch.
Native iOS, spatial computing and on-device AI — the stack behind apps that actually make it to the podium. Let's talk if you want someone who closes full features, not just writes code.
Lo que viene out of the box:
- Native iOS · SwiftUI · RealityKit · ARKit · Apple Intelligence
- Hackathon-ready: 4 podiums in 2024–2025, 1 global nominee
- Real-time data, on-device ML and local-first networking
- Technical mentoring and coaching for hackathon teams
Languages & Frameworks
Stack I ship to production
What I write every day: native iOS, spatial systems, and — when needed — the web side.
See projectsTools & Platforms
Plumbing I wire up daily
Mesh, deploy, knowledge, motion. The glue that connects my apps to the real world.
See workflowWhat lives in my repos, hackathons and production. Every card, a real project.
Selected works
- № 01Atrium Clinic2026Lead DesignerHealthcare
- № 02Bot Coach 20262026Founder / BuildAI Tools
- № 03OpenClaw2025EngineerOpen Source
- № 04Plan de Vida— soon —DesignerWellbeing
- № 05RealityKit Toys2024EngineerAR · Spatial
- № 06PwC México2023AssociateConsulting
Recognition & impact
What I've won and built.
Hackathons, ceremonies and production projects. Every card is a verifiable result: podium, reach or measurable impact.
AirWay won 1st place locally in Mexico City and was selected as a Global Nominee among 9,000+ teams worldwide. Native air-quality app using TEMPO satellite data with AR visualization of personal exposure.
Atenea TL extends the CSC-winning app for Talent Land 2026 — local BLE radar, peer-to-peer ringer and UWB Tap to Pay for urban mobile commerce in CDMX heading into World Cup 2026.
EduFinance AI took 2nd place at the Banorte Hackathon 2024 among hundreds of teams. Personalized financial-literacy platform using Core ML that adapts content to each user's profile and pace.
FoodSave connected merchants with consumers via predictive AI to reduce food waste. Recognized for social impact on urban food sustainability.
Atenea won 1st place in the iOS category of CSC Changemakers 2025. Companion app for the 2026 World Cup with on-device Apple Intelligence, AR navigation, Live Activities, Apple Watch and a mesh network for emergencies.
Flux was born at Hackathon 404 (Threat Not Found) — a virtual buddy that teaches digital-threat detection through TikTok-style interactions and gamified micro-lessons for young audiences.
Atrium was part of the Generative UI Hackathon — clinical experience with generative UI, interactive anatomical atlas, patient digital twin and assisted flows for medical staff.
Want to build with me?
An idea to build, a problem to solve, a project that needs careful hands — drop me a line. The best things start with a short conversation.