Picture of me standing on a dock in a yellow rain coat and old Seattle Mariners cap.

Eric Walkingshaw

Compiler engineer + PL researcher

About me

Hello! I’m a compiler engineer and programming languages researcher based in Corvallis, Oregon, USA.

My expertise spans all phases of programming language design, specification, and implementation, including domain-specific languages, type systems, compilers, functional programming, software variation, modularity, and human factors.

Most recently, I worked on the Cogent compiler at Elemental Cognition. Cogent is an end-user language and environment for capturing expert knowledge for use in trustable, explainable, interactive AI-powered applications.

I mainly hack in Rust, Haskell, and Scala these days. However, I enjoy learning new languages and so tend to dabble in lots of them. I especially like playing with esoteric languages, which (along with functional programming) are what got me interested in programming languages in the first place!

Besides programming languages, I’m into other nerdy things like game theory, linguistics, board games, and sci-fi/fantasy books. I’m also into (arguably) less nerdy things like playing tennis, gardening, traveling, following my hometown sportsball teams, and most of all, spending time with my family and friends.

I live with my wife Allison, a graphic designer and animal whisperer, our wonderful baby Eleanor, and our very anxious but very handsome cat Gort.

Check out my Research page for more on my research interests and expertise, or my Software page for links and brief descriptions of some open source projects I’ve worked on.

Open to new opportunities!

I’m currently open to new opportunities for remote-friendly positions. Check out my engineering-oriented resume or my research-oriented CV, and shoot me an email if I look like a potential match for any roles you know about. Thanks!