Built from the
bottom up.

Compilers, renderers, assemblers, standard libraries — every layer of software understood deeply enough to write from scratch. Zero dependencies.

Compilers Graphics Systems Design Kernels
What's built

Compilers &
Language Design

Transpilers, parsers, type systems. Making existing languages safer without inventing new ones.

Rendering &
Graphics

Cross-platform windowing and GPU backends. Reasonable defaults, no framework needed.

Performance
Engineering

Extreme optimization — even when it's completely pointless. Every cycle counts.

Design &
Branding

UI, UX, logos, identity. Accessibility through simplicity and low cognitive load.

Featured project
Prism

Safer C.
No rewrite required.

Drop into any codebase with CC=prism make. Adds defer, orelse, and zero-initialization — 3 320 tests, 0 deps.

Fully open source. Apache 2.0 licensed. No lock-in, no vendor, no surprise.

Explore Prism 
Socket *sock = socket_open(addr)
    orelse return ERR_CONNECT;
defer socket_close(sock);

Buffer buf;
defer buffer_free(&buf);

return socket_read(sock, &buf);

FILE *f = fopen(path, "r")
    orelse return NULL;
defer fclose(f);

Config cfg = {0};
defer config_free(&cfg);

return config_parse(f, &cfg);

Mutex *m = mutex_create()
    orelse return ERR_NOMEM;
defer mutex_destroy(m);

return task_spawn(m, fn, arg);
About Dawn

Depth that can't
be taught.

Dawn Larsson is a compiler engineer, systems programmer, and technical designer. The kind of engineer who goes all the way to the bottom of a problem — not because a curriculum requires it, but because shallow answers aren't acceptable.

That drive shows up in the work: zero-dependency tools, adversarially tested, built to last.

Previously: head of design at CrabNebula, branding and logo for Tauri (103k ★), design lead at Amethyst (8k ★).

Currently: building Prism — a C transpiler with 3,136 tests and zero dependencies. Registered in Sweden, operating under EU regulations.

Expertise

Compiler &
Toolchain Engineering

Transpilers, parsers, static analysis, custom build systems. Deep experience turning unsafe or unergonomic languages into something you can actually ship.

Systems &
Performance

Low-level C, zero-dependency libraries, cross-architecture assembly, embedded targets. Every cycle counts — treated seriously.

Graphics &
Rendering

Cross-platform windowing and GPU backends from scratch. No engine required, no framework lock-in.

Design &
Branding

Logos, identity, and UI for developer tools and OSS projects. Accessibility through simplicity — low cognitive load by default.

Work together

Got a hard problem?
Let's talk.

Whether it's a codebase that needs hardening, a language tool that needs to actually work, or a system that needs to be fast enough — this is the kind of work Dawn does.

Currently available for focused consulting engagements. Response within 48 hours.

Compiler engineering C / Systems Performance Dev tooling Technical design

Send an email

dawn@dawn.day

No forms. No calendly. Just email.