rs.Let’s connect
DEVELOPER. BUILDER. CURIOUS MIND.CV / 2026

18 YEARS OLDBASED IN FINLAND

I turn curiosity
into things that work.

Writing code since 12. Shipping since 14.
Exploring the space between software,
physics, and the real world.

Explore my work ↓
SCROLL TO DISCOVER ↓
BACK IN THE BAY

San Francisco, again.

I’m coming back December 5–11. Building something, exploring an idea, or just up for a coffee? I’d love to meet.

Let’s meet in SF

NOW EXPLORING

OPEN QUESTIONS. WORK IN PROGRESS.
OTAMAPS / WHAT’S NEXT
OtaMaps

Beyond our school.

OtaMaps started with helping people find their classroom. Now I’m exploring how to scale it: what would it take to bring affordable indoor navigation to other campuses, venues, and large buildings?

Explore OtaMaps
SOLMUTON / MANAGED SERVICES
Solmuton

Less IT friction. More room to build.

I’m building Solmuton, a managed service provider project for small businesses. Bringing asset procurement, support, and everyday IT into one simpler experience, so people can focus on their own work.

Explore Solmuton

EXPERIENCE

Built for the
real world.

SMALL BUDGET.
BIG PROBLEMS.
TEAM LEAD & DEVELOPERINDOOR NAVIGATION

OtaMaps✳

A big building. A thousand students.
One less thing to get lost in.

THE ACTUAL PROJECT / OTAMAPSVisit otamaps.fi
20,000+ m²BUILDING AREA
1,000+STUDENTS
< €1,000TOTAL BUDGET

I lead the team developing an indoor navigation platform for over 1,000 students. OtaMaps helps them find the right classroom in a 20,000+ m² building, with classroom-level accuracy and a budget under €1,000.

Behind the project +

The challenge: make a large school building easier to navigate for over 1,000 students while keeping the entire project affordable.

My role combines leading the development team with building the platform. The focus is practical: help students get to the right classroom with room-level accuracy.

2 YEARS

Built. Released.
Used by thousands.

Two years working at a healthtech startup. I developed two released applications with more than 10,000 combined downloads.

2RELEASED APPLICATIONS
10k+COMBINED DOWNLOADS

Curiosity,
put to the test.

CODE. CALCULATE.
BUILD. REPEAT.
SPACE & ENGINEERINGFINLAND FINALIST

ESA CanSatA small satellite.
A bigger challenge.

A satellite mission, scaled down to a soda can. A finalist in Finland’s ESA CanSat competition.

  1. Launch
  2. Separate
  3. Flight

Onboard sensors and cameras record the journey and data as the parachute brings the satellite back to Earth.

Scroll to follow the mission ↓
ROBOTICS2025–2026 SEASON

VEX V5
Robotics.

Built to think for itself.

I developed our robot’s self-driving system to adapt to every situation on the field. Its exceptional technical execution earned our team the Think Award.

We also finished as Tournament Finalists in the Finnish national competition.

TWO AWARDS / ONE SEASON
2025–2026

THINK AWARD

Exceptional autonomous execution

2025–2026

TOURNAMENT FINALIST

Finnish national competition

PHYSICS

Finnish Physics Competition

Finnish national competition

6th nationally
PROGRAMMING

Datatähti

Finnish Programming Competition · Finalist

20th nationally
RECOGNITION

Technology stipends

Recognition for work in technology

Multiple awards

Helsinki → San Francisco

17 years old.
One month.
San Francisco.

At 17, I spent a month building OtaMaps in San Francisco as part of Neighborhood, an international youth hacker house program. Surrounded by other young people who just wanted to build. Now, I’m working on something new and exciting.

FINLAND / SAN FRANCISCO / A NEW PROJECT
HEL / SFO
SAN FRANCISCOSUMMER 2025
AROUND THE CITYYOU CAN JUST SHIP THINGS.
GITHUB HQBUILDING TOGETHER.

Still learning.
Always building.

I’m Rene, an 18-year-old developer and final-year student at Otaniemi Upper Secondary School in Finland.

I study on the LUMA track, with an emphasis on physics and mathematics. I’m drawn to problems that connect those subjects with software, and to the moment an idea becomes something someone can use.

Better when built together.

I’ve taken part in game jams and hosted two of my own. I’ve also participated in two hackathons hosted at GitHub, including Undercity, a hardware hackathon.

SOFTWAREMATHEMATICSPHYSICSROBOTICS
AGE 12

The first line of code.

Started programming. Kept going.

AGE 14

From code to launch.

Released my first application.

AGE 17

A month in San Francisco.

Neighborhood. An international hacker house. Building OtaMaps.

NOW / AGE 18

More to figure out.

Building a new project. Final year at Otaniemi. Physics and mathematics.

Let’s build
what’s next.

EMAILrene@saarikko.devPHONE+358 40 160 2008

Good problems. Ambitious ideas. Interesting people.

IMAGE INDEX / RENE SAARIKKO
San Francisco skyline with palm trees and skyscrapers

01 / 05 · San Francisco / Summer 2025