Behdad Esfahbod he/they /behˈ·dɒːd ɛs·fæhˈ·boːd/ ▶

I build open-source software for the world’s writing systems.

I’m an Iranian-Canadian engineer and consultant, best known as the author of HarfBuzz—the text-shaping engine used across major operating systems, browsers, and apps. In Persian, my name is بهداد اسفهبد.

I’ve worked on fonts, text rendering, and internationalization for more than 25 years, beginning with Persian language support. Along the way, I’ve worked at FarsiWeb, Red Hat, Google, and Facebook.

I was born in Sari, Iran, and lived in Tehran, Toronto, Menlo Park, and Seattle before settling in Edmonton, Canada.