Nathaniel “Nate” Houk is an Italian-American computer engineer, derivatives trader, entrepreneur, and music enthusiast based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. His interests span computers, programming, machine learning, options trading, vintage electronics, eurorack modular synthesizers, techno music, and traveling.

In June 2023, Nate led his team from ideation to execution, winning first place at the Flow Traders AI Hackathon. His expertise in generative AI and prompt engineering fuels his passion for innovation in this field.

In 2015, he founded Epsilon Records, a boutique record label specializing in Techno, Acid, and Deep House. He also pioneered Beautiful Techno, a genre that fuses techno’s intensity with melodic, emotive, and atmospheric elements for an immersive experience. Explore the latest releases on Bandcamp.

From 2008 to 2015, Nate worked as a derivatives trader at several high-frequency trading firms, including IMC Financial Markets and Wolverine Trading.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Southern California (USC) in 2008, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 major GPA. While at USC, he served as a teaching assistant for EE106 under Professor Mark Redekopp.

In 2006, he founded the USC Chapter of Engineers Without Borders, serving as President until 2008. The EWB-USC club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to improving lives through sustainable water and engineering projects.

In Fall 2005, he won the USC Programming Contest, writing his solutions in C++. His EE459 senior design project involved writing embedded C and reverse-engineering the Apple 30-pin connector to develop an alarm clock called iSnooze.

Nate grew up on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and graduated from Bainbridge High School in 2004.