About Me
Originally from a humanities background, I found my calling as an engineer because I wanted to amplify my impact and make a positive change in the world. Years later, software engineering has become both my profession and my passion. I love solving challenging technical problems, creating technology that centers users in the design process, and using my years of multidisciplinary experience to communicate and teach computer science in a way that's accessible to everyone. In my free time I enjoy training and competing across North America as a West Coast Swing dancer and fencer.
My Specialities
I do a lot of things, here's what I've been working on lately.
AWS Architecture
I'm a nerd about system design in the cloud. In my current role I build cloud-native apps in AWS using modern microservices architecture. I most commonly work with services like EKS, S3, EC2, DynamoDb, and Lambda.
Angular / TypeScript
While I lean backend, I find myself doing frontend developement often to make my projects come to life. I've led product developement in Angular in my previous role at Immuta and it's now my go-to for any web application I build.
Kubernetes
Running services in Kubernetes is a common enterprise choice. In my current role you can often find me reading through the docs, tweaking deployment manifests, and troubleshooting with Lens.
DynamoDB
While I love SQL and relational databases, Dynamo is my current tool of choice. I'm currently doing a deep dive on single table design and recently shipped a Rust service with a DynamoDB backend.
Communication
I appreciate the kind and efficient communication of ideas. Expect proactive updates and a cool head in a crisis. In my past I've been an editor and a translator and have even led projects to rehaul the communication for entire user journeys. I didn't learn 5 languages just to not update you on Slack.
Rust
Earlier this year I was charged with building out a Rust service to improve a key part of the user experience at SimpliSafe. The problem? I had never used Rust. After some time with The Book and a little help from my friends I pushed out an entire service! Recently, I unironically suggested we rewrite something in Rust.
Résumé
Industry
SimpliSafe
Software Engineer II - User Systems
November 2024 - Present
Work on cross-functional teams to develop, test, monitor, and maintain high traffic (over 1,000,000 RPS for some services), life critical, backend systems deployed in distributed cloud environments. Lead new feature development utilizing state of the art tools like Docker, Kubernetes, DynamoDb, and many AWS cloud offerings. Serve on-call to respond to production issues.
Immuta
Full Stack Software Engineer
August 2022 - July 2022
Perform all roles of the Software Engineering process including tech planning, development, testing, application monitoring, and code review. Serve as a feature lead for the front-end aspects of the Detect product which provides near real time monitoring for cloud hosted data sources such as Snowflake, Databricks, and Trino at enterprise scale. Build APIs integrating GraphQL and ElasticSearch.
OpenClinica
Application Support, Data, and Software Engineer
July 2020 - August 2022
Gather requirements with clients, architect, build, and deploy custom software solutions, automation, and web applications using Spring Boot (Java), Flask (Python), Selenium (Java), and Bash Scripting (Linux). Serve as the tech lead for a high profile project data migration project while working closely with solutions consultants, project managers, and product team members.
Teaching
Bunker Hill Community College
Computer Science Tutor
July 2023 - Present
Tutor all levels of the Software Engineering and Information Technology courses including topics like Object Oriented Programming, networking, database design, and Linux system administration, as well as language specific classes in Java, C++, and Python.
Southern New Hampshire University
Adjunct Professor of Computer Science
Fall 2024 - Winter 2024
CS-320 Software Testing, Automation, and Quality Assurance
CS-360 - Mobile Architecture and Programming
Note: While I am still eligble to teach, I am not currently teaching this semester.
Dance
West Coast Swing
Instructor
July 2015 - Present
It may seem odd to list my hobby on my resume, but the way I approach androgogy in West Coast Swing is very similar to how I approach my work in both education and industry. I use my formal training (as a professor), years of experience (as a teacher), and am constantly learning and experimenting to deliver students the perfect class. The spirit of dedication to my craft, continuous learning and improvement, and explaining difficult concepts to people from all different backgrounds are skills that I take with me to every part of my life.