Personal Statement
I've been programming since age 8. Most of my career I've worked in startups of various sizes. I've been a single developer and also grown teams through multiple funding rounds.
I'm very good at designing and building systems that are simple to understand and maintain. Elegant but understandable design is the cornerstone of my approach. I believe this sets up a business for success in a variety of ways.
If I didn't have any use for money I'd still spend a lot of time writing code and building things because I love doing it. I also love snowboarding, learning things, and helping others learn things.
In the workplace I strive to build world class software and systems. To me this means software that can be trusted.
I'm very good at designing and building systems that are simple to understand and maintain. Elegant but understandable design is the cornerstone of my approach. I believe this sets up a business for success in a variety of ways.
If I didn't have any use for money I'd still spend a lot of time writing code and building things because I love doing it. I also love snowboarding, learning things, and helping others learn things.
In the workplace I strive to build world class software and systems. To me this means software that can be trusted.
Past Customers
Chloe & Isabel. VP of Engineering. Also made head of product. I grew the team from four engineers to a team of 25. I created a highly effective systems-oriented QA approach, and strongly emphasized UI/UX research and wireframing to help establish product/market fit. I was involved in fundraising for the Series B and C rounds. To date the company has raised over $35M.
Prevail Health Solutions: As CTO I helped grow the business to expand from the government sector into the private sector.
Swarm Development Group: Founded by MacArthur Fellow Christopher Landon.
Prevail Health Solutions: As CTO I helped grow the business to expand from the government sector into the private sector.
Swarm Development Group: Founded by MacArthur Fellow Christopher Landon.
Projects & Accomplishments
I've built a lot of things but the three things that come to mind that I'm proudest of are:
- As CTO of a healthcare startup I rearchitected a few core pieces of system. The result was about 10% of the number of lines of code. The part I'm proud of is that the simplicity of the approach let two junior developers on the team really flourish. It really feels great to be a force multiplier.
- I had lunch with the founders of a well-known developer training program in New York and mentioned a few of the approaches I used when teaching people to program. They ended up making one of the approaches a core part of their approach and have been thrilled with the results and offered me the position of curriculum director.
- I recently thought about a business process change management system I designed years ago. It turns out the system is still fully operational and has required no maintenance in the past 10 years.
- As CTO of a healthcare startup I rearchitected a few core pieces of system. The result was about 10% of the number of lines of code. The part I'm proud of is that the simplicity of the approach let two junior developers on the team really flourish. It really feels great to be a force multiplier.
- I had lunch with the founders of a well-known developer training program in New York and mentioned a few of the approaches I used when teaching people to program. They ended up making one of the approaches a core part of their approach and have been thrilled with the results and offered me the position of curriculum director.
- I recently thought about a business process change management system I designed years ago. It turns out the system is still fully operational and has required no maintenance in the past 10 years.
Testimonials
The Founder and CEO of Chloe & Isabel said that under my leadership the product team has produced work superior to any in the history of the company.
Many people have said they were shocked to learn I was not valedictorian of my high school class.
I was apparently the top pick after a 6 month CTO search in the NYC area, including many candidates from Google, Microsoft, etc., after in-depth interviewing and technical interviews.
I've been personally recommended by Patrick Collison of Stripe for a high profile CTO role.
Many people have said they were shocked to learn I was not valedictorian of my high school class.
I was apparently the top pick after a 6 month CTO search in the NYC area, including many candidates from Google, Microsoft, etc., after in-depth interviewing and technical interviews.
I've been personally recommended by Patrick Collison of Stripe for a high profile CTO role.
Education
Bachelors of Arts, Linguistics. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 2000.
My focus was on dynamical systems modeling. My project used objective C and the SWARM toolkit to model language contact scenarios based on the "artificial societies" approach pioneered by Joshua Epstein and Robert Axtell (Brookings).
This work led to an internship at the SWARM development group in Santa Fe, NM., a for-profit division founded by MacArthur Fellow Christopher Langdon (inventor of that simulation where the polygons start crawling/swimming, etc.).
During my studies I took extensive coursework in computer science, mathematics, and complex systems, including a significant amount of graduate coursework my Junior and Senior year. I was awarded a variety of merit-based research grants.
My focus was on dynamical systems modeling. My project used objective C and the SWARM toolkit to model language contact scenarios based on the "artificial societies" approach pioneered by Joshua Epstein and Robert Axtell (Brookings).
This work led to an internship at the SWARM development group in Santa Fe, NM., a for-profit division founded by MacArthur Fellow Christopher Langdon (inventor of that simulation where the polygons start crawling/swimming, etc.).
During my studies I took extensive coursework in computer science, mathematics, and complex systems, including a significant amount of graduate coursework my Junior and Senior year. I was awarded a variety of merit-based research grants.
Hobbies
I snowboard.
I am a fairly avid amateur radio operator. I compete in international radiosport competitions and high speed telegraphy (yes, that's morse code).
I'm currently learning FPGA design and DSP so that I can design an RF beamforming system with a few ideas I want to test out.
I write essays, read fiction, and also read food science, cooking theory books. I bake bread and pizza and sometimes other things too.
I'm a classic ENTP in all the good ways :)
I am a fairly avid amateur radio operator. I compete in international radiosport competitions and high speed telegraphy (yes, that's morse code).
I'm currently learning FPGA design and DSP so that I can design an RF beamforming system with a few ideas I want to test out.
I write essays, read fiction, and also read food science, cooking theory books. I bake bread and pizza and sometimes other things too.
I'm a classic ENTP in all the good ways :)