Welcome to my corner of the web. I'm a software engineering leader passionate about building reliable, efficient systems and empowering developer teams. This blog is where I unpack ideas, share learnings (sometimes from mistakes!), and discuss software development, system design, and interesting tech. Occasionally, you might also find some music content like chords or tabs.

My Journey So Far

Looking back, I realize much of my career has unintentionally centered around solving problems for other developers – improving their tools, workflows, and overall experience (DevEx). It's a space I find rewarding. My path has taken me through various challenges in distributed systems, networking, and infrastructure, always trying to build practical solutions.

A key part of my approach involves understanding the users I'm building for, whether they're external customers or internal developers. I enjoy being a bridge between their needs and the technical solutions, ensuring we're not just building cool tech, but delivering real business value and impact – a connection that I believe is crucial.

Here's a brief look at where I've applied this approach:

• Stripe (October 2020 - Present)

  Started as a Staff Engineer (Oct 2020 - Jun 2021), driving technical initiatives, shaping platform evolution, and architecting the vision for Stripe Apps. Transitioned to Software Engineering Manager (Jun 2021 - Aug 2023), building and leading the teams behind Stripe's app ecosystem, launching Stripe Apps, and growing it to serve 30,000 active merchants. Currently (Sep 2023 - Present), leading the Merchant Experiences engineering group, focusing on the Stripe Dashboard (Web/Mobile), the merchant messaging platform, and the App Marketplace, aiming to create scalable platforms for a high-quality, cohesive merchant experience.

• Oracle (May 2015 - October 2020)

  Served as a Consulting Member of Technical Staff on the early OCI team. Architected and launched foundational cloud services including Load Balancing, API Gateway, Kubernetes (OKE), and Functions (FaaS), which remain key parts of OCI's strategy. Also contributed to the Java Platform Group, improving developer experience and cloud service integration.

• Joyent (February 2013 - May 2015)

  Led the Node.js project during its transition from a company-sponsored project to an open source foundation. Drove release strategy, technical roadmap, and focused on making Node.js more maintainable and debuggable across platforms by building core debugging and diagnostics tooling.

Connect

I'm always open to connecting with others who share these interests. You can find me here:

• GitHub
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Education

• Kent State University (2003 - 2008)

  BS, Computer Science