About Me

I’m a senior software developer who collaborates with experts to deliver simple systems that help them work better.

Over the last decade plus I’ve worked on many different teams: large, small, new startups, established enterprises, employee, consultant, volunteer. In every context I’ve found that the best results come from finding a person with a need and working with them to get it met, whether that person is a user, an operator, or the person building the system.

Computers are powerful tools for organizing and understanding. When used with care and humility they have applications in every field of human endeavour; without, they too easily become methods of surveillance and control.

People need software that’s easy to use, efficient to operate, and that they can update as requirements change. Life is too short and too precious to be spent waiting for interminable loading spinners, copy-pasting information between systems that ought to be integrated, or expending endless quantities of care and attention on workarounds.

I build systems that empower people to do work that matters. I’m at my best when I’m simplifying, optimizing, and debugging. I care deeply about clear code and documentation so that systems make sense to whoever works on them next, and I know that writing, talking, and listening are just as important as technical acumen. I’m not afraid of asking “dumb” questions or speaking in front of a crowd.

I taught myself software development while studying Physics at McGill University, where I later worked as a research assistant writing code to analyze astrophysics observations. I also briefly studied to be a high-school math teacher and started an MSc at Dalhousie using climate models to study the chemical composition of atmospheric particles.

Besides being a software developer I’m dad to two little people. Our family lives in Victoria, BC on the unceded territory of the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. You can spot us going to and from school, activities, or friends’ houses by e-bike year round.

When I’m not working or parenting I help organize a local monthly indie tabletop roleplaying game night and occasionally publish my own games.