I’ve been building and figuring out computer systems since I was 16. Technology is in my blood.

At 14, I worked a paper route to buy a 56k modem. I learned Linux by wrestling with Slackware until I got it working. In high school, I completed an IT apprenticeship and worked on Linux mail servers, networking, and shell scripts. Years later, I built a computing cluster out of 75 Android phones and wrote its monitoring and management tools because I wanted to see what I could make it do. That curiosity has stayed with me through 25 years in technology.

Today, I’m a Member of Technical Staff at OpenAI. Previously, I founded the Linux Security Engineering function at Block and personally built its hardened Linux image platform. At AWS, I took security infrastructure from prototype to production and helped grow the team operating it. My background also includes global production systems at Zendesk, cloud automation at Singlewire, scientific computing at UW–Madison, and service as an intelligence analyst in the U.S. Air Force.

Linux is where I feel at home. I care about what happens underneath the abstraction: how systems communicate, where they fail, how to troubleshoot them, and how to make them secure and reliable. I’ve built systems, carried the pager, handled production incidents, and stayed responsible for what happened after deployment. I take pride in that work, whether it’s a shell script or an entire platform. That experience shapes the technical judgment I bring to mentoring.

I’ve also been teaching engineers for years, from Linux and shell scripting at UW to mentoring junior engineers at Zendesk and seven engineers through Amazon’s formal mentoring program. I’ve helped colleagues work toward promotions and technical career transitions. As an Amazon Bar Raiser, I participated in more than 180 interviews, giving me a practical understanding of how engineers demonstrate depth, judgment, and impact.

I work best with engineers who want to get stronger at their craft and take on more responsibility. We can dig into Linux, cloud infrastructure, security, and systems design; work through the move into senior or staff-level scope; or prepare for interviews and a career change. Expect direct feedback, explanations that go beneath the surface, and concrete work on the problems you bring. I’ll challenge your thinking, help you recognize what you already do well, and take your progress seriously.

Tell me what you’re trying to build, solve, or become better at. Let’s get to work.