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Principal Engineer

Principal Engineer

Principal Engineer | Technical Strategy & Architecture

50+ Architecture Calls. 3 Escalated. The Rest I Wrote Down.

Open to Work
289 Endpoints Migrated
15+ Years Architecture

I make the calls others escalate — and write down why.

Decisions Made

50+ architecture calls across a 289-endpoint migration serving 53 markets. 3 escalated. $336K+ savings validated by finance. ADR discipline that survived team turnover.

When Source Code Didn T Exist

Reverse-engineered Acucobol via bytecode analysis, producing 45+ migration specs. Built a 34-agent AI framework that cut schema mapping from weeks to hours with 90% error reduction.

When principals disagreed on migration approach, I evaluated tradeoffs, committed to phased strangler pattern, and shipped with zero major incidents. Trust earned through written records and predictable outcomes.

Open to Work
Remote / Hybrid

Strategic Impact

Architecture-level decisions

How I Decide

What People Say
Working with him is a masterclass.
Guillermo Vergara
Software Engineer, Unicity
On architectural mentorship

Architecture Stack

Core Skills

Skill Categories

Credentials

Execution Log

Jan 2026 - Present
The Real Work (TRW) Framework

Creator & Lead Engineer

Salt Lake City, Utah
Technology used in this role
TypeScript
Backend automation & AI scripting
Python
Technology used in this role
MCP
Technology used in this role
Multi-Agent Systems
Technology used in this role
YAML
Technology used in this role
CLI Tooling
Technology used in this role
Claude Code
Technology used in this role
VS Code
Technology used in this role
Vitest
Technology used in this role
pytest

Created TRW, an open methodology framework for AI-assisted software development. Built persistent memory, structured workflows, and quality gates so AI coding agents compound discoveries across sessions and projects instead of resetting to zero.

  • Designed framework architecture with 6-phase execution lifecycle, quality gates, and 19 MCP tools. Made architectural decisions for multi-agent coordination, persistent memory, and cross-platform integration.

  • Built multi-agent team coordination with specialized roles (lead, implementer, tester, reviewer) and file ownership validation. 2,600+ tests with automated verification.

  • Launched beta across 5 coding platforms. Architecture decisions documented as the framework methodology itself. Standards that survive because they're built into the system.

Jan 2025 - Jan 2026
Unicity International

Staff Software Engineer | AI Systems Architect

Provo, Utah
Generative Artificial Intelligence workflows
GenAI
Large Language Models implementation
LLMs
Technology used in this role
TypeScript
Backend automation & AI scripting
Python
Abstract Syntax Tree code analysis
AST Parsing
Server-side scripting & legacy systems
PHP
Amazon Web Services
AWS
Container orchestration system
Kubernetes
Technology used in this role
GitHub Actions
Continuous Integration/Deployment
CI/CD
Optimizing LLM context windows
Context Engineering
Technology used in this role
MCP

Promoted to Staff from Engineering Manager (2+ years total at Unicity, Nov 2023 - Jan 2026). Led AI-powered modernization for a global platform (53 markets). Built the multi-agent system that made 289 endpoint migrations possible. (IC track — AI migration systems and tooling)

  • Decision Ownership: Made 50+ architectural calls autonomously during 289-endpoint migration, escalating only the 3 decisions with multi-year organizational impact. Leadership trusted the judgment.

  • Dispute Arbitration: When teams disagreed on migration approach (big-bang vs. strangler fig), evaluated trade-offs, committed to phased strangler pattern. Result: zero major incidents, 96% traffic migrated.

  • Digital Archeology: When source code didn't exist, found another way. Reverse-engineered Acucobol via bytecode analysis, producing 45+ migration specs (50K+ lines).

Nov 2023 - Jan 2025
Unicity International

Engineering Manager / Technical Lead

Provo, Utah
In-memory data structure store
Redis
Observability & monitoring service
Datadog
Feature flag management
LaunchDarkly
Server-side scripting & legacy systems
PHP
Technology used in this role
Laravel
Containerization platform
Docker
Amazon Web Services
AWS
Continuous Integration/Deployment
CI/CD
Technology used in this role
TravisCI
Berkeley Packet Filter for tracing
BPF

Hired to migrate a 289-endpoint legacy system to Laravel. Achieved 96% production traffic with zero major incidents while driving $336K+ annual cost savings. (Management track — platform modernization and delivery)

  • Led migration of 289 API endpoints achieving 96% production traffic on Laravel, delivering 34% faster response times and 4x order processing improvement (300→1,300 orders/5min).

  • Achieved $336K annualized savings (FinOps tags + invoices): cloud infrastructure ($278K), DataDog optimization 62.5% ($12K→$4.5K/month), RDS consolidation ($32K). Removed 500,000 lines legacy code.

  • Built production observability infrastructure: implemented on-call rotations, automated alerting, monitoring dashboards, and a real-time debugging toolkit (Redis/Xdebug/BPF) reducing MTTR by 95% (incident logs, 90-day window).

  • Diagnosed Redis pooling issue achieving 95% DNS resolution improvement and 97-98% OTP auth improvement.

  • Mentored 10+ engineers through 185+ 1:1 sessions with career frameworks and growth records. CTO recognition: 'Tyler is AI' for innovation leadership. Built the kind of team where people stayed through hard projects — zero attrition during the entire 289-endpoint migration.

  • Led first load test in company history—5 sessions, zero system failures, 85-90% confidence for peak traffic. Attended every strategic meeting throughout tenure.

  • Built 50 per-developer daily/weekly metric reports tracking adoption and bottlenecks per-ticket/per-feature/per-developer; built 0→1,500 automated test cases driven by business requirements from tickets and QA features.

Feb 2022 - Oct 2023
ButcherBox

Principal Engineer

Remote
Early LLM API integration
OpenAI GPT-3
Frontend UI library
React
Technology used in this role
TypeScript
Javascript runtime environment
Node.js
Microsoft cloud computing services
Azure
Container orchestration system
Kubernetes
Continuous Integration/Deployment
CI/CD
Technology used in this role
GitHub Actions
Technology used in this role
Shopify
Technology used in this role
Instacart

Promoted to Principal Engineer from Senior Lead (4+ years total at ButcherBox, Jul 2019 - Oct 2023). Owned architecture decisions for a platform processing $2B+ in transactions. Led cross-team architecture, pioneered early GenAI adoption, and single-handedly led flagship Instacart and Shopify integrations.

  • Platform Strategy: Shaped 4-year technical roadmap for $2B+ transaction platform, advising executive leadership on build-vs-buy decisions and architectural investments.

  • Executive Partnership: Provided strategic technical guidance across Operations, Customer Service, and Engineering, influencing product roadmaps and risk mitigation strategies.

  • Innovation Leadership: Pushed GPT-3 adoption (2022, pre-ChatGPT) before anyone was asking for it. Built the ROI case that freed AI tooling budget across the organization.

  • Flagship Execution: Single-handedly led and delivered the Instacart integration—ButcherBox's most visible partnership—owning architectural design, cross-team coordination, and executive visibility end-to-end over 6 months.

July 2019 - Feb 2022
ButcherBox

Senior Lead Software Engineer

Boston, Massachusetts
Container orchestration system
Kubernetes
Kubernetes package manager
Helm
Containerization platform
Docker
Asynchronous system design
Event-Driven Arch
Decoupled service architecture
Microservices
Microsoft cloud computing services
Azure
Technology used in this role
TypeScript
Continuous Integration/Deployment
CI/CD
Technology used in this role
GitHub Actions
Technology used in this role
Zendesk

Joined right before COVID hit and order volume went through the roof. Built the Operations engineering team from zero (just me) to 9 engineers, broke it into specialized squads, then transitioned to lead all three teams through a monolith-to-microservices migration during COVID-19 10x traffic surge.

  • Built Operations engineering team from 0 (solo) to 9 engineers, then broke it into specialized squads: Operations backend, CS Support (Zendesk dashboard app), and backend API migration team.

  • Transitioned to lead all 3 teams simultaneously—12 engineers total across Operations, CS Support, and API migration—with clear ownership and delivery accountability.

  • Engineered backend optimizations handling 10x traffic surge during COVID with zero scaling incidents, while competitors experienced significant downtime.

  • Built platform recognized internally as gold standard for Testing, Stability, Documentation, Innovation, and cross-department collaboration.

  • Led migration from monolithic architecture to Event-Driven Microservices on Azure and Kubernetes, establishing patterns adopted company-wide.

  • Boosted application performance by 87% in first 90 days by refactoring critical backend paths and React frontend—establishing immediate credibility.

Jan 2019 - Apr 2019
Janeiro Digital

Principal Engineer

Boston, Massachusetts
Decentralized web standards
Solid Protocol
Frontend UI library
React
Javascript runtime environment
Node.js
Web3 & data sovereignty
Decentralized Web

Recruited to a specialized task force working under Sir Tim Berners-Lee to engineer decentralized data ecosystems (Solid). Led a team of 6-8 remote developers rescuing a failing insurance fintech project.

  • Rescued failing insurance platform 6 months behind schedule by restructuring architecture and coordinating 6-8 remote developers—delivered on-time with zero regulatory compliance issues.

  • Delivered real-time quoting engine handling complex state-specific regulations for all 50 states, processing quotes in under 2 seconds across 200+ rule variations.

  • Kept the client in the loop with weekly demos. The team was remote and under pressure, but we shipped on time every week.

June 2015 - Nov 2018
O2O HQ | O2O环球商网

VP of Engineering & Lead Systems Architect (Founder)

American Fork, Utah
Amazon Web Services
AWS
Alibaba Cloud infrastructure
Aliyun
Server-side scripting & legacy systems
PHP
Representational State Transfer APIs
Rest API
Financial technology integration
Fintech

Founded and scaled a cross-border e-commerce marketplace from Zero-to-One, serving complex trade and financial flows between China and the U.S.

  • Technical Co-founder: Defined architecture vision for international e-commerce platform spanning AWS (US) and Aliyun (China), solving 'Great Firewall' latency at scale.

  • Strategic Partnerships: Negotiated and architected integrations with 19+ payment gateways including ICBC (world's second-largest bank). No payment infrastructure, no transaction volume.

  • International Recognition: Won 2nd place at an international technology competition in China. Credibility isn't claimed; it's placed by a panel of judges.

Jan 2013 - June 2017
Antic Solutions

Founder & Principal Solutions Architect

Springville, Utah
Javascript runtime environment
Node.js
Google's web framework
Angular
Server-side scripting & legacy systems
PHP
Online retail platforms
E-commerce

Led a boutique engineering consultancy delivering full-stack solutions for enterprise clients. Operated as Fractional CTO.

  • Secured and executed multiple NewBalance.com contracts, directing performance engineering that improved page load times 40% and increased conversion rates measurably.

  • Operated as Fractional CTO for 5+ enterprise clients simultaneously, managing end-to-end SDLC and establishing engineering standards that outlasted engagements.

  • Delivered performant, scalable web applications using Node.js, PHP, and Angular—building a consultancy with 100% client retention rate over 4 years.

2014 - 2015
Modernized Media

Senior Software Engineer & Team Lead

Draper, Utah
Integration with Amazon/eBay/etc
Marketplace APIs
Workflow efficiency scripting
Automation
Relational database management
SQL

Led engineering of a high-volume, multi-channel e-commerce automation platform.

  • Led development of multi-channel sales automation achieving +1,700% YOY sales and -44% overhead reduction (shipping -44%, labor -17%) within 1 month of deployment.

  • Designed centralized inventory orchestration engine integrating Amazon, Overstock, NewEgg, and 6+ additional marketplaces into unified platform.

  • Managed team of 4 (3 developers + designer) developing MLM/Direct Sales management platforms from conception to production.

  • Built the linters, templates, and coding standards that every team at the company ended up using.

System Online
Build: v2.5.0-stable