🧠 About
I am a passionate Software Development Team Director, Principal Consultant, and versatile Full-Stack Developer with over 25 years of experience building teams, systems, and software that solve real problems. My background spans fintech, healthcare, consumer goods, agriculture, and AI — and while the industries change, the fundamentals don't: lead with clarity, communicate well, and build things that last.
I’ve worn many hats — developer, director, architect — and I value the balance of staying hands-on while mentoring others to grow. Whether it’s shipping a SaaS platform, standing up infrastructure, diagramming system flows, or refining sprint habits, I bring a thoughtful, systems-first mindset to the work.
I'm a lifelong learner, currently deepening my expertise in cybersecurity and AI development. Outside of work, you'll usually find me experimenting with home automation, learning German, or maintaining a home lab full of Raspberry Pis, Synology NAS units, rack-mounted gear, and self-hosted tools.
I also build things for fun — like mermantic.net, a minimalist Mermaid.js editor for creating and sharing diagrams quickly, using modern vanilla JavaScript and my own component library.
🧰 Work History
Founder & Principal Consultant, Schmidt Digital Consulting
Muskego, Wisconsin | January 2024 - Present
- Provide senior-level software engineering leadership, architecture guidance, and delivery support for organizations across SaaS, B2B ecommerce, and internal enterprise platforms.
- Advise executive and technical stakeholders on system architecture, cloud strategy (AWS/Azure), DevOps workflows, and AI-driven product initiatives.
- Lead rapid prototyping and proof-of-concept efforts, helping clients validate ideas quickly while minimizing technical and financial risk.
- Design and implement scalable, secure solutions with an emphasis on maintainability, observability, and compliance-readiness.
- Partner with internal teams to unblock delivery, modernize legacy systems, and establish sustainable engineering practices.
- Operates alongside full-time leadership roles to provide advisory and hands-on consulting support.
Software Engineering Manager, GenAlpha Technologies
May 2024 - December 2025
- Leading cross-functional engineering teams focused on AI-driven B2B solutions
- Rapid prototyping with AWS Bedrock, Claude, and internal data pipelines
- Supporting architecture decisions, team structure, and DevOps workflows
Systems Architect, West Bend Mutual Insurance
June 2023 - May 2024
- Authored architectural decision records and high-level strategy docs
- Evaluated AI developer tools; led trial and rollout to 150+ engineers
- Unified dev workflows across verticals through standardization and documentation
Director of Design and Engineering, Source Intelligence
March 2022 - January 2023
- Managed front-end and UX teams for next-gen compliance product
- Led sprint planning, execution, and delivery
- Mentored team members and defined career trajectories
Senior Technology Lead / Manager, Horizontal Digital
May 2021 - March 2022
- Tech lead for $1M+ e-commerce account
- Led sprint planning and delivery of websites and integrations
Director of Development | Technology, CI Design
July 2016 - May 2021
- Grew development team from 3 to 11
- Implemented peer code review and containerization
- Hosted workshops on emerging technologies
Director of Digital, Charleston|Orwig
March 2014 - July 2016
- Managed developers across offices and Fortune 100 clients
- Designed and oversaw project management practice
- Achieved partnership status with Sitecore and Microsoft
Earlier Roles (2000–2014)
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Senior Dev / Tech Lead @ Layer One Media & Red Arrow Labs
Led 30-person dev and pre-sales team, defining tech strategy across projects -
Senior Developer @ Charleston Orwig
Architected enterprise-scale solutions with cross-functional teams -
Software Engineer @ SpectraCom
Built web/mobile tools for Fortune 100 clients, led platform evaluations -
.NET Developer @ Journal Broadcast Group
Modernized web properties for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel -
Software Engineer @ Dart Chart Systems
Migrated legacy systems to .NET stack with new workflows -
Web Developer @ Cream City Communications
Delivered full-stack sites for enterprise clients -
Operations Manager @ Phoenix Internet / Mixcom
Ran ISP infrastructure and technical operations
📜 Professional Affiliations & Standards
- Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- Member, Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA)