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Kael Sterling
Lead Software Engineer & Systems Architect
SECURITY CLEARANCE ELIGIBLE

I’m a Lead Software Engineer & Systems Architect with over a decade of experience building mission-critical autonomy systems, distributed data pipelines, and high-reliability software across defense, research, and enterprise environments. I focus on clarity, predictability, and long-term maintainability—systems that remain understandable years after they’re written.

Experience

Lead Software Engineer
Untapped Technologies
May 2024 – Present

I lead engineering efforts across infrastructure automation, identity provisioning, and internal tooling. My work spans architecture, implementation, and operational support for systems that streamline onboarding, authentication, and environment provisioning across the organization.

  • Designed and implemented automated provisioning workflows for Active Directory and Entra ID.
  • Built infrastructure automation scripts for Proxmox VE, Linux systems, and internal services.
  • Developed internal tools in Go and Python to improve engineering efficiency and reduce manual work.
  • Collaborated with leadership to define technical direction and long-term platform strategy.
  • Improved reliability and observability across internal systems through structured logging and monitoring.
Go Python Bash Proxmox VE Active Directory Entra ID Automation Linux
Lead Software Engineer
Autonomous Surface Vehicles (L3Harris)
Nov 2020 – Mar 2024

I led development of mission-critical autonomy software for autonomous surface vehicles, owning architecture, implementation, and verification across multiple releases. I worked closely with systems engineering, test teams, and program leadership to deliver reliable, certifiable software under strict NIST and MIL-STD constraints.

  • Designed and implemented autonomy behaviors and mission-execution logic in C++17 on Alma Linux.
  • Built DDS/UMAA messaging layers enabling deterministic inter-process communication.
  • Led Agile ceremonies, decomposed requirements, and authored formal engineering documentation.
  • Developed Jenkins CI pipelines and hardware-in-the-loop test harnesses for pre-deployment validation.
  • Collaborated across disciplines to integrate autonomy software with real-world vehicle hardware.
C++ Qt Linux (Alma) DDS/UMAA Jenkins NIST MIL-STD
Software Developer
University of Missouri (CARES)
Apr 2013 – Oct 2020

I developed distributed data pipelines, microservices, and Android applications supporting research, reporting, and campus operations. I worked across Java, Python, and C#/.NET systems, often owning features end-to-end from requirements through deployment.

  • Architected distributed pipelines processing tens of millions of records daily.
  • Developed C#/.NET microservices for billing, reporting, and course-sharing platforms.
  • Built Android applications used by thousands of students annually.
  • Improved data quality and reliability through validation and ETL tooling.
  • Collaborated with researchers to translate analytical needs into production systems.
Java Python C#/.NET Android Distributed Systems ETL SQL

Technical Expertise

Core Proficiencies
C++ Go Python Java/Kotlin C#/.NET Bash Distributed Systems DDS/UMAA System Architecture DevSecOps
Platforms & Domains
Linux (Alma 8/9) Microservices REST APIs Mission Autonomy DDS/UMAA Messaging Proxmox VE Distributed Systems Design
Engineering Leadership
Jenkins CI/CD DevSecOps TDD Coverity Code Review Workflows Release Engineering Compliance (NIST SP 800-218) Mentorship Compliance (MIL-STD-498) Architecture Governance Cross-Functional Collaboration

Featured Work

ASV Mission Autonomy
C++/Qt · Linux · DDS/UMAA

Architected mission-critical autonomy behaviors for autonomous surface vehicles under strict MIL-STD constraints.

Projects

UntappedRally
Android · Java/Kotlin

Full-stack mobile development for event coordination, featuring offline synchronization and real-time updates.

Doggo Dashboard
PHP · SQLite · Full-stack

Lightweight activity-tracking dashboard with a normalized schema, denormalized views, and a polished UI for logging routines, scheduling events, and attaching files.

Education

B.Sc., Computer Science
University of Missouri
May 2015

Contact

If you’d like to talk about autonomy, distributed systems, or engineering strategy, feel free to reach out.

Primary Engineering
Corporate Inquiries
LinkedIn Professional linkedin.com/in/kael-sterling