Hi, I'm Kyle.
Christian first, then husband and father to three kids, and somewhere after that I'm a software engineer. That order is intentional. I enjoy what I do for a living, but it isn't who I am.
I've been writing software professionally for about twenty years. Most of that time has been spent building enterprise applications, designing cloud systems, and working somewhere between software engineering and architecture. I've worked on everything from aging legacy applications to brand new SaaS platforms, and I've genuinely enjoyed both for different reasons.
The older I get, the more I appreciate simple software. Not because simple is easy, but because simple usually means someone understood the problem well enough to stop being clever. I've written clever code. I've also been the guy maintaining that clever code five years later. Those are two very different experiences.
I've made plenty of mistakes along the way. I've learned more from those than from most of my successes. Technology changes quickly. Skills get rusty. Every so often I find myself relearning something I was convinced I'd never forget. I've stopped seeing that as failure. It's just part of the job.
One of the most rewarding parts of my career has been helping other engineers grow. I enjoy working with developers of every experience level. Sometimes that means answering a question, sometimes it's pairing on a difficult problem, and sometimes it's just giving someone the confidence to tackle something they didn't think they could. Watching people grow into roles they once thought were out of reach never gets old.
You'll mostly find thoughts here on software engineering, cloud architecture, distributed systems, leadership, interviewing, and AI-assisted development. You'll also find quite a bit about my faith and my walk with Christ. I don't see those as separate parts of my life. My faith shapes how I approach my work, my family, and the way I try to treat people. It would feel strange to write about one without occasionally writing about the other.
Outside the keyboard
I have entirely too many hobbies.
One of them is designing guitar effects pedal PCBs through delyk PCBs. If you've ever wondered where the name came from, it's simply "Kyle D" spelled backwards. I thought it was pretty witty when I came up with it, and after all these years I suppose I'm committed to the bit.
That hobby is on hiatus these days, but it's the kind of thing that never really leaves you. There's something deeply satisfying about designing a circuit, soldering it together, plugging it into an amp, and hearing it come to life.
I also enjoy taking things apart just to see how they work. Sometimes I even manage to put them back together again. Whether it's electronics, software, cloud infrastructure, or some random project around the house, I'm happiest when I'm learning how something works and figuring out how it could work a little better.
My heart brightens when I hear my kids sing hymns at the top of their lungs. My soul rejoices when I teach the Trailmen in our Trail Life troop a new song, then hear them and their dads sing it loudly and courageously. I love stretching my mind by going a little deeper into theology and learning about apologetics. My body aches as I try to learn the basics of taekwondo.
If any of that sounds interesting, welcome. I hope you find something here that's useful—or at least something that makes you think.