Principal Software Engineer

Tyler Russon

10+ years architecting backend and distributed systems.

Principal Software Engineer with 10+ years of experience leading technical design and architecture for complex backend and distributed systems. Proven track record driving the full SDLC from architecture through deployment and post-launch production support. Strong mentor and technical leader known for raising code quality, strengthening CI/CD and operational rigor, and aligning engineering solutions with business goals across teams.

Eagle Mountain, UTGitHub →

Projects

Talus — Star Citizen Mining Intel

Featured

A field-terminal mining intel & planning tool for Star Citizen miners: find where to mine a mineral, browse what's available at a location, build a mining loadout, and run a go/no-go check on whether that loadout can crack a scanned rock. Runs on real game data ingested from scunpacked and live UEX prices via a scheduled GitHub Actions sync, with no database — game data is static JSON and saved loadouts live in localStorage.

  • React 19
  • TypeScript
  • Vite
  • React Router
  • GitHub Actions
Live site →

Galactic Police Department

Featured

The website for the Galactic Police Department, a Star Citizen role-play organization. Started as a static HTML prototype, grew a real backend, then was migrated to a React front end — all in production today. A Node/Express API handles Discord OAuth and events CRUD against PostgreSQL, served from the same origin as the React app so session cookies and OAuth redirects just work.

  • React
  • Vite
  • Node.js
  • Express
  • PostgreSQL
  • Discord OAuth
Live site →

LinksGolf

Backend platform for a mobile app that lets golfers compete with friends even when playing on different courses. Designed the full API, data models, and authentication, plus a scoring engine that normalizes results across courses using player handicap, per-hole difficulty, and course slope/rating.

  • .NET
  • SQL
  • REST APIs

Blossom

Backend APIs and a GPS-driven proximity algorithm for a social app that connects users who cross paths in real life. Analyzed location trails to detect when two users were within specific time/distance thresholds, while optimizing GPS sampling for accuracy and battery life.

  • .NET
  • SQL Server
  • REST APIs

Experience

Principal Engineer — Fidelity Investments

February 2019 – May 2026

Salt Lake City, UT

Led technical design and architecture for high-volume backend systems through a major modernization initiative, owning the full SDLC from design through post-launch production support across multiple cross-functional teams.

  • • Delivered an 89% performance improvement across PostgreSQL and MySQL through schema corrections, indexing, and query optimization.
  • • Built and deployed AWS Lambda services to support scalable backend workflows and improve operational responsiveness.
  • • Spearheaded responsible AI adoption by building custom agents and agentic workflows using LLMs, enabling daily use across multiple engineering teams.
  • • Designed an AI orchestrator with validation gates delegating tasks to subagents, improving workflow reliability, traceability, and throughput.
  • • Championed CI/CD best practices through automated linting, quality gates, and regression validation — improving PR quality and reducing rework.
  • • Strengthened production reliability via disaster recovery automation and Datadog observability dashboards tracking latency, error rate, request volume, and dependency health.
  • • Influenced technical strategy across multiple teams, including MySQL 8 upgrades and a customer-managed key to AWS KMS migration.

Backend Software Engineer (.NET / SQL) — LinksGolf App, LLC · Freelance

February 2022 – September 2022

Remote

Backend engineer responsible for designing and building the entire API and data layer for a mobile app that lets golfers compete with friends across different courses.

  • • Built the full backend platform using .NET and SQL, including API architecture, data models, authentication, and scoring logic.
  • • Designed the SQL database schema for players, handicaps, course ratings, hole difficulty, matches, and competition history.
  • • Implemented the scoring engine that normalizes results across different golf courses using player handicap, per-hole difficulty, and course slope/rating.
  • • Delivered secure, scalable REST APIs consumed by the mobile app for match creation, scoring, leaderboards, and user management.

Backend Engineer — Blossom Social App · Freelance

April 2020 – March 2021

Remote

Built backend APIs and the GPS-driven proximity algorithm that let users connect with people they encountered in real life.

  • • Designed and implemented a GPS-driven proximity algorithm analyzing user location trails to detect crossed paths within time/distance thresholds.
  • • Built APIs for event creation, social invitations, and friend suggestions based on real-world movement patterns.
  • • Optimized GPS data ingestion and processing to improve accuracy while reducing battery usage on mobile devices.
  • • Improved proximity-matching accuracy and reduced false positives, increasing user trust and engagement.

Senior Software Developer — Alder

July 2016 – January 2019

Orem, UT

Developed and maintained backend APIs and platforms for a security and home automation company, connecting mobile apps to physical alarm systems.

  • • Built backend APIs for mobile platforms using C#, .NET, SQL, and T-SQL enabling secure live video and alarm control connectivity.
  • • Created a dynamic video contract solution stitching personalized segments into finalized, legally binding customer contracts.
  • • Designed multi-platform alarm management and legal e-signature systems to support business-critical operations.
  • • Built a company-wide employee onboarding platform that improved operational consistency and reduced new hire ramp-up time.

Education