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Hi there, I’m Derek

Software Engineer

I’ve worked with computers my whole life and started my own company in 2010. A naturally self-taught polyglot, I picked up languages from Clipper and C++ to Bash early on. I love working with people, get obsessed with solving problems, and you’ll usually find me traveling with a notepad, a pen, and my old-school calculator. Linux evangelist, expert in cloud apps and self-hosting my own services.

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Services

Exceptional solutions to exceptional problems

Firstly, I am a problem solver; then, I’m a software engineer.

Development & Research

There is always a solution to a problem with software.

Business Continuity

After years of disaster recovery, I make sure your business is up and stays up through any disaster.

Start Up

With experience in business and technology, I assist in planning and execution for startups.

Network of Professionals

Social networking is crucial to building great businesses. let’s create a team for success.

Software Architecture

From an idea to the final product: assessment, design, governance, and coaching; each step meticulously planned.

Server Configuration & Deployment

Experienced in Linux & Windows server deployments.

Work Experience

I live for challenges

From black-box debugging to reverse engineering, unsolved problems keep me thriving. As a previous business owner, I appreciate the end goal and carry it as my own.

  1. Jun 2022 to Present

    VP of Engineering · CyberFOX LLC

    Consultant for PasswordBoss (Feb 2021 to Jun 2022). A cybersecurity company crafting products for MSPs and consumers. I sit on the leadership team, build and manage our dev teams across local and near-shore groups, and drive our KPIs. I also help build brand-new products, splitting time between technical documents and specs for the upcoming pipeline and assisting across the whole dev cycle.

  2. 2025 to Present

    Founder & CTO · ShadowCradle

    Enterprise-grade backup and disaster recovery for MSPs: one appliance, all workloads. I founded the company and lead its technology: VM, database and cloud-app backup, ransomware scanning, isolated recovery virtualization, and a multi-tenant cloud management platform. I own the architecture, roadmap, and engineering org end to end.

  3. 2010 to Present

    Founder & CEO · Takelan

    The company I started in 2010, and parent of ShadowCradle. Takelan builds and operates multiple products and self-hosted services. As CEO I set direction across the portfolio, lead the leadership team, and keep engineering, infrastructure, and business aligned.

  4. Jul 2017 to Feb 2021

    Escalation Manager · Axcient Inc.

    Continued my prior work as Sr. Software Engineer while aligning team members’ daily tasks with priority situations. Responsible for making sure critical partners received immediate, in-the-moment solutions along with resolving non-development issues partners faced.

  5. May 2005 to Aug 2021

    CTO, Board Advisory Member · Armor Bionics Inc.

    As an advisor I provide the executive team with improved solutions and alternatives to align their budget with their technological requirements. As part-time CTO I lead adoption of new technologies, new hires, and ensure development aligns with company goals.

  6. Mar 2015 to Feb 2016

    Software Engineer · Replibit

    C/C++ development on Linux (block-level translator for GPT volumes adding UEFI & GPT support), Python development, a .NET Windows agent for data backup, and virtualization support for EFI systems & secure boot. Expanded the team with offshore resources in Uruguay and provided consulting to third-party customers.

Reach Me

Let’s talk

Have a problem worth solving? Send a message, or book a time and we’ll talk it through.

Call availability (ET)

Monday to Friday, 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM

Saturday, 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM

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