👋 Hi there, I'm Chris. I'm a software engineer primarily interested in:
- developer experience
- platform and core infrastructure engineering
- data infrastructure
- parallel and distributed systems
Most recently, I was part of the Java Platforms team (within the Engineering Effectiveness group) at Wayfair. My team was responsible for supporting Java and the JVM in production use, helping the Java community move with agility of a startup.
Among other things, we:
- built tools and services that delighted and empowered engineers using the JVM, automating common, mundane or difficult parts of the development workflow
- advocated for — and drove the adoption of — the JVM as a robust and reliable platform for developing and deploying microservices
- created spaces where the Java community could come together to share knowledge and best practices
- developed and used a data-driven approach to identifying high-impact projects that increased the value of the JVM platform
- provided technical leadership for the JVM, working and collaborating with other teams to increase their productivity
Before Wayfair, I was part of the Platform group at GuideSpark, where I worked on core backend, platform, and infrastructure for GuideSpark's SaaS platform, including:
- third-party integrations including Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Workday
- core infrastructure, including authentication and authorization services
- data platform, including analytics pipelines, security and PII handling
- designing and architecting a microservice platform from the ground up
In 2021, GuideSpark had an exit event and was acquired.
I hold a Master's degree in Computer Science from the University of Edinburgh, where I focussed on software engineering, parallel distributed systems, and high-performance computing via EPCC, the UK's national supercomputing centre. My thesis was on the use of auto-threading JIT compilers within the GraalVM framework. My undergraduate education was at Keele University, where I worked on fractal image analysis techniques for analysing CT scans.
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my wife and dog Ben.
Contact
- chris at atkin.co
- 🐙 GitHub
- chrisatkin
- cadg
- @chrispyslice
- 🐘 Mastodon
- @atkin@mstdn.social