Senior Software Engineer

Stephen Brown II

15 years in technology: 9 as a software engineer and 6 as a Linux systems administrator. Extensive experience in Go and Python, with recent TypeScript work; I own problems end-to-end, write testable code, and focus on reliability, security, and developer productivity. I pick up new languages quickly and have a track record of doing so on the job; currently picking up Rust and exploring Elixir. My open source time goes into personal finance tooling.

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Senior Software Engineer -
JumpCloud · Remote
  • Served as primary technical resource for dozens of engineers across design and implementation; directly mentored several with specific guidance on Go, Linux, and security best practices
  • Raised code quality across 20+ repositories with review standards and shared tooling adopted by teams across 250+ engineer org, increasing velocity incrementally while reducing defects and rework
  • Designed and led a tamper-resistance and uninstall-protection initiative spanning all OSes
  • Hardened agent security across ~800K managed devices; encrypted sensitive fields while avoiding migration downtime
  • Owned CI/CD modernization; self-hosted runners, eliminated VPN dependency, cut build wait time by 30%
  • Integrated AI assistance into workflow, cutting research and PoC development time by an estimated 25-50%
  • Used AI to build Linux PAM module and tray app for on-device password management to reach UX parity with Windows and macOS
GitHubPostgreSQLKubernetesDockerAIMongoDBLLMsGolangAWS
Software Engineer 3 -
JumpCloud · Longmont, CO
  • Founded a Linux-focused team (grew from 3 to 6 engineers) implementing features across device agent and backend services
  • SME for Linux agent behavior, packaging, and PAM internals
  • Built and maintained Go on-device agent (gRPC/protobuf) serving ~75K Linux devices across a fleet of ~750K managed
  • Introduced Zig-based static compilation, enabling amd64 and arm64 support across 10+ Linux distributions spanning RHEL 7 to Ubuntu 22.04
  • Maintained the NodeJS legacy monolith most services still routed through as functionality was spun off into Go microservices
DockerGolangAWSNodeJSPythongRPCLinuxGitHub

Rackspace
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Software Developer -
Rackspace · ObjectRocket · Remote
  • Built and maintained Python services and libraries; shipped features across 12+ Go microservices deployed on Docker, OpenShift, and Kubernetes
AWSGolangKubernetesPythonDocker
Automation Engineer I - Jun 2017 - Oct 2019
Global Linux Automation Engineers
Rackspace · Rackspace Technology · Remote
  • Maintained framework application for employees to contribute tools with a common UI and deployment system (JS/HTML/CSS frontend, Python/Flask/MySQL backend, Python client library)
  • Implemented and configured deployment tools using Docker, Ansible, and Jenkins; designed and built Jenkins 2.x Pipeline for PR testing
  • Led team to implement better checks and consistency to improve and maintain code quality
  • Worked with UK-based team as sole US member
PythonDockerJenkinsGitHubAnsible
Linux System Administrator I - Jan 2014 - Jun 2017
Global SysAd Maintenance Team
Rackspace · Rackspace US, Inc. · San Antonio, TX
  • Contributed multiple features to team's jinja2-based templating system
  • Built a custom UI surfacing upcoming services from the maintenance calendar backend
  • Developed an auto-numbering tool for maintenance templates using React
LinuxFlaskBashPythonReact

Linux System Administrator - Apr 2011 - Dec 2013
Bloomberg School Of Public Health, Knowledge for Health Project
Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs · Baltimore, MD
  • Successfully led team to adoption of git and a development > staging > production deployment workflow
  • Designed Puppet configuration management to maintain and deploy to development and production servers
  • Maintained and automated servers supporting Drupal multisite deployments with LAMP stack on physical and virtual hosts, and Apache Solr search indexes
LinuxVagrantGitPuppetDrupal

Software Test Specialist - Tier 3 Escalations -
MICROS Systems · Columbia, MD
  • Analyzed and diagnosed the most difficult customer-reported issues
  • Documented issues for developer and QA teams to remedy
TroubleshootingSQLDebuggingTesting

Counter Operations Agent -
Geek Squad · Baltimore, MD
  • Diagnosed client issues, checked in computers for service, and maintained customer relationships through the repair process
TroubleshootingCustomer Service

Tech Support Specialist -
On-site technical support for Windows desktops, servers, and networking infrastructure.
  • Supported desktops and end-node business networking; ran and terminated CAT5 cabling for 12+ client accounts
  • Resolved virus infections, Outlook issues, PC migrations, and network connectivity issues
  • Wiped and reinstalled Windows XP systems using DBAN, Sysprep, and Clonezilla
Customer ServiceNetworkingWindows
Databases: MongoDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite
Systems: Bash, Git, Linux
Languages: Golang, Python, React, TypeScript, NodeJS
Infrastructure & Cloud: Ansible, Docker, AWS, Kubernetes
Local-first personal finance app (TypeScript/React, 26k+ stars). Active contributor since 2025 with 35+ merged PRs.
  • Currency-precision helpers and dynamic currency display options for international users
  • Added BALANCE_OF() formula, drag-and-drop reordering, nYNAB scheduled imports, and CSV line-trim
  • Built multi-account import plugin and custom theming support
TypeScriptNode.jsReactOpen Source
Python data validation library (28k+ stars). Contributed 8 PRs from 2019 to 2020.
  • 5% parse speed gain by switching from type() calls to __class__ attribute lookup
  • Added subclass encoder support so subclasses of known types serialize with their parent's encoder
  • Introduced JSON benchmark suite, voluptuous comparison benchmark, and docs example linting
PythonPerformanceOpen Source
Linux NAS platform built on BTRFS with Python and Django. Contributor across 4 repos (core, plugin registry, validator, dev env) with 9 merged PRs from 2020 to 2023.
  • Added ZSTD compression option for BTRFS storage pools
  • Added Jellyfin and FileBot Node plugins to the RockOn plugin registry
  • Wrote go rockon-validator to standardize formatting and validation of JSON app configuration profiles
BTRFSOpen SourceNASPythonLinux

Additional open-source contributions: Home Assistant, HTTPX, isort, TandoorRecipes, Nightscout, and Toolkit for YNAB.

“Stephen was a joy to work with at JumpCloud. He takes a very thorough and intelligent approach to engineering and brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge.”
Benjamin Schneider · Senior Software Engineer at JumpCloud
“Stephen is a very thoughtful, meticulous engineer. I can count on him to understand the nuances of technologies we work with, and leverage them to make our products more robust.”
Scott Thurston · Principal Software Engineer at JumpCloud
“Stephen is a great software engineer with a technical focus in Go, Bash, and device and identity management, along with strong foundational Linux skills. In our time working together, he demonstrated a practical understanding of these technologies and a straightforward approach to problem-solving. He will bring these specific technical capabilities to any team looking to leverage his skill set.”
Jose Palma · Staff Software Engineer at JumpCloud
“Stephen is an exceptional teammate with an impressive command of Linux systems and a proactive approach to software quality. He has a keen eye for system architecture, often identifying edge cases and integration issues before they can escalate. As a curious, tech-forward developer, he elevates the work of everyone around him. I highly recommend him and truly appreciate the opportunity to work alongside him on the devices team.”
Steve Zazeski · Senior Software Engineer at JumpCloud
“Stephen is a rare engineer who's invested in making his team better.
I managed Stephen directly for a year at JumpCloud, after working alongside him for several years before that on the Devices engineering team.
When we needed to improve the security posture of the JumpCloud Agent, one of the most sensitive and widely deployed pieces of software we ship, Stephen designed and drove the project. It's on track for a successful release because of the thought and effort he brought.
What I appreciated most about Stephen was his push to improve his own skills, the product, the infrastructure, and the day-to-day experience of his fellow engineers.
Any team would be lucky to have him.”
Daniel Judge · Senior Engineering Manager at JumpCloud
“I had the opportunity to work closely with Stephen both as his direct manager and later as his skip-level leader, which gave me a unique perspective on his impact over time. Knowing what I know today, I would absolutely hire him again and fight to keep him on my team. Stephen combines deep technical expertise with a strong sense of ownership, consistently identifying opportunities to improve security, developer productivity, and the overall health of our engineering systems. He's also a collaborative teammate who generously shares his knowledge, mentors others, and elevates those around him. Any organization looking for an engineer with strong technical judgment, initiative, and a team-first mindset would be fortunate to have him.”
David Gaffield · Director, Engineering at JumpCloud