Steve Ackley

Founded a Connecticut software company and run product and engineering as one of two Managing Members. Contributed a pre-existing portfolio of product IP at formation; the roster now spans 3 flagships, 16 products, and 6 experiments across legal-evidence RAG, content automation, mobile, and fintech, with 8 live on public hosts. Built the shared platform underneath them: Qavren Auth (self-hosted Keycloak, one realm per app, SDKs published to npm, PyPI, and NuGet), Qavren DB (one Postgres project with a schema and login role per app), Qavren Nexus (.NET 10 release console that dispatches GitHub Actions deploys and tracks status through HMAC-signed callbacks), and Qavren Swarm (open-source MCP server that runs coding agents in hardened, read-only Docker sandboxes and returns a reviewable diff).

Spearheaded ground-up development of a web-based IETM platform for the F-16 fighter aircraft, replacing legacy documentation workflows with a browser-native, containerized solution. Maintained a 95% on-schedule delivery rate while meeting defense-grade quality thresholds. Drove a 50% reduction in post-merge defects through structured code review practices.

Architected a disconnected desktop IETM for the HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter with real-time bidirectional sync to cloud-hosted USAF IMDS via SymmetricDS. Led a cross-functional team of 10 engineers, driving a 20% productivity gain. Authored coding standards adopted across a 30-engineer shared monorepo.

Sole principal engineer on a cloud-hosted SaaS license authorization and distribution platform, taking the system from concept to production. Produced complete technical specifications and coordinated a distributed team of 15+ engineers across 3 locations, 2 countries, and 2 time zones.

Embedded consulting engineer at Lockheed Martin / Sikorsky Aircraft on the HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter IETM across a 4-year engagement. Introduced agile development practices that delivered a measurable 15% improvement in team throughput and delivery predictability.

Owned feature development and maintenance of Catapult, a proprietary EAM platform serving oil and gas reliability clients. Engineered a RESTful Web API layer deployed to every installation, and architected a KPI analytics web application using MVC5, Entity Framework, and n-tier architecture patterns.

Led development of a C# / ASP.NET web application replacing an end-of-life VB6 QA auditing system at Connecticare (CT), with role-based security and stored procedure-driven data access. Supported data warehouse implementation and SSRS report rationalization at Hometown Health (NV), consolidating a fragmented reporting estate by 40%.