I'm a passionate Senior Software Engineer and Digital Creator with a deep love for both technology and storytelling. With over 18 years of experience in enterprise software, my journey has taken me from modernizing APIs to directing award-winning films. My creative projects blend cutting-edge techniques with traditional narratives, allowing me to push boundaries and innovate continuously. Mentorship and leadership are also integral to my professional ethos, as I strive to uplift my peers and drive excellence in every endeavor.

David Cole

I'm a passionate Senior Software Engineer and Digital Creator with a deep love for both technology and storytelling. With over 18 years of experience in enterprise software, my journey has taken me from modernizing APIs to directing award-winning films. My creative projects blend cutting-edge techniques with traditional narratives, allowing me to push boundaries and innovate continuously. Mentorship and leadership are also integral to my professional ethos, as I strive to uplift my peers and drive excellence in every endeavor.

Available to hire

I’m a passionate Senior Software Engineer and Digital Creator with a deep love for both technology and storytelling. With over 18 years of experience in enterprise software, my journey has taken me from modernizing APIs to directing award-winning films. My creative projects blend cutting-edge techniques with traditional narratives, allowing me to push boundaries and innovate continuously. Mentorship and leadership are also integral to my professional ethos, as I strive to uplift my peers and drive excellence in every endeavor.

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Experience Level

Expert
Expert
Expert

Work Experience

Senior Software Engineer at BECU (Vendor)
September 1, 2024 - September 1, 2025
Led modernization of CreditCardApi and VeleraDomain, refactoring legacy monolith components into modern service patterns. Built and maintained comprehensive unit test suites, developed APIs for integration with PSCU, and mentored peers to raise engineering standards.
Software Engineer Lead Consultant 2 at Microsoft (TekSystems)
April 1, 2023 - June 1, 2024
Built a Rules Engine for automating approval of new hardware server and rack builds for Azure Data Centers, drove coding standards, and mentored junior engineers.
Staff Software Engineer at SolarWinds
February 1, 2022 - October 1, 2022
Led a team in building SQL Server monitoring applications and implemented event-driven architecture with Azure Service Bus.
Senior Software Engineer at Employee Navigator
August 1, 2020 - February 1, 2022
Developed .NET MVC Core Web API services leveraging Azure Functions and maintained Azure VMs and SQL Server infrastructure.
Software Engineer 2 at Microsoft Corporation
February 1, 2009 - August 1, 2020
Worked as a DevOps engineer, ensuring GDPR compliance and refactoring Angular components for accessibility requirements.
Owner & Developer at Old Skool Games
September 1, 2019 - Present
Designed and developed retro 2D dungeon crawler in Unity3D, localized games into multiple languages, and released on Steam and iOS.

Education

Bachelor of Science at Baker College Online
January 1, 2006 - January 1, 2010

Qualifications

Microsoft Programming in C# Specialist
January 11, 2030 - December 28, 2025

Industry Experience

Software & Internet, Media & Entertainment, Gaming
    paper The Lion of God

    The Lion of God is an original, creator-owned graphic novel and transmedia project that blends spiritual autobiography, mythic storytelling, and modern visual narrative. The work explores themes of identity, awakening, judgment, compassion, and transformation through a symbolic, character-driven lens rooted in both ancient archetypes and contemporary experience.

    The project is written and directed as a long-form narrative, with each issue structured like a cinematic chapter. Visuals are developed through a hybrid workflow combining illustration, AI-assisted art direction, and careful compositing, allowing for rapid iteration while maintaining a consistent, intentional aesthetic. Storyboards, scripts, and finished panels are all produced with publication in mind.

    Beyond the comic itself, The Lion of God extends into short-form video, trailers, and promotional visuals, creating a cohesive creative ecosystem rather than a single standalone artifact. The project has been published commercially, submitted to major comic publishers, and continues to evolve as a multi-issue series.

    This project highlights my ability to:
    Develop and sustain a strong original IP
    Combine writing, visual storytelling, and art direction
    Manage complex, long-form creative projects independently
    Translate abstract, philosophical themes into compelling narrative media

    paper Hunt the Muglump

    Hunt the Muglump is a retro-inspired puzzle and exploration game built in Unity (C#), inspired by classic 80s and 90s games that emphasized logic, deduction, and clean mechanics over hand-holding. The project was designed, developed, and shipped end-to-end as a complete, commercial-quality title.

    The game features a grid-based world, procedural elements, a custom state-driven UI system, achievements, and full localization support across multiple languages. A strong focus was placed on maintainable architecture, clear game-state management, and responsive player feedback, making the codebase easy to extend and adapt for future platforms.

    Hunt the Muglump has been released on PC and macOS, with additional platform support explored, and was built with production realities in mind: scalable systems, clear separation of concerns, and a tight gameplay loop that feels polished despite its minimalist presentation.

    This project showcases my ability to:
    Take a game from concept to shipped product
    Build clean, extensible systems in Unity/C#
    Balance classic game design with modern tooling
    Own all aspects of development, from gameplay logic to UI and deployment