Dean Kusler
Senior Software Engineer
Pflugerville, TX
Email: dean@deancode.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/deankus
Contact: Connect via LinkedIn for inquiries
Summary
Looking back over 20+ years, my biggest talent is analyzing and understanding complex systems. I can learn existing codebases quickly, anticipate when small changes will cause side-effects elsewhere, and find safe places to make meaningful improvements across gaming, bioinformatics, and cloud infrastructure domains.
I think about safety, extensibility, maintainability, and readability in everything I build. I encourage critical thinking in my teammates and help teams grow through mentoring and technical guidance rather than traditional management. I've consistently been trusted with root-level access to company-critical systems because of proven integrity and judgment.
My experience ranges from individual contributor roles at established companies to fractional technical director positions at startups. Whether implementing performance optimizations that enable AAA game launches or architecting DNA analysis platforms that help solve cold cases, I focus on building systems that enable teams to accomplish their goals.
I'm currently seeking remote-first opportunities where I can apply my systems thinking to meaningful problems - whether that's a senior engineering role at an established company or a staff/principal position at a startup that needs technical leadership and architecture experience.
Professional Experience
Principal Engineer (Contract)
descendantsDNA
2022-09 - 2025-04 Remote
- Served as fractional technical director, architecting and implementing complete backend infrastructure using Rust GraphQL API with PostgreSQL and S3 storage.
- Designed automated genomic data processing pipelines and medical report generation workflows using AWS services and Terraform infrastructure as code.
- Hired and mentored backend developer while collaborating with cross-functional team of bioinformatics experts, designers, and front-end developers.
- Optimized AWS resource efficiency through comprehensive platform review, implementing storage lifecycle policies and compute optimizations.
- Maintained trusted administrator-level access to all company systems with demonstrated expertise in HIPAA-compliant medical data handling.
Principal Engineer
Othram Inc.
2019-09 - 2025-02 Remote
- Led technical architecture and implementation for DNA analysis platform helping solve cold cases and missing persons cases for law enforcement agencies.
- Built DNASolves web platform enabling case crowdfunding, volunteer DNA contributions, and internal sample management and analysis.
- Designed scalable DNA processing pipelines using Nextflow and AWS Batch, implementing high-performance comparison system performing millions of 1-on-1 analyses.
- Managed complete AWS infrastructure using Terraform with trusted administrator access to sensitive forensic data systems and databases.
- Continued supporting critical systems in part-time capacity (2022-09 to 2025-02) during company's growth phase and expanded case load.
Senior Tools Engineer
Bethesda Game Studios (formerly BattleCry Studios)
2015-03 - 2019-09 Austin, TX
- Architected distributed TeamCity-based build system supporting Fallout 76 live service development across 4 studio locations (Austin, Rockville, Dallas, Montreal).
- Designed custom version control system for legacy flat-file database, enabling distributed content development and branching/merging of game data across multiple teams.
- Developed build caching and deployment tools using C#, PowerShell, and Python, reducing sync times and implementing remote command-and-control for developer support.
- Served as primary technical resource for internationalization efforts, coordinating with translation teams to ensure timely and accurate localization delivery.
- Contributed to DOOM multiplayer DLC development while providing on-call support for production build and deployment systems.
Lead Software Engineer
Gene by Gene
2013-08 - 2015-03 Houston, TX
- Led cross-functional team of software engineers and data scientists developing high-performance DNA analysis algorithms and automation platforms.
- Built web-based collaboration platform enabling genetic analysts to review and approve reports before customer delivery, facilitating launch of new product offerings.
- Designed distributed genetic genealogy processing pipeline for large-scale relationship analysis and kinship matching.
- Implemented hardware-specific algorithm optimizations including custom Smith-Waterman implementations with novel scoring mechanisms for genetic analysis.
- Maintained trusted access to sensitive personal genetic data with demonstrated integrity and security practices across all customer and internal systems.
Lead Software Engineer
Arpeggi Inc.
2013-01 - 2013-08 Austin, TX
- Contributed to research framework published in Nature Communications journal, developing analytical tools for optimizing variant discovery from personal genomes.
- Developed DNA sequencing analysis tools and competitive accuracy comparison frameworks for genomics startup, benchmarking against industry-leading alignment software.
- Implemented real-time data visualization using JavaScript libraries (D3.js) with pivot table analysis and graphical reporting for genomic analysis accuracy assessment.
Software Engineer
Bioware
2011-12 - 2013-01 Austin, TX
- Supported Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO launch and live operations, developing server configuration and deployment tools for large-scale multiplayer infrastructure.
- Integrated third-party ready-to-play patching technology enabling game access before complete downloads, improving user retention and reducing wait times.
- Managed automated Perforce branch merging tools and processes across 3 separate repositories (code, data, world content) supporting branched live-service development.
- Developed internal web applications for build monitoring and deployment automation using Python and JavaScript frameworks.
- Retained during company layoffs and established coding standards while refactoring legacy build automation scripts for improved maintainability.
Senior Programmer
Terminal Reality Inc.
2005-01 - 2011-11 Lewisville, TX
- Progressed from junior to senior engineer over 6+ years, shipping 9+ titles across PlayStation 2/3, Xbox/360, Wii, and PSP platforms.
- Led company-wide version control migration from Visual SourceSafe to Subversion, designing automated history transfer scripts and managing transition, training, and ongoing support.
- Contracted to Treyarch (Activision) for Call of Duty: World at War Wii port, delivering critical platform-specific and cross-platform performance optimizations that enabled simultaneous platform launch.
- Led prototype development for Def Jam Rapstar, implementing real-time audio algorithms for pitch detection, auto-tune, and compression on embedded systems.
- Designed scoring system for Kinect Star Wars dance mode using dynamic time-warping algorithms and custom C# WPF tools for motion capture data analysis and visualization.
- Optimized game performance across multiple projects using custom profiling tools and platform-specific optimization techniques, achieving significant improvements on resource-constrained platforms.
Education
BS in Computer Science with Mathematics Minor
University of North Texas
2001 - 2004 Denton, TX
- Graduated with 3.94 cumulative GPA, 4.0 in Computer Science and Mathematics courses.
- Competed in ACM International Collegiate Programming Competition for two consecutive years, representing UNT at regional competitions.
- Completed independent study in game programming under Dr. Ian Parberry and specialized coursework in computer graphics, algorithms, and technical writing.
Publications
An analytical framework for optimizing variant discovery from personal genomes
Nature Communications • 2015
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7275