Dean Kusler
Senior Software Engineer
Pflugerville, TX, USA
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
Technical Director / Lead Backend Engineer (Contract)
descendantsDNA
2022-09 - 2025-04 Remote
- Architected and implemented complete backend infrastructure for medical DNA analysis startup, serving as fractional technical director.
- Designed GraphQL API server using Rust with data in PostgreSQL and S3, supporting real-time genomic data processing and medical report generation.
- Improved AWS resource efficiency through storage, compute, and lifecycle optimizations following a platform-wide review.
- Mentored and collaborated with cross-functional team including bioinformatics experts, designers, and front-end developers to deliver production-ready platform.
- Automated genomic data processing pipelines and medical report generation workflows using AWS services and Terraform infrastructure as code.
- Maintained administrator-level access to all company systems with demonstrated security and privacy practices for 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.
- Built DNASolves web platform enabling case crowdfunding and volunteer DNA contributions as well as internal sample management and analysis.
- Designed and implemented scalable DNA processing pipelines using Nextflow and AWS Batch, enabling distributed analysis of large genomic datasets.
- Implemented high-performance 1-on-1 DNA comparison system performing millions of comparisons for comprehensive database matching and kinship analysis.
- Managed complete AWS infrastructure using Terraform with trusted administrator access to sensitive forensic data systems.
- Maintained critical systems in part-time capacity (2022-09 to 2025-02) while supporting company's continued growth.
Senior Tools Engineer
Bethesda Game Studios (formerly BattleCry Studios)
2015-03 - 2019-09 Austin, TX
- Architected and implemented distributed TeamCity-based build system supporting Fallout 76 development across 4 studio locations (Austin, Rockville, Dallas, Montreal).
- Designed custom version control system for a legacy flat-file database, enabling distributed content development and branching/merging of game data for live service development. This included the first use of the Rust language at Bethesda for parsing and serialization.
- Developed distributed build caching and deployment tools using C#, PowerShell, and Python, reducing build sync times across all studio locations and streamlining developer workflows. Remote command-and-control of developer workstations was also implemented to allow for remote debugging and support.
- Served as primary technical resource for internationalization efforts, coordinating with the translation team and production to ensure timely and accurate localization.
- Contributed to DOOM multiplayer DLC development and provided on-call support for production systems.
Lead Software Engineer
Gene by Gene
2013-08 - 2015-03 Houston, TX
- Led team of software engineers and data scientists developing high-performance DNA analysis algorithms and automation platforms.
- Built web-based collaboration platform for genetic analysts to review and approve reports before customer delivery, which enabled development of new product offerings.
- Designed distributed genetic genealogy processing pipeline for relationship analysis at scale.
- Implemented custom SSE/AVX optimization of Smith-Waterman algorithm incorporating novel scoring mechanisms.
- Maintained trusted access to sensitive personal genetic data with demonstrated integrity and security practices.
Lead Software Engineer
Arpeggi Inc.
2013-01 - 2013-08 Austin, TX
- Developed DNA sequencing analysis tools and accuracy comparison frameworks for genomics startup.
- Implemented real-time data visualization using JavaScript libraries with pivot table analysis and graphical reporting of software analysis accuracy.
- Contributed to research framework that became published paper in Nature Communications.
Software Engineer
Bioware
2011-12 - 2013-01 Austin, TX
- Supported Star Wars: The Old Republic launch and live operations with server configuration and deployment tools.
- Contributed to new game patching system enabling "ready to play" state before complete downloads, improving user retention by reducing wait times.
- Managed automated Perforce branch merging tools and processes across 3 separate repositories (code, data, world content).
- Developed internal web applications for build monitoring and deployment automation.
- Established coding standards and refactored legacy build automation scripts, improving maintainability and readability.
Senior Programmer
Terminal Reality Inc.
2005-01 - 2011-11 Lewisville, TX
- Progressed from junior to senior engineer, 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 the transition, training, and ongoing user support and maintenance.
- Optimized game performance using custom-built profiling tools and platform-specific optimization techniques, achieving significant performance improvements on resource-constrained platforms across multiple projects.
- Contracted to Treyarch (Activision) for Call of Duty: World at War Wii port, delivering critical performance optimizations using Wii-specific paired singles vector instructions and cache management techniques.
- 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 analysis and visualization tools for motion capture data.
- Developed automated asset compression and optimization pipelines, improving load times while maintaining visual quality.
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