Hey, I'm Jordan 👋🏻

About

I'm a data platform engineer who spends most of my time working on the infrastructure behind analytics systems.

My work sits somewhere between data engineering, platform engineering, and distributed systems. Recently that has meant running Dremio on Kubernetes, working with tools like Spark, Iceberg, and Snowflake, and building the pieces that help teams discover and access data more reliably.

A lot of my day to day work involves understanding how different parts of the stack interact. That includes Kubernetes, storage systems, identity and access, APIs, and analytics engines. I enjoy working on the systems behind the scenes and figuring out why things behave the way they do when they break.

I care about keeping platforms reliable, observable, and easier to maintain over time. I also work closely with DevOps, networking, security, and governance teams, so a big part of my job is helping different systems and teams work together smoothly.

Technologies I work with frequently include Kubernetes, Helm, Dremio, Spark, Iceberg, Snowflake, Python, Hadoop, REST APIs, Prometheus, Grafana, and GitLab CI/CD.

Outside of work I spend a lot of time mountain biking and exploring trails around the Bay Area.

Projects

Jukeblox
Jukeblox

Originally made in 48 hours for the GMTK Game Jam 2023

Mountain Bike Instagram Page
Mountain Bike Instagram Page

A creative outlet for me to edit and share helmet-cam recordings of my rides

Education

  • Georgia Institute of Technology
    2024
    M.S. Computer Science
    Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Arizona State University
    2019
    B.S. Computer Science
    Arizona State University

Work Experience

  • RR Donnelley
    RR Donnelley (San Francisco Bay Area – Remote)
    August 2022 – Present
    May 2024 · Present
    Senior Data Engineer (Data Platform)

    I work on our enterprise Data Mesh platform team, focusing on the infrastructure and services that power analytics and customer facing SaaS workloads through Dremio.

    • Deploy and operate Dremio lakehouse clusters across multiple Kubernetes environments using Helm and GitLab CI/CD.
    • Maintain and improve Kubernetes infrastructure that supports enterprise analytics workloads.
    • Implement and maintain SSO and OIDC based authorization for Dremio and Superset in collaboration with identity and security teams.
    • Troubleshoot distributed system issues across Kubernetes networking, Hadoop/HDFS, Hive, Snowflake, and catalog services.
    • Integrate secure APIs into the internal Data Mesh platform so users can run and retrieve queries through the UI.
    • Migrate storage and catalog components during platform upgrades and improve Helm and Kubernetes configuration for maintainability.
    • Improve platform observability by integrating Prometheus and Thanos metrics and expanding Grafana dashboards.
    • Support data governance by improving Collibra domain structures and optimizing metadata sync jobs.
    • Build Spark, Iceberg, and Polaris examples to support analytics and engineering use cases.
    • Share platform knowledge through internal documentation and Data Mesh Guild walkthroughs.
    Aug 2022 · May 2024
    Data Engineer (Data Platform)

    Worked on the company's Data Mesh platform supporting governed data access, analytics enablement, and internal data products.

    • Built a centralized data catalog that provides a unified view of enterprise data assets across teams.
    • Developed internal APIs that improved governed data access and consistency across analytics workflows.
    • Integrated internal web applications with Data Mesh services to simplify data discovery for users.
    • Configured ETL pipelines supporting internal consumers and Snowflake Marketplace data products.
    • Developed and launched an internal Next.js application that serves as the hub for Data Mesh activity and dataset metrics.
    • Wrote internal documentation and engineering updates through Data Mesh Guild posts.
    • Evaluated and deployed new technologies in Kubernetes and OpenStack environments to support architecture decisions.
  • USAA
    USAA (Plano, TX – Hybrid)
    September 2019 – July 2022
    Aug 2021 · July 2022
    Data Engineer
    Internal title: Software Engineer II

    Worked on enterprise data pipelines and analytics infrastructure supporting financial forecasting and modeling workloads.

    • Served as technical lead for a team of five engineers from May to July 2022, leading design discussions, code reviews, and implementation planning.
    • Built batch data processing pipelines using Domino, R, Python, Git CI/CD, and Airflow.
    • Led the first team in the organization to migrate business developed models to IT supported infrastructure, reducing code by 60 percent and operational effort by 95 percent.
    • Developed ETL pipelines using Python, shell scripts, and IBM DataStage.
    • Implemented runtime validation and monitoring to maintain data integrity across multiple pipeline stages.
    • Orchestrated data workflows across Snowflake, Oracle, and Netezza databases.
    • Built visualizations for financial forecasting data using React, D3, Plotly, and Tableau.
    Sep 2019 · Aug 2021
    Associate Data Engineer
    Internal title: Software Engineer III
    • Built data pipelines that moved application data into enterprise data warehouse platforms.
    • Implemented validation controls to maintain data integrity across multiple stages of the pipeline.
    • Developed ETL jobs using Python, shell scripts, and IBM DataStage.
    • Taught quarterly internal training sessions on DataStage and ETL development practices.