Steven Stuart

Software Architect

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Professional Summary

Software and systems architect bringing clarity from complexity. I build cloud-native solutions that serve real needs and deliver genuine value, without the over-engineering. My focus is creating clear architectures with solid security and straightforward paths forward that align with business goals. I help teams move fast with confidence.

Professional Experience

System Architect | True Market Insiders — St. Petersburg, FL | Feb 2023 – Present

Led complete modernization of cloud infrastructure and development operations for a financial research platform serving investors. Directed architecture strategy, mentored engineering team, and delivered secure, scalable solutions aligned with business objectives.

Key Achievements:

Reduced cloud costs 80% through infrastructure optimization and service consolidation, cutting complexity without sacrificing capability
Enhanced security posture with AWS WAF, zero-trust IAM policies, and compliant API architecture that the team could confidently maintain
Brought clarity to unstable transaction architecture by rearchitecting service-based architecture with clear boundaries, dramatically improving reliability for sales operations and client applications
Improved platform performance by rearchitecting data layer with Aurora, DynamoDB, and Snowflake, matching the right tool to each use case
Accelerated deployment velocity by implementing straightforward CI/CD pipelines and automated testing environments

Technologies: .NET 8, ASP.NET Core, AWS EKS, GraphQL (HotChocolate), Aurora PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, Snowflake, EventBridge, CloudFront, WAF, CodeBuild, Vue.js, .NET MAUI

Senior Software Engineer II | Alkami Technology — Plano, TX | Jul 2018 – Jan 2023

Built scalable microservices and event-driven systems for digital banking platform serving millions of users across 200+ financial institutions. Collaborated in Agile environment to deliver high-quality features while mentoring team members on architectural best practices.

Key Achievements:

Pioneered serverless architecture by developing Alkami’s first AWS Lambda-based APIs, establishing clear patterns that other teams could follow
Launched real-time notification platform enabling banks to deliver instant alerts to customers across web and mobile channels
Elevated code quality through systematic code reviews and mentorship on SOLID principles and clean architecture, helping teams understand the why rather than just the what

Technologies: .NET, ASP.NET Core, AWS Lambda, SQS, DynamoDB, SQL Server, Vue.js

Solutions Developer III | Cottonwood Financial — Irving, TX | Feb 2015 – Jun 2018

Developed enterprise applications for consumer finance operations. Led modernization initiatives to improve system architecture, enhance testability, and accelerate development velocity.

Key Achievements:

Delivered multi-location POS system using WPF, deployed to hundreds of retail locations nationwide
Improved system scalability by refactoring monolithic services into modular, independently deployable components
Reduced QA cycle time by building automated testing tools and establishing testing best practices

Technologies: .NET, ASP.NET, WCF, SQL Server, WPF, MongoDB

Tech Lead | DealerSpeedLeads — Dallas, TX | Mar 2011 – Feb 2015

Led full-stack development for marketing technology SaaS platform. Architected scalable solutions, built automation systems, and delivered customer-facing applications while establishing development processes.

Key Achievements:

Architected multi-tenant inventory platform supporting automotive, real estate, and e-commerce verticals with configurable data models
Built distributed automation system processing thousands of daily operations across customer accounts
Established deployment processes and delivered internal tools improving developer productivity

Technologies: .NET, ASP.NET, MySQL, WPF, WinForms, Selenium

Education

B.S., Computer Information Systems DeVry University — Irving, TX | Oct 2008 – Jun 2012