Tyler Colbert

I architect scalable cloud solutions and lead high‑performing engineering teams.

VP of Engineering · Principal Software Engineer · 25+ Years

Portfolio

Showcase projects demonstrating architecture, AI integration, and end-to-end delivery.

ADR Insight

Go · SQLite · Ollama · Anthropic Claude · Docker

AI-powered search and reasoning over Architecture Decision Records

A complete RAG pipeline built in Go: query embedding via Ollama, hybrid vector + FTS5 search in SQLite, context expansion, and LLM synthesis via Anthropic Claude. Built using spec-driven development—the project's own ADRs serve triple duty as documentation, demo dataset, and the data the system reasons over.

RAG Pipeline Embed → hybrid search → rerank → expand → synthesize
Quality Gates LLM-as-judge evaluation harness catches regressions in CI
Spec-Driven Modified GitHub spec-kit with ADR generation baked into the workflow
One-Command Deploy Docker Compose: clone, set API key, docker compose up

Aidan's Tracking

HTML · CSS · JavaScript · PWA

A time-tracking PWA built in a single day for my son, authored entirely through conversation with an LLM. Includes a service worker for offline use and can be installed as a native app on Android. A small project, but representative of how I use AI as a force multiplier—from idea to working app in hours, not days.

About Me

I'm a software architect with 25+ years building customer-facing systems across cloud platforms (Azure, AWS), embedded systems, and graphics-intensive applications in numerous languages. Most recently my focus has been on leveraging AI to accelerate development.

I have managed cross-functional teams through full product lifecycles, stewarded shared technology platforms used across teams, and been in the trenches with developers—shipping full end-to-end applications that drove measurable revenue impact.

What Drives Me

I believe business success comes from clarity on goals, strong communication, healthy team dynamics, and staying connected to customer needs—not technological elegance alone. Clean code matters for pace and maintainability, but without constant alignment on why we're building, we miss the mark. I'm energized by solving hard problems at scale and developing the next generation of engineering leaders.

On Commitment

I'm not a job-hopper. My career reflects deep, multi-year commitments—my most recent roles spanned 8+ and 14+ years respectively. I invest in understanding your business, building lasting relationships with teams, and creating compounding impact over time. Real transformation in engineering culture, architecture, and team capability takes years to realize.

What I Do

Engineering Leadership

Lead engineering teams from concept to production, fostering collaboration across silos. Managed teams of 15+ engineers across core engine, tools, and platform groups.

Cloud Architecture

Design cloud-native architectures on Azure and AWS that scale reliably and cost-effectively. Kubernetes, Docker, Infrastructure as Code, microservices, and event-driven patterns.

Shared Platforms

Build shared technology platforms that accelerate team velocity and reduce duplication. Stewarded platform systems supporting multiple simultaneous shipped products.

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Mentorship & Culture

Mentor engineers and shape technical culture that balances innovation with pragmatism. Develop the next generation of technical leaders through hands-on collaboration.

Technical Expertise

Languages

  • Expert: C#
  • Strong: C++, Java, Python
  • Proficient: SQL, JavaScript, Go, Lua
  • Familiar: Perl, Lisp, VHDL, Forth, Assembly (x86, ARM, MIPS, PowerPC)

Cloud & DevOps

  • Azure (VMs, App Service, Cosmos DB, Functions, DevOps)
  • AWS (EC2, RDS, S3, Lambda, SQS/SNS)
  • Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, CloudFormation
  • CI/CD: Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Jenkins

Systems & Graphics

  • Multi-threaded & multi-core optimization
  • Real-time 3D rendering & GPU programming
  • Embedded systems, FPGA/CPLD (VHDL)
  • Cross-platform (7+ platforms shipped)

Architecture

  • Microservices & event-driven design
  • Multi-master DB synchronization
  • Legacy modernization & cloud migration
  • RAG pipelines & LLM integration

Career Timeline

2017 – Present

Senior Software Architect — Hexagon

Architected connected device platform and Azure cloud infrastructure for precision measurement machines. Product Owner for device communication libraries bridging hardware, firmware, and cloud teams.

2016 – 2017

Senior Software Engineer — 3M

Extended AWS cloud platform for OCR workloads at scale. Spearheaded conversion to Infrastructure as Code for deployment consistency and disaster recovery.

2001 – 2016

Lead Engineer & Engine Team Lead — Avalanche / Disney

Shipped multiple commercial titles. Led 15+ engineers across core engine, tools, and platform teams. Authored 3 US patents. Architected multi-platform rendering engine across 7 platforms.

1990s – 2001

Earlier Career — IRAD Corp (VP), Saffire, and more

Shipped 10+ commercial products. Built orthopedic surgery planning software, a 17-million-record database for yellowpages.com, payment processing systems, and led engineering at a 3-person startup.

Patents

Let's Talk

Currently exploring VP of Engineering or Principal Software Engineer roles where I can scale teams, drive technical strategy, and build products that matter.