Nightwing (Raytheon / Nightwing) 2022–Present
On a team building software for analysis and correlation of data flowing through Kafka streams — improving correlation techniques and the stability of the analysis.
Alex Buck
Senior Principal Software Engineer
Washington DC-Baltimore Area
Software developer with extensive experience in Java / Spring Boot, microservices, real-time systems, and modern web/mobile development. Also work with JavaScript/React, R, and Rust.
Outside of work I practice Brazilian jiu-jitsu, take ballroom dance, build side projects, and spend time with my family.
Professional Experience
Kapsch TrafficCom 2021–2022
Supported software and systems for the Golden Gate Bridge during a major upgrade. Built recovery for missing vehicle images and restored images after a NAS failure, helping avoid significant revenue loss.
Leidos 2014–2022
Developed Java REST services for operational scheduling and resource management, led containerization to simplify deployment, and delivered real-time approval information for operations.
TRMI Systems Integration 2006–2013
Replaced toll collection software for the Golden Gate Bridge and integrated new and existing hardware — RFID readers, inductive loop sensors, and imaging systems. Built vehicle classification and automated tolling to speed collection and improve accuracy.
United States Marine Corps Reserve 1999–2005
Avionics technician repairing electronic systems on CH-53 Sea Stallion and CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters. Helped establish the first forward-deployed component-level repair shop at Al Asad, Iraq (2004), significantly reducing aircraft downtime.
Education & Certifications
M.S. Computer Science from Capitol Technology University (2018, with honors) and B.A. Computer Science and Studio Art from the University at Albany, SUNY (2006, cum laude). Certified Scrum Master and Certified SAFe 4 Agilist.
Selected Projects
navscout
Driving into a storm mid-route is no fun. navscout forecasts weather along an entire drive so you can plan around it — with route forecasting, destination prediction from travel history, and telemetry.
Ray Tracer
JavaScript-based ray tracing engine prototype. github.com/alexanderjbuck/raytracer
Golden Gate Bridge Toll Collection Software
Integrated payment, violation processing, and hardware systems for toll collection.
Conserving Forests with Decision Trees
Medium write-up applying decision trees to U.S. wildfire data — a data-science side exploration.
Earlier Work
A few older projects that were more fun than they needed to be.
Mario AI Contest (2010)
Entry for the 2010 Mario AI Contest — placed 3rd.
Autonomous Vehicle — Sparkfun AVC (2011)
Built and entered “Computron 2K10” in the 2011 Sparkfun Autonomous Vehicle Competition after learning embedded electronics on AVR. Learned a lot about underpowered platforms and testing with all components connected.
RoboCup — Sony Aibo Soccer
Senior project: programming Sony Aibo robots to play soccer.