# Alec Merdler

> Software Engineer at AuthZed

Location: United States, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/alecmerdler

Software engineer with a passion for open-source technology.

## Work Experience
### Senior Software Engineer @ AuthZed
Jan 2023 – Present | New York, New York, United States
- Build and maintain SpiceDB, an open-source authorization database inspired by Google Zanzibar which features an expressive schema language for defining application permissions, latency-sensitive response times using distributed caching, and rich developer tooling
- Develop and operate AuthZed Cloud, a hosted global authorization platform for enterprises with strict latency SLAs, zero-downtime upgrades, and an admin dashboard
- Collaborate with a global team to solve complex distributed systems problems at scale

### Senior Software Engineer @ Lightning AI
Jan 2021 – Jan 2023 | London, England, United Kingdom
- Designed and built Lightning Studio, a cloud development environment platform which enables users to develop machine learning models and applications in the cloud with zero infrastructure knowledge required
- Engaged with a vibrant open source community consisting of AI researchers and industry engineers
- Implemented full stack features, from the Postgres database layer to the TypeScript React frontend, with some gRPC APIs in between powered by Go
- Nurtured a healthy software testing culture by following test-driven development for both backend and frontend using unit tests and Cypress end-to-end tests

### Senior Software Engineer @ Red Hat
Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | New York, New York, United States
- Designed and developed new features for industry-leading, open-source container registry, Quay.io
- Lead integration efforts between Kubernetes/OpenShift and open-source container security solution Clair
- Performed site reliability engineering tasks for Quay.io global service including deployment of upgrades, monitoring, debugging, and optimizing
- Collaborated with open-source members to develop solutions and integrations which benefit the needs of the community

### Software Engineer @ Red Hat
Jan 2018 – Jan 2020 | New York, New York, United States
- Designed and built open-source Operator Framework for Kubernetes native applications with dependency resolution, automatic upgrades, and intuitive UX 
- Built open-source React/TypeScript dashboard for visualizing Kubernetes applications with API discovery, pagination, and dynamically-driven components 
- Drove and supported adoption of Kubernetes-native application framework both within enterprise organization and in greater upstream community

### Software Engineer @ CoreOS
Jan 2017 – Jan 2018 | New York, New York, United States
- Designed and built Operator Framework for Kubernetes with dependency resolution, automatic upgrades, and intuitive UX
- Optimized React webapp performance, including reducing production bundle size by >40% using lazy-loading and code-splitting
- Introduced technologies like TypeScript, Webpack, and Protractor while creating and maintaining tools for developer success
- Designed and implemented new UI features for enterprise cloud software based on Kubernetes
- Developed new features and acted as SRE for enterprise Docker registry SaaS, Quay.io

### Lead Full Stack Developer @ AgBiz Logic
Jan 2015 – Jan 2017 | Corvallis, Oregon
- Designed and implemented complex RESTful API for performing CRUD operations on a data-heavy application
- Designed and build client-side application using AngularJS component-based architecture, complete with >90% test coverage
- Set up and maintained continuous integration/delivery system, with nightly builds
- Strong familiarity with software engineering best practices, including source control, unit/integration testing, modular design, and architecture patterns
- Lead a small team with diverse background using Agile methodologies such as test-driven development, SCRUM, pair programming, and code reviews

### Core Engineering Intern @ Jive Software
Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Portland, Oregon
- Maintained complex legacy codebase with >4 million LOC
- Developed new features including client optimization and UI improvements
- Collaborated with a cross-functional team of developers, architects, QE, and design specialists using Agile methodologies
- Fixed over 50 bugs in both frontend and backend code that were then shipped in production release
- Adapted to changing product requirements using continuous deployment, JIRA issue tracking, and 2-week sprints
- Migrated JIRA-based release script from SOAP to REST API

### Computer Technician @ Oregon State University
Jan 2014 – Jan 2015 | Corvallis, Oregon
- Troubleshooting both Mac and Windows laptops
- Completing malware and virus removal processes
- Developing and maintaining web sites and applications
- Repairing/replacing hardware components
- Maintaining an inventory of over 200 pieces of technical equipment


## Education
### B.S. Computer Science in Minor in Business Entrepreneurship
Oregon State University
Jan 2013 – Jan 2018


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alec-merdler-9a739bb7
- GitHub: https://github.com/alecmerdler

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Source: https://flows.cv/alecmerdler
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/alecmerdler/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-03-22