# Ben Ruckman

> Co-Founder @ Mallow | Making Payments Better

Location: West Jordan, Utah, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/benruckman

Results oriented software engineer with 4 years of experience doing full stack web development, and 4 years of Private Finance experience. Abilty to pivot on the go, with a passion for building useful products.

Areas of Expertise include
• Typescript 
• React
• Java
• SpringBoot 
• Python 
• Django Rest Framework 
• JavaScript 
• C# 
• GitHub

## Work Experience
### Co-Founder @ Mallow
Jan 2024 – Present | Remote
● Co-founded B2B SaaS startup Mallow, leading end-to-end technical
development including full-stack architecture design, scalable infrastructure, and SDLC
management while partnering with a non-technical co-founder to align product vision with market
needs.
● Orchestrated strategic pivot from Whelm to Mallow, leveraging data-driven insights to
reposition the product, resulting in 200%+ user engagement growth and improved market fit.
● Owned end-to-end system reliability, implementing robust DevOps practices, automated
monitoring, and CI/CD pipelines to ensure 99.9% uptime and optimal performance.
● Drove user acquisition and retention strategies through agile iteration, A/B testing, and
feature optimization, enhancing key metrics like activation rates and session duration.
● Collaborated cross-functionally to define product roadmaps, prioritize features, and
integrate user feedback into iterative development cycles.
● Managed cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP) and cost optimization while ensuring compliance
with security best practices.
● Conducted competitive analysis and market validation to refine value proposition, positioning
Mallow as a differentiated solution in the productivity SaaS space.

### Software Engineer II @ Palladyne AI
Jan 2025 – Present | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
●	Engineered full-stack web applications for robotics systems using TypeScript, React, Python, and Flask, optimizing user experience and operational efficiency for system integrators through Agile development and cross-functional collaboration.
●	Built 80% of the v2 of the entire product based on user and UX/UI designer feedback, which consolidated user workflows, and made the UI pleasant for the end user.
●	Utilized Jira for Agile project management, prioritizing tasks and collaborating with stakeholders to align technical deliverables with organizational objectives.

Technical Skills:
●	Programming Languages: TypeScript, Python, C++
●	Frameworks/Libraries: React, Flask 
●	Cloud/Infrastructure: AWS, Docker, CI/CD pipelines, Gitlab
●	Databases: PostgreSQL
●	Tools: Jira, VSCode

### Software Engineer @ Air Force Civilian Service
Jan 2024 – Jan 2025 | Layton, Utah, United States
● Engineered full-stack web applications for aviation systems using Java, TypeScript, React,
and Spring Boot, optimizing user experience and operational efficiency for pilots through Agile
development and cross-functional collaboration.
● Developed a centralized knowledge repository to standardize backend development best
practices, reducing onboarding time by 30% and enhancing DevOps workflows (CI/CD
pipelines, Jenkins, Rancher).
● Mentored and trained 5+ team members on backend development and test-driven
development (TDD), boosting team backend capacity by 150% and enabling independent
delivery of scalable, high-performance systems.
● Implemented automated testing frameworks (unit, integration, E2E, black box) to ensure 98%
code reliability and compliance with DoD standards for mission-critical applications.
● Deployed cloud-native solutions on AWS using Docker and Kubernetes, improving
deployment efficiency by 40% and ensuring seamless integration with existing infrastructure.
● Utilized Jira for Agile project management, prioritizing tasks and collaborating with stakeholders
to align technical deliverables with organizational objectives.


Technical Skills:
● Programming Languages: Java, TypeScript
● Frameworks/Libraries: React, Spring Boot
● Cloud/Infrastructure: AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, Jenkins, Rancher
● Databases: PostgreSQL
● Tools: Jira, VSCode
● Practices: RESTful APIs, unit/integration/E2E testing, black box testing, Agile methodologies,
DevOps, cloud infrastructure, containerization, automated testing, cross-functional collaboration,
full-stack development

### Director of Technology (acquired) @ Whelm
Jan 2023 – Jan 2024 | Remote
Business acquired, we wanted to move all of our effort into Mallow.

### Software Engineer I @ Velvet (Formerly Decheque)
Jan 2021 – Jan 2024 | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
● Engineered full-stack web solutions, enhancing user experience by implementing and
optimizing settings pages and interactive charting features using React
(TypeScript) and Django REST Framework.
● Collaborated cross-functionally with software engineers to debug, troubleshoot, and improve
feature implementations, adhering to Agile methodologies and SDLC best practices.
● Designed and deployed a scalable backend RESTful API leveraging Python, OCR (Azure),
and generative AI to process thousands of PDFs daily, automating tabular data
indexing, natural language querying, and dynamic chart generation.
● Integrated AWS S3 and AWS Textract for cloud-based storage and data extraction, reducing
processing latency by 30%+ and improving system reliability.
● Championed test-driven development (TDD) by writing comprehensive unit tests and
conducting code reviews, ensuring 95%+ code coverage and adherence to CI/CD
pipelines via Docker containerization.
● Streamlined collaboration using Jira/Linear for sprint planning and Discord for real-time
communication, accelerating feature delivery by 20% across distributed teams.
● Maintained PostgreSQL databases for optimized data retrieval and storage, improving query
performance by 25% through indexing and query optimization.


Technical Skills:
● Programming Languages: Python, TypeScript
● Frameworks/Libraries: Django REST Framework, React
● Cloud/Infrastructure: AWS S3, AWS Textract, Azure OCR, Docker
● Databases: PostgreSQL
● Tools: Jira/Linear, VSCode, Discord
● Practices: RESTful API development, Agile/Scrum, TDD, unit testing, CI/CD, microservices
architecture.

### Student Bachelors of Computer Science @ University of Utah
Jan 2019 – Jan 2023 | Salt Lake City, UT, United States
Graduated - December 2023
● Algorithms (Python) - The foundation of my advanced algorithms knowledge, as well as the start of my Python programming experience. 
● Web Software Architecture (.NET/C#) - Introduction into another web development framework. 
● Databases (C#) - Gave me the base knowledge to understand how databases function, as well as how to use, and write well formed SQL queries. 
● Programming Languages (Racket/Shplait) - Built an interpreter over the course of a semester.
● Computer Systems (C, MIPS-Assembly) - Low level experience language experience. Built a shell, "hacked" a system to stop a "bomb" from exploding in complied C code.

### Associate Fund Analyst @ Strata Fund Solutions LLC
Jan 2019 – Jan 2021
Primary responsibilities revolved around extracting valuable data from Private Equity valuation statements.  This experience has equipped me with a strong foundation in financial analysis and data management, skills that have been instrumental in my subsequent roles.

### Soccer Referee @ SDCSRA
Jan 2016 – Jan 2019


## Education
### Bachelor of Science - BS in Computer Science
University of Utah
Jan 2019 – Jan 2023


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ben-ruckman
- Website: https://getmallow.com
- GitHub: https://github.com/benruckman

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Source: https://flows.cv/benruckman
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/benruckman/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-03-29