# David Cairns

> Principal Software Engineer at Butterfly Network, Inc.

Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/davidcairns

Experience with iOS and macos development. I’ve worked on all parts of the stack — OpenGL to Deep Learning integration to raw audio processing, and every kind of app you can imagine.

I also have several years' experience developing custom applications on desktop Linux.

## Work Experience
### Principal Engineer @ Butterfly Network, Inc.
Jan 2018 – Present | Greater New York City Area
- Apple Design Award (2019); IPO (Feb 2021); 4.9/5.0 on App Store, 4k+ ratings
- First whole-body FDA-approved ultrasound probe medical device that plugs into a phone.
- Lead engineer on countless features, spanning from iOS UI work down to C/C++ software that controls our probe to CI/CD infrastructure.
- Architected and built: Deep Learning infra/SDK, real-time audio system, end-to-end testing.
- High Focus on excellent quality, extensive test coverage, scaling systems, and delivering updates regularly & reliably, while working closely with and managing expectations of design, clinical, regulatory, product, and leadership.

### co-founder / CTO @ Nitefloat, Inc.
Jan 2009 – Jan 2020
I am the sole software engineer at Nitefloat.

We make MediBabble: a tool to assist health care professionals caring for non-English-speaking patients.

### Mezzanine Core Engineering Manager @ Oblong Industries Inc
Jan 2017 – Jan 2018 | Greater New York City Area
Managed 5-6 direct reports remotely. Started processes for tech-debt tracking and triage, architectural code review, and learning plans. Wrote an L-1 visa application (which was accepted).

### g-speak Engineer @ Oblong Industries Inc
Jan 2015 – Jan 2017 | Greater Los Angeles Area
Developed for Mezzanine — room-size, multi-screen, multi-computer system, built in C++, OpenGL for Ubuntu Linux. Established best practices, led migration to C++14.

### Software Engineer @ Freelancin’!
Jan 2010 – Jan 2015
Made loads of custom apps for Mac, iOS, and Watch. Including but not limited to:
• IntoNow (acquired by Yahoo!)
• EyeGroove (1.0 app and effects pipeline; acquired by Facebook)
• eNotes (in participation with the sharp folks at Mule Design)
• Lytro (Instagram-like effects pipeline)
• Rabbit.tv (prototype Mac app)
• Capital One for Watch (prototypes)
• Interactive films for iPad (produced by Bob Shaye)

### Creative R&D Software Engineer @ ngmoco:)
Jan 2009 – Jan 2010
I worked on:
• Initial release of Plus+ SDK client (launched onstage at WWDC 2009)
• Godfinger for iPad (a launch title for the original iPad, part of Apple’s keynote)
• Gun Range (a launch title for the iPhone 4S, part of Apple’s keynote)
• Various R&D projects

### Software Engineer @ Apple Inc.
Jan 2007 – Jan 2009
Member of the OpenGL team and later the Embedded OpenGL team, working on OS bring-up for graphics drivers on new hardware, maintaining and developing test suite and farm.


## Education
### B.S. in Computer Science
Penn State University


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dacairns

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Source: https://flows.cv/davidcairns
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/davidcairns/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-04-12