About
I build products, platforms, and the teams that ship them
From first commit through production, scale, and acquisition, I stay close to the technology: hardware, firmware, software, infrastructure. I follow the problem wherever it goes, then make the finished system simple to use, deploy, and maintain.
At Rimstorm, that meant taking GovCon Enclave from concept through acquisition and building the teams and automation that operated it.
Background
I started at Lockheed Martin as a research scientist, working on signal processing and neural networks for sonar feature extraction. I also built software to deploy and test cyber ranges with more than 10,000 virtual and physical nodes.
At ManTech, I developed a cloud network automation product and trained the team that ran it. At REDLattice, I built binary-analysis tools, automation pipelines, and testing systems for virtual and physical hardware.
I joined Rimstorm in 2021 as CTO and its first technical leader. I created GovCon Enclave and built the engineering teams and automation that supported more than fifty production environments. After BOOST acquired Rimstorm in January 2026, I became Chief Architect for the Secure Enclave Platform.
Alongside my professional work, I created Mistborn, an open-source networking and private-cloud platform, and maintained it through 25 releases between 2020 and 2024. I also publish vulnerability research and maintain open-source security and local-AI tools.
I wrote The Wrong Lessons, a nonfiction book about how people draw mistaken conclusions from experience and why those conclusions can be difficult to change.
Selected open-source contributions
Android port of ntru_endian.h in a post-quantum
NTRU cryptography implementation.
Three merged PRs: WireGuard IPv6 leak fix, DNS-over-HTTPS via cloudflared, upstream DNS hardening.
Archive-unpack bugfix for non-zip sources in the Python-to-APK build pipeline.
Non-interactive installer support for scripted Raspberry Pi access point deployments.
How I lead
At ManTech, I trained a team of junior engineers to run the network automation product I developed. At Rimstorm, I built the engineering, development, and maintenance teams around GovCon Enclave. In both roles, part of my job was making sure the people operating the system could make decisions without depending on me for every answer.
I want problems raised early, while there is still time to respond. I explain the reasoning behind decisions and expect people to challenge it when they see something I've missed. When something goes wrong, I'm responsible for helping the team address it and examining how my own decisions contributed.
Before my engineering career, I served as a zone leader in Toamasina, Madagascar, in 2006-2007. I was responsible for the safety of fellow missionaries during cyclones, flooding, and communication blackouts.
Credentials
Education
M.S., Computer Science
Georgia Institute of Technology
B.S., Electrical Engineering
Brigham Young University
Security certifications
CISSP
Certified Information Systems Security Professional
Broad security management certification covering 8 domains.
Active; issued Sep 15, 2021; expires Sep 30, 2027
Verify credentialOSCP
Offensive Security Certified Professional
Hands-on penetration testing under time constraints.
Active; issued May 22, 2021; does not expire
Verify credentialOSWP
Offensive Security Wireless Professional
Wireless network security assessment and exploitation.
Active; issued Sep 4, 2021; does not expire
Verify credentialeCXD
eLearnSecurity Certified eXploit Developer
Advanced exploit development on 32-bit and 64-bit Windows and Linux: bypassing DEP/NX, ASLR, SafeSEH, and stack canaries.
Active; issued May 3, 2022; does not expire
Verify credentialClearance
Former TS/SCI (2010–2023)
Research recognition
Acknowledged by Microsoft for reporting a Windows Power Dependency Coordinator tampering vulnerability, published September 8, 2026.
Microsoft advisory and acknowledgementLeadership development
Leadership Excellence Course
Academy Leadership (2021)
Engineering Leadership Development Program
Lockheed Martin (2012–2015)
Work history 15+ years
boost-a-brydon-group-company BOOST, a Brydon Group company | bash Jan 2026 – Present
$ cat boost.log
Chief Architect, Secure Enclave Platform
Herndon, VA
- Named Chief Architect for the Secure Enclave Platform following BOOST LLC's acquisition of Rimstorm
- Architecting next-generation platform-scale delivery of secure enclave environments
- Leading secure platform architecture across the BOOST portfolio
rimstorm-inc-acquired-by-boost-llc-2026 Rimstorm, Inc. (acquired by BOOST LLC, 2026) | bash 2021 – Jan 2026
$ cat rimstorm.log
Chief Technology Officer
Herndon, VA
- Created GovCon Enclave from concept through acquisition, building the security platform for protecting CUI that became part of the BOOST portfolio
- Built and led Rimstorm's engineering, development, and maintenance teams as the company's first technical leader
- Built automation framework reducing enclave deployment from 2 weeks to 2 hours
- Scaled to 50+ production enclaves supporting hundreds of users
stormblest Stormblest | bash 2019 – 2025
$ ./mistborn --status
Founder / Principal Engineer
- Created Mistborn: open-source zero-trust networking platform
- Solo-built and maintained 2020-2024 across 25 tagged releases
- Built on Debian + WireGuard with Nextcloud, Jitsi, Vaultwarden
- Designed reproducible deployments for non-specialist admins
redlattice REDLattice | bash 2018 – 2021
$ strings redlattice.bin
Senior Software Engineer
Chantilly, VA
- Built binary analysis and automation pipelines for advanced cyber operations
- Designed and built advanced testing harnesses for virtual and physical hardware
mantech-card ManTech CARD | bash 2015 – 2018
$ ansible-playbook deploy.yml
Principal CNO Software Engineer
Reston, VA
- Developed a cloud network automation product for network deployment and monitoring
- Trained and led a small team of junior engineers running the product day to day
lockheed-martin-atl Lockheed Martin ATL | bash 2009 – 2015
$ python3 research.py --extract features
Research Scientist
Manassas & Arlington, VA
- Neural networks for sonar feature extraction; submitted IP on novel architectures
- Presented "Feature Extraction of Sonar Grams" at the NDIA Joint Undersea Warfare Technology Spring Conference (San Diego, 2010)
- Engineered cyber ranges of 10,000+ virtual and physical nodes
- Special Recognition Awards (2012, 2014, 2015)
Prefer the formal version? View my resume.
Non-technical interests
Family
Married with three small kids. Most of my free time is hikes through Manassas Battlefield, cushion forts, Dr. Seuss, Star Wars, and hide-and-seek. We speak Portuguese at home; my wife is from Brazil.
Languages
I speak Imerina Malagasy from my LDS mission in Madagascar. In 2008 I interpreted English to Malagasy for a live conference broadcast.
Running
7 marathons finished. Member of the Marine Corps Marathon Runners Club since 2023.
Other pursuits
Motorcycle enthusiast: Honda Shadow Spirit VT1100C.
Amateur radio
Amateur Extra, callsign KW4TD.
Scouting
Eagle Scout, Middle Tennessee Council (2001).
Say hello
I'm always happy to talk about security architecture, systems design, or whatever you're building. If you found something useful here, or if you think I got something wrong, I'd like to hear about it.