David Federspiel

About David Federspiel

Engineering leader who codes. I combine principal-level technical expertise with people leadership to drive transformative initiatives that multiply team productivity across organizations.Currently leading AI-powered architectural migrations and modern frontend practices at Black Duck, where I\'ve discovered that the best engineering outcomes come from leaders who stay hands-on with the technology. I architect scalable solutions using React, modern API patterns, and innovative AI-assisted development workflows while building teams that deliver enterprise-grade software.What drives me? The elegant logic of well-crafted code and the satisfaction of enabling others to reach their potential. I approach both coding and leadership as interconnected puzzles - whether I\'m implementing complex technical solutions or designing systems that help engineers grow into senior contributors.My leadership philosophy is simple: stay close to the code, multiply impact through others, and never stop learning. When I\'m not architecting solutions or mentoring engineers, you\'ll find me pursuing creative projects that keep my problem-solving skills sharp and perspective fresh.Specialties: Frontend architecture, AI-assisted development, React migrations, API strategy, technical team leadership, developer engagement, and turning complex technical challenges into scalable solutions.

Experience

1. Principal Engineer

   Black Duck

   Oct 2024 — Present · US

   Leading the Central UI practice evolution while maintaining deep technical involvement. I drive strategic initiatives that multiply engineering productivity across teams through innovative AI-assisted development and architectural transformations.Key Initiatives:AI-Powered Migration Leadership: Architecting comprehensive Ember.js to React migration using custom AI context protocols, vector databases, and multi-repository knowledge systems - creating scalable workflows that transform complex migrations into streamlined processesAPI Strategy Transformation: Modernizing API development lifecycle from legacy documentation tools to unified API-first workflows, establishing developer-centric practices that improve system reliability and team velocityTechnical Excellence: Hands-on engineering leader who codes alongside the team, pioneering advanced prompt engineering and AI evaluation patterns that create lasting productivity gainsPractice Development: Building reusable component libraries and design system infrastructure while implementing feature flag management and custom developer tooling that elevates organizational capabilityCombining principal-level technical expertise with collaborative leadership to create systems that enable teams to deliver more with less.

Education

• School of Self Instruction

  Journeyman, IT, Music, Photography, Illustration, Video, 3D Modeling, IC Programming, Writing

  1978 — 2021

Skills

• Xml
• Database Design
• Rest
• Sitefinity
• Entity Framework
• Html
• Web Services
• Project Management
• T-Sql
• Sql
• Linux
• Asp.net
• Photography
• Jquery
• Web Applications
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Mysql
• Software Development
• Sharepoint
• Project Planning
• Apache
• Php
• Cascading Style Sheets (Css)
• Javascript
• Html 5
• Iis
• Web Development
• Ajax
• Css
• Windows 7
• Mvc
• Visual Studio
• Microsoft Sql Server
• Visual Basic
• Html5
• Web Design
• Xcode
• C#
• .net
• Microsoft Office