Alabama-based · Open to full-time opportunities

Software Engineer building systems that connect hardware, data, applications, and engineering workflows.

Five years of software development experience across commercial connected systems, manufacturing automation, and independent full-stack product development.

Systems integrationFull-stack developmentEngineering automation
Michael Tyler Smith
Software EngineerBuilding across system boundaries

Systems Reasoningunderstanding how hardware, software, data, users, and workflows interact

Integration Engineeringconnecting protocols, devices, applications, APIs, and databases across system boundaries

Engineering Automationtranslating complex technical and operational processes into maintainable software

End-to-End Deliverymoving from requirements and investigation through implementation, verification, and deployment

01 / Experience

Where software meets the real world.

Commercial connected systems, manufacturing engineering, and an independently deployed product.

June 2025—Present

Independent Software Developer

DopamineDrip Studios

Next.js · TypeScript · PostgreSQL · Docker · Vercel

  • Built and deployed a full-stack commerce product with authentication, persistent carts, checkout, administration, and transactional email.
  • Migrated the application from a container-first deployment to Vercel and Neon while retaining a Docker-based option.
March 2013—July 2021

Public safety & military service

Earlier service

Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office · U.S. Navy Reserve · Army National Guard

  • Correctional Officer, March 2019—July 2021.
  • Master-at-Arms, U.S. Navy Reserve, March 2015—March 2021; Motor Transport Operator, Army National Guard, March 2013—March 2015.

02 / Case studies

Integration and automation, in depth.

Two examples of diagnosing unfamiliar systems and delivering practical software improvements.

01
Connected systems

RV-C/CAN hardware integration

Turning raw vehicle telemetry into understandable, responsive application state.

RV hardware
RV-C / CAN
BLE gateway
AngularJS app

Context

An Ionic/Capacitor mobile application surfaced state from connected RV equipment including batteries, inverters, generators, awnings, leveling, braking, and emissions systems.

Technical problem

Multi-battery systems needed pack-level identification and individual state-of-charge values. High-frequency updates also introduced visible UI lag.

Investigation

I used an RV-C CAN adapter to inspect messages, translated hexadecimal payloads into binary fields, interpreted protocol documentation, and identified transmitting devices and system states.

Implementation

I added Xantrex multi-battery handling, device-based pack selection, a radial state-of-charge view, and 500-millisecond processing windows for incoming telemetry.

Verification & result

Displayed values were checked against connected hardware. The resulting feature distinguished battery packs while batching updates addressed the observed UI lag.

Boundary of responsibility

My work consumed data delivered through the gateway; I did not implement the BLE stack or underlying GATT layer.

02
Engineering automation

AutoCAD production workflow automation

Encoding a repetitive, geometry-heavy drawing process into dependable tools.

Manual workflow~8 minutes ~3 secondsMeasured result
Original plan
Entity classification
Transformation rules
Corrected mirror

Manual workflow

Print-pack preparation combined image capture, boundary selection, text fields, drawing preparation, and print operations.

Operational constraints

Automation had to work with complete manufactured-home drawings used during daily production preparation without exposing proprietary drawing content.

Automation approach

I gathered requirements and built a 2,000+ line AutoLISP application that reproduced the workflow in a repeatable command path.

Geometry challenges

A separate whole-drawing tool classified entities, handled shifted block origins, and applied object-specific translation, reflection, and Z-axis rotation.

Corrected output

The tool derived reference geometry and centerlines, then repositioned in-wall structural elements that required correction after transformation.

Production use

The automation removed the need to redraw reversed floor plans and was maintained for day-to-day engineering and office workflows.

03 / Projects

Systems built beyond the day job.

Deployed full-stack work and a focused hardware-in-the-loop demonstration.

P/01Stripe test mode

Full-stack commerce platform

A deployed product effort with catalogue, authentication, persistent guest and account carts, checkout, orders, administration, inventory, content controls, basic sales analytics, and transactional email.

Next.js
Neon PostgreSQL
Stripe / USPS / Resend
Vercel
Deployment evolution
Separate application and PostgreSQL containers → Vercel and Neon to reduce operational burden; Docker remains an option.
Known limitations
No meaningful production traffic; limited observability; automated testing may be absent; some multi-business features remain incomplete.
P/02Hardware-in-the-loop

Arduino + Java telemetry

A focused integration demonstration: firmware reads analog input, applies a threshold, controls status LEDs, and emits structured text that a Java application parses.

Analog input
Arduino logic
UART telemetry
Java receiver
Message contract
Newline-delimited text fields carrying an analog reading and OK or ALERT state over serial.
Next improvements
Add checksum/framing, reconnection handling, structured logging, and automated parser tests before treating it as a production pattern.

04 / Capabilities

Skills, grounded in context.

Grouped by where they have been demonstrated—not presented as equal-depth claims.

Professional & independent

Application development

  • JavaScript
  • AngularJS
  • Ionic
  • Capacitor
  • Git
  • Pull requests
  • Code review
  • QA collaboration

Professional

Systems integration

  • RV-C
  • CAN bus analysis
  • Telemetry
  • Hardware integration
  • Protocol interpretation
  • Functional verification
  • Root-cause debugging

Professional

Engineering automation

  • AutoLISP
  • AutoCAD
  • Process automation
  • Geometric transformations
  • Requirements gathering
  • Manufacturing support

Deployed projects

Full-stack & infrastructure

  • TypeScript
  • Next.js
  • React
  • PostgreSQL
  • REST APIs
  • Docker
  • Linux
  • Vercel
  • Neon

Project experience

Hardware-in-the-loop

  • Java
  • Maven
  • C++
  • Arduino
  • Serial / UART
  • JSerialComm

Education

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

Purdue University Global · Online · Graduated October 2023

3.9 GPA

05 / Contact

Let’s connect the pieces.

I’m open to full-time software engineering roles involving systems integration, engineering automation, manufacturing systems, full-stack applications, or hardware-integrated software.

Alabama U.S. citizenU.S. Navy Reserve veteran