Fredrick Lackey
Software Architect, Engineer & Leader
A passionate software veteran who transforms complex challenges into elegant solutions, with equal comfort writing code or collaborating with C-level executives. From pioneering work on Backup Exec and early contributions to Amazon.com, to developing critical systems for Homeland Security—including leading enterprise transformation at Travelers Insurance as part of an ongoing CISA engagement—four decades of building software that matters.
This site is being rebuilt. After 40 years of writing software for everyone else, I'm finally giving fredlackey.com the attention it deserves. A proper blog, project showcases, and much more are on the way. In the meantime, everything that was here before is still available below.
Career
Selected Highlights
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Architect & Technical Lead
CISA / Department of Homeland Security · 2021–Present
Created the Cybersecurity Virtual Learning Environment (CVLE), reducing training costs by $50,000 per month. Within this engagement, led a project at Travelers Insurance directing six development teams to modernize legacy applications and build cloud-native solutions for the Construction division.
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Director of Software Engineering
Spotless Software · 2006–2018
Led 50+ development teams worldwide, architecting and delivering over 100 full-stack applications.
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Founding Developer
Arcada Software · 1994–1996
Created Backup Exec, developing critical components from low-level SCSI drivers to customer-facing applications.
Expertise
What I Do
Writing
Recent Articles
July 30, 2025
Stop Getting Screwed by Microsoft — Why Spring Boot Is Your Way Out
Breaking free from vendor lock-in with Spring Boot.
July 15, 2025
AI Doesn't Replace Developers — It Replaces Bad Developers
The reality behind AI in software development: why experience matters more than ever.