I have been building software since the mid-1980s. That sentence reads simply enough, but it encompasses a journey through every major technological inflection of the modern era — from mainframes to microservices, from dial-up to distributed cloud, from punch cards (nearly) to the precipice of artificial general intelligence.1
My name is Fredrick Lackey, though most people call me Fred. I am a software architect, engineer, and technical leader based in the northeastern United States. Over forty years, I have held roles spanning hands-on development, platform engineering, team leadership, and enterprise architecture — often simultaneously.
The work I find most rewarding sits at the intersection of the old and the new: taking legacy systems that organizations depend upon and evolving them into architectures that can sustain another decade of growth. This requires not only technical fluency but an understanding of organizational dynamics, risk tolerance, and the human factors that determine whether a modernization effort succeeds or stalls.
Career Timeline
CISA — Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency
2021–Present
Systems engineering for the federal agency responsible for protecting national critical infrastructure. Focused on security-hardened application architectures and compliance frameworks. A significant project within this engagement involved enterprise architecture and engineering leadership for Travelers Insurance, one of America’s oldest and largest property casualty insurers, spanning platform modernization, development standards, and cross-team technical strategy.
Spotless
2006–2018
Built, led, and evolved the core technology platform through twelve years of continuous operation. Grew the engineering practice from inception to a mature, scalable organization serving thousands of users daily.
Arcada / Backup Exec
1994–1996
Contributed to data protection products that became industry standards, later acquired by Seagate and subsequently Veritas. An early lesson in building software that must never fail.
Current Focus
My present work centers on the practical integration of AI into software development workflows. I am building tools — a Knowledge Builder and a Career Coach — that explore how language models can augment rather than replace human expertise. I write about these themes regularly, and I remain convinced that the developers who thrive in the AI era will be those who bring judgment, craft, and architectural thinking to the collaboration.
I approach technology the way a craftsman approaches any material: with respect for its properties, patience for its limitations, and ambition for what it can become in skilled hands.