About — Fred Lackey

Est. 1985 — 40 Years in Software

Four Decades of Code

Fredrick "Fred" Lackey has been building software since the mid-1980s. What started as fascination with early personal computers evolved into a 40-year career spanning every major paradigm shift in the industry -- from mainframes and desktop applications to cloud-native microservices and AI-powered systems.

As a Software Architect, Engineer, and Leader, Fred has guided organizations through complex digital transformations, mentored engineering teams, and architected systems that serve millions. His approach blends deep technical expertise with pragmatic leadership -- building things that work, that scale, and that last.

Today, Fred focuses on AI integration, legacy modernization, and full-stack architecture, bridging the gap between what organizations have and what they need. His recent AI projects -- Knowledge Builder and Career Coach -- demonstrate practical applications of artificial intelligence in real-world workflows.

Specializations

Core Expertise

AI Integration

Building intelligent systems that augment human capability. Knowledge builders, career coaches, and practical AI tooling.

Architecture

Scalable, maintainable systems. Microservices, event-driven patterns, cloud-native infrastructure at enterprise scale.

Full-Stack Engineering

Database to UI. JavaScript, TypeScript, .NET, Java, Spring Boot, and everything in between.

Technical Leadership

Guiding teams through complex transformations. Mentoring engineers and establishing engineering standards.

Legacy Modernization

Incremental migration strategies that minimize risk while maximizing business continuity and value delivery.

DevOps & Infrastructure

CI/CD pipelines, containerization, IaC, and the operational backbone that keeps modern systems running.

Career

Selected Experience

2021 — Present

CISA / Department of Homeland Security

Senior Software Engineer / Architect

Cybersecurity infrastructure for national defense. Building the digital shield that protects critical infrastructure across the United States. Within this engagement, led a major project at Travelers Insurance focused on enterprise architecture and modernization -- bridging legacy systems with modern cloud-native architectures at one of America's largest insurance companies.

2006 — 2018

Spotless

Technical Lead / Principal Engineer

Over a decade building and leading product engineering. From early-stage development through scaling, guiding the technical vision across the full product lifecycle.

1994 — 1996

Arcada / Backup Exec

Software Engineer

Storage and backup systems in the early days of enterprise computing. Building foundational infrastructure software during the PC revolution.