Lee Hilton

Reporting directly to the CEO, led the growth of the engineering organization from an initial MVP to a fully operational team of 34 engineers, 8 leads, 3 UX designers, and 4 product managers, ensuring the seamless on-boarding of over 40 team members. See More ↓ See Less ↑

• Delivered the initial MVP, enabling customer testing and securing multiple funding rounds by serving as the company’s technical and product leader during investor engagements.
• Scaled and nurtured a high-performing team, designing a robust onboarding process to ensure consistency and provide resources for success across all roles.
• Built strong investor relationships by providing regular updates and addressing technical questions, fostering transparency and trust.
• Spearheaded development of IRS filing and automated banking services, ensuring compliance and reliability for nationwide users.
• Developed an internal CMS for managing and researching nationwide business tax codes, enhancing operational efficiency and domain expertise.

Contributed to the Education and Training platform team, leveraging a diverse technology stack to modernize infrastructure, enhance applications, and support global operations. See More ↓ See Less ↑

• Refactored an extensive legacy Laravel and Vue.js codebase, addressing years of technical debt, bugs and needed features.
• Developed custom Java plugins for Apache Guacamole, including an SSO solution, rebranding capabilities, and analytics tracking features.
• Automated infrastructure updates by porting machine templates from Ubuntu to CentOS, utilizing Ansible to streamline service builds and customization.
• Delivered production-level enhancements for internal admin tools and public-facing training and education portals, addressing evolving business needs.

Founded and scaled a boutique consultancy delivering software solutions, VR hardware prototyping, and IT services, with a peak team of seven engineers and artists. See More ↓ See Less ↑

• Spearheaded development for diverse client projects, specializing in solving complex technical challenges using Laravel, Yii, CakePHP, and other backend frameworks.
• Delivered dozens of WordPress-based solutions, ensuring high-quality, cost-effective results to meet client needs and sustain operations.
• Served as the founding CTO for Ceek.com, a VR content firm, establishing technical strategy and leading platform development.
• Led a VR/medical hardware initiative, mastering 3D printing (FDM) technologies and managing a fleet of Lulzbot TAZ printers running 24/7 for prototyping.
• Transitioned to freelancing in 2018 after successfully managing the studio through funding challenges and project closures.

Delivered award-winning web development and IT solutions while managing infrastructure and supporting creative tools for in-house and partner operations. Provided technology consulting services to partners. See More ↓ See Less ↑

• Designed and maintained in-house and client websites, including the award-winning TacomaWeekly.com, recognized by the W.N.P.A.
• Oversaw IT operations for 50 mixed-platform systems, managing networks, hardware, and software for internal teams and partner locations.
• Built custom intranet applications for the Puyallup Tribe’s Education Department, streamlining workflows and improving accessibility.

Established and led the Advanced Media division, driving innovation in digital content distribution and delivering significant cost savings for web development and signage operations.

• Founded the Advanced Media division, creating a content delivery system for a national digital signage network with over 3,700 displays in 740 locations, cutting operating costs by $370K annually with a $39K initial investment.
• Insourced web development, saving $172,500 in the first year compared to outsourcing costs.
• Oversaw IT infrastructure for internal operations and partner studios, managing cross-platform environments (Windows, macOS, Linux) to ensure optimal performance and collaboration.

Led the modernization of a legacy Cobol application into a scalable, web-based ASP.NET/C# solution, delivering enhanced functionality and usability for aerospace and manufacturing clients.

• Translated Cobol business logic into C#, enabling the transition to a modern, maintainable codebase.
• Migrated VSAM datasets to Microsoft SQL Server, ensuring data integrity and system reliability during the transition.
• Designed and developed a user-friendly web UI, leveraging a three-tier architecture to improve accessibility and operational efficiency.

Managed critical database systems across production and pre-production environments, ensuring the smooth operation of various applications.

• Engineered a seamless data migrations during live-site operations, reducing deployment times by over 400%.
• Conducted in-depth performance analysis and tuning to enhance system reliability and efficiency.
• Oversaw MySQL Ad Analytics Cluster, ensuring robust disaster recovery plans and dependable backups for business continuity.

Streamlined critical processes and delivered practical solutions across lab automation, data integrity, and infrastructure optimization, driving significant cost savings and operational efficiency.

• Engineered and deployed a VMware Server migration, virtualizing development and testing systems, saving $600K annually in hardware expenses.
• Designed and implemented lab and datacenter automation platforms, reducing manual overhead and improving system reliability.
• Formed new data reporting team, focused on providing data for legal, marketing and partner needs on short notice.

Supported and optimized infrastructure systems for Microsoft web product teams, focusing on automation, operational efficiency, and user satisfaction.

Developed the first iteration of the GeekGirlCon website. Created and setup social media assets on various outlets (Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, etc...).