About

I started out doing web design and print layout. In 2016 I began working as a Java developer, and I’ve built enterprise software ever since. Along the way I added Kotlin, Python, TypeScript and now Rust.

Over time, the part I came to care about most was security: who is allowed to do what, and how you prove it. That’s where my enterprise work has moved since 2021.

When generative AI arrived, I taught myself through a lot of trial and error. Then I was given the role of driving my department’s move to AI-native work. Now I build agents that change real code and call real services, and I design their limits first.

Outside my job I build products of my own and open-source tools for coding agents.

See my work

Timeline

2021 – now
Senior principal software engineer (current title), global technology company
AI agents and application security, described on my Work page.
2016 – now
Co-founder, ZeeSpire
My software company: AI integrations and custom software for clients, and products of our own.
2021
API software engineer, financial-services company
Microservices, DevOps work, and regular technical training for the team.
2020
Principal software engineer, the same technology company
Storage-configuration tools, in a pair-programming, test-first team that shipped to production with every merge.
2020
Java instructor, programming academy
Java from the fundamentals to object-oriented design, exceptions and collections.
2018 – 2020
Senior Java developer, IT consultancy
Enterprise applications for clients in banking and high-tech manufacturing.
2017 – 2018
Java developer
2016 – 2017
Java developer, freelance
Also a programmer at a university in 2017.
2008 – 2017
Web design and desktop publishing, at a university
Where I started.

Education: bachelor’s degree in computer and information science. Certification: Professional Scrum Master I (Scrum.org), 2024.

Teaching and mentoring

Gabriel pairing with a younger colleague at one laptop, pointing at the screen while the colleague types, with a mug and a stack of notes beside them

I taught Java in a classroom in 2020, mostly through live coding, so students learned by doing. I’ve recorded screencasts since 2016 and written articles since 2019, and these days I run workshops on working with AI agents.

At work, I like being someone colleagues can come to when they’re stuck.

I mentored one colleague for five years, from new hire to senior engineer. Today we build together as close technical partners.
I helped an intern become a permanent engineer while we delivered a data migration together.
I’ve helped interns deploy their first application to our Kubernetes platform, and colleagues take their first steps in a new language.
I sit on hiring panels for engineering roles.
When something needs fixing, I pull a few people into a small team, keep us on the problem and work through it with them.

What colleagues say

From references and recognition notes written by people I’ve worked with.

“What stands out to me is that he looks beyond getting a solution to work—he takes ownership of the decisions that make it safe, credible, and practical for other teams to use.”
Director of software engineering and distinguished engineer, about a cross-team security initiative
“Whenever someone brings a new concept to the table, he leans in rather than dismissing it—asking thoughtful questions, pressure-testing the idea, and helping shape it into something real.”
Senior software engineer, a colleague I mentored
“Your work on security, especially the custom libraries you've developed, has had a real impact across the company.”
A colleague I mentored, about security libraries
“Your involvement in shaping the solution’s design and architecture played a crucial role in ensuring it is both reliable and scalable.”
A teammate, about the design of a data migration
“Your efforts ensured a smooth transition and maintained operational continuity during the decommissioning … without any disruption.”
Product manager, about retiring a legacy service
“When I encounter some issues I can't solve by myself I end up getting them solved with Gabriel.”
A teammate
“In terms of technical development, I am better because of you.”
A colleague
“It’s inspiring to see how he takes the time to share knowledge and mentor them so effectively.”
A colleague, about my work with our interns
“Gabriel helped me by providing me with the examples I needed to boost my performance and deliver the project faster and better”
A colleague

Skills

AI: multi-agent systems, MCP, retrieval-augmented generation, Google Agent Development Kit, Qdrant, agent evaluation, spec-driven development
Security and identity: OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, PKCE, Keycloak, Okta, JWT, role-based access, multi-tenant isolation
Platform: Docker, Kubernetes