Senior Software Engineer • Educator • Problem Solver
Data pipelines & SLI metrics | Performance engineering & Kubernetes at scale | Teaching complex concepts simply
I'm a Senior Software Engineer based in Austin, Texas, currently working at WP Engine where I've been for over 11 years. My career path is unique: I blend deep technical expertise in performance engineering, reliability measurement, and cloud infrastructure with a strong educational background, having taught mathematics at the K-12 level.
At WP Engine, I build dbt data models and pipelines in BigQuery for SLI metrics including uptime, bandwidth, and cluster-level downtime and MTTR tracking. I lead cross-team performance benchmarking efforts, own validation for new platform infrastructure, and manage enterprise Kubernetes environments with Terraform. I'm a subject matter expert on our uptime SLI/SLO metrics, building Grafana and Looker Studio dashboards as teams need them.
What makes me different? I don't just build complex systems - I can explain them in ways anyone can understand. I've spent years breaking down complex concepts for students, which means I excel at presenting findings to leadership, mentoring developers, and bridging the gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders. I've up-skilled 2 engineers in Terraform, Kubernetes, and Python through hands-on training modules and interactive Jupyter notebooks.
| NAMESPACE | NAME | READY | UP-TO-DATE | AVAILABLE | AGE |
|---|
commit 8f4a2b9c1d6e3f7a5b8c9d2e4f1a6b3c7d8e9f0a (HEAD -> main) Author: Jason Fowler <toj@toj.dev> Date: Mon Oct 3 09:00:00 2022 -0500 Senior Software Engineer at WP Engine - Built dbt data models and pipelines in BigQuery for SLI metrics including uptime, bandwidth, and the organization's first cluster-level downtime and MTTR tracking - Led cross-team performance benchmarking, designing test scenarios, building Grafana dashboards, and presenting findings to engineering and product leadership - Owned performance validation for new platform infrastructure, identifying configuration defects and testing methodology flaws that would have led to decisions based on unreliable data - Managed enterprise Kubernetes infrastructure including GKE upgrades, vulnerability remediation, cost optimization, and Terraform automation across multi-cloud environments - Up-skilled 2 engineers in Terraform, Kubernetes, and Python through hands-on training modules and interactive Jupyter notebooks commit 3e7b1f4c9a2d8e6f0b5c1a7d4e9f2b8c3a6d1e5f Author: Jason Fowler <toj@toj.dev> Date: Wed May 20 08:30:00 2020 -0500 Software Engineer, Reliability at WP Engine - Diagnosed GKE pod degradation with Google, identifying a COS node issue; migrated to Ubuntu nodes to resolve it - Built uptime SLI/SLO monitoring with DataStudio dashboards and BigQuery for platform reliability tracking - Maintained Jenkins infrastructure performing upgrades, plugin updates, node migrations, and documenting incident RCAs - Authored 23 technical documentation pages for uptime monitoring, incident response, and operational runbooks commit 7d2e9f1a4b6c8e3f5a0b7c2d9e4f1a6b8c3d5e7f Author: Jason Fowler <toj@toj.dev> Date: Fri Nov 17 10:00:00 2017 -0600 Associate Software Engineer, Reliability at WP Engine - Led Jenkins migration from AWS to GCP using Terraform/Ansible with SumoLogic/Datadog monitoring - Maintained Django service aggregating Jira/GitHub metrics for engineering OKR tracking and visualization - Co-led Kubernetes adoption assisting engineering teams with workload migrations - Developed smoke tests, monitoring frameworks, and operational runbooks commit 5a8d1b4c7e9f2a5b8c1d4e7f0a3d6b9c2e8f1a4b Author: Jason Fowler <toj@toj.dev> Date: Mon Sep 1 09:00:00 2014 -0500 IT Support Lead at WP Engine - Built IT infrastructure and auditing systems, administered corporate networks (Meraki, 4 offices) and collaboration platforms (Google, Zoom, Dialpad) commit 2b5c8e1f4a7d9e3f6b0c2a8d5e1f4b7c9a3d6e2f Author: Jason Fowler <toj@toj.dev> Date: Mon Jan 15 09:00:00 2012 -0600 IT Support Engineer at Bazaarvoice - Provided global IT support across 9 offices, deploying Mac/Windows images and administering enterprise systems (Active Directory, Exchange, Office 365, WebEx, Cisco UCM) commit 9a3d6e2f5b8c1e4f7a0d3b6c9e2f5a8d1b4c7e9f Author: Jason Fowler <toj@toj.dev> Date: Thu Jun 14 10:30:00 2010 -0400 Genius at Apple Store Sagemore - Apple Certified Mac Technician providing hardware/software support and customer service commit 4f7a0d3b6c9e2f5a8d1b4c7e9f2a5b8c1d4e7f0a Author: Jason Fowler <toj@toj.dev> Date: Mon Aug 18 08:00:00 2008 -0400 High School Mathematics Teacher at Lindenwold High School - Taught mathematics to diverse student populations, developing curriculum and integrating technology into classrooms commit 1e4f7a0d3b6c9e2f5a8d1b4c7e9f2a5b8c1d4e7f Author: Jason Fowler <toj@toj.dev> Date: Wed Aug 16 08:00:00 2006 -0500 6th Grade Mathematics Teacher at Pearce Middle School, Austin ISD - Taught middle school mathematics, honing communication skills that now help bridge technical and non-technical stakeholders commit 6c9e2f5a8d1b4c7e9f2a5b8c1d4e7f0a3d6b9c2e Author: Jason Fowler <toj@toj.dev> Date: Mon Jun 20 09:00:00 2005 -0500 Services Support Representative I at Unisys (TSA, DHS HQ) - Provided technical support for Department of Homeland Security systems
education: - institution: The University of Texas at Austin degree: Bachelor of Science, Computer Science graduation_date: December 2003 certifications: - name: Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) organization: Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) dates: November 2021 - November 2024 - name: Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) organization: Scrum Alliance dates: February 2022 - February 2024 - name: Apple Certified Mac Technician organization: Apple, Inc. dates: October 2010 - November 2012 - name: Certified Mathematics Teacher (K-12) organization: State of New Jersey dates: July 2008 - Present - name: Certified Technology Education (6-12) organization: State of Texas dates: May 2008 - August 2012 - name: Certified Mathematics Teacher (4-8) organization: State of Texas dates: August 2006 - August 2012