Kristopher Chambers

Principal Software Engineer

Remote • United States
kristopher.chambers@gmail.com • 317-457-4171

17+ years designing, building, scaling, and operating distributed systems, backend platforms, and real-time applications. Deep expertise spanning backend architecture, data pipelines, systems reliability, DevOps, multi-tenant SaaS, event-driven systems, and high-scale online games.

Recognized for delivering pragmatic, maintainable systems, mentoring engineering teams, and leading organizations through architectural modernization, system redesigns, and complex integrations.

Core Competencies

  • Distributed Systems Architecture • Large-Scale Backend Engineering • Systems Reliability
  • Multi-Tenant SaaS • Event-Driven Systems • API Architecture • Data Pipelines
  • Kubernetes • Docker • AWS (EventBridge, SQS, Lambda, RDS, Redshift, S3)
  • Ruby, Golang, Python, Typescript/Node, C# • Rails • DevOps & CI/CD
  • Observability & Monitoring • Performance Optimization
  • Engineering Leadership • Cross-Functional Technical Strategy

Professional History

Starbucks (Remote) (starbucks.com)

Lead Software Engineer (March 2026 - Present)

Software Engineering, Leadership, and Tax Compliance

  • Lead engineer overseeing the Quebec tax compliance integration initiative for Starbucks Edge Computing platform, requiring deep understanding of provincial fiscal regulations and certified sales-reporting workflows.
  • Led a team of five engineers in designing, developing, and integrating the vendor’s tax compliance software into Starbucks’ edge computing platform, ensuring compliance, reliability, and operational safety.
  • Coordinated across multiple internal and external teams to deliver a compliant, maintainable, and observable end-to-end tax reporting pipeline for one of Starbucks North America's most complex regional regulatory environments.
  • Adhered to accelerated timelines to mitigate the risk of regulatory penalties potentially exceeding tens of millions of dollars in fines.

Empower Delivery (Remote) (empower.delivery)

Senior Software Architect (April 2023 - March 2025)

Architectural Leadership • Multi-Tenant Systems • Real-Time Delivery Infrastructure

  • Architected a cutting-edge restaurant technology solution that was successfully acquired by Starbucks.
  • Led the design and implementation of a real-time delivery tracking system, enabling live driver/route visibility and operational transparency for partner restaurants.
  • Designed a rules-engine–driven discounting system, replacing legacy logic with a scalable, dynamic decision framework used across all ordering workflows.
  • Delivered integrations with multiple third-party DSPs for dispatching, tracking, and fulfillment, enabling newly onboarded enterprise clients to go live faster.
  • Architected multi-tenant order management and fulfillment platforms, foundational to Empower’s expansion strategy and ability to onboard national-scale clients.
  • Authored deep technical documentation: architectural diagrams, onboarding guides, infrastructure references, and development workflows that became engineering standards.

Rume Health / Covid Clinic (Remote) (rumehealth.com, covidclinic.org)

Software Architect (April 2022 - December 2022)

Real-Time Systems • Healthcare Data Pipelines • AWS Architecture • HIPAA Compliance

  • Led a team of three engineers, replacing a team of 20+ contractors, reducing costs and improving efficiency.
  • Designed and implemented a real-time patient–provider matching system, reducing wait times and improving provider load balancing across the telehealth network.
  • Architected end-to-end data synchronization between vendor CRM/LIS systems and internal analytics platforms, including data warehouse schemas and CSV export standards.
  • Built HIPAA-compliant AWS infrastructure: VPC design, IAM security, event pipelines, and data ingestion patterns.
  • Implemented an event-based integration layer using EventBridge, SQS, Lambda, and Chalice to efficiently move clinical and operational data between systems.
  • Produced comprehensive documentation used by both engineering and vendor partners to maintain, extend, and audit the system.

ClusterTruck (Remote) (clustertruck.com)

Senior Software Engineer (April 2021 - March 2022)

Backend Architecture • SRE • Platform Services

  • Built a unified Monetary Transaction System to manage real-money operations (refunds, wallets, subscriptions), simplifying financial workflows and auditing.
  • Architected subscription billing systems and Account Balance infrastructure using Stripe + internal accounting pipelines.
  • Designed and implemented "feature environments" leveraging Kubernetes, enabling isolated, production-like testing for multiple teams without disrupting live workflows.
  • Developed APIs for gift cards, purchase flows, redemption logic, and financial tracking.

Freelance

Senior Software Engineer (April 2019 - April 2021)

Software Engineering, DevOps, and Modernization

  • Playful (Creativerse) — Provided DevOps leadership for ongoing live operations; handled upgrades, deployments, and on-call incident triage.
  • Warm-Up — Refactored Rails backend and built full RSpec test coverage (0% → 100%).
  • Diagnotes — Delivered major performance improvements across API and database layers.
  • GemGuide — Modernized a legacy Node system and established CI/CD pipelines.

Playful Studios (Remote) (playfulstudios.com)

Server Architect (September 2015 - January 2020)

High-Scale Game Backend Architecture • Multi-Cloud Deployments • Live Ops

  • Creativerse (Top-50 Steam MMO)
    • Led backend architecture, global deployment, and SRE for a worldwide online game supporting tens of thousands of concurrent players.
    • Built multi-cloud deployment tooling enabling engineers to self-provision infrastructure across 7 cloud providers in 5 global regions.
    • Implemented full CI/CD pipelines (GitHub + TravisCI) enabling rapid iteration with automated deployments.
    • Built comprehensive operational documentation, playbooks, and training for gameplay engineers.
    • Led technical integration and full platform deployment into Tencent Cloud, including custom SDKs in Ruby and C# for cloud services and the WeGame platform.
  • Unreleased Title
    • Designed a modular backend platform for multiple future games, including service templates, libraries, and test harnesses to accelerate team productivity.

Eariler Experience

Software Engineer (2007 – 2015)

Software Engineering, DevOps, and Modernization

  • Words With Friends (Zynga) — Worked with a small team to scale the backend services from 75k RPM to 1M+ RPM, with major DB/query optimization and P99 latency reductions (<50ms).
  • Designed Ruby On Rails APIs, iOS apps, time-series platforms, real-time messaging systems, and performance-critical microservices for numerous startups and tech companies.

Education

University of Louisville

Computer Science (Not completed)

Hobbies & Recreation

  • Woodworking, furniture making, and restoration.
  • RVing, camping, hiking, and traveling.
  • 3D-Printing, model making, robotics, and electronics.
  • Fostering & rescuing cats.

References

Available upon request.