Alex Shank is a Chicago-based Software Engineer building tools that make people more impactful.

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Alex grew up playing baseball, boating on Lake Erie, and trying to ride his bike backwards. In high school, his dad showed him how to build things in the garage, while his classes taught him formal science and design. He enjoyed math and building more than most people, so he enrolled at Ohio State as an engineering student.

At Ohio State, Alex walked the line between Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering. He took classes in circuit theory, power electronics, ASIC design, CAD, and project management, among others. He joined student project teams building sensor systems for endurance racing vehicles. He interned at a large company called Lincoln Electric and built safety features for robotic welding arms.

Alex found himself writing and designing more and more software. He interned at a company called RoviSys and built drone software that could identify oil and gas structures. He then interned at CapTech, building a mobile application for managing COVID-era safety protocols at amusement parks. (He would go on to take a full-time position with CapTech after graduating from Ohio State.) This kind of work was energizing, so the eventual focus on Computer Engineering was natural.

Alex graduated from Ohio State in the Fall of 2020, but felt there was more left for him at university. With mentorship from an Ohio State professor named Lee Potter, Alex explored his options for graduate school. He enrolled in Purdue University's part-time master's program, which allowed him to continue working while furthering his education.

While at Purdue, Alex continued to study advanced concepts in Computer Engineering. His courses had him build compilers, NLP neural networks, advanced graph algorithms, and more. Discrete math, statistics, and system design were particularly challenging, but Alex still finds himself reading research papers and blog posts on these topics in his free time. Alex's approach to technical problem solving is heavily influenced by these concepts. Data-driven systems with simple, extensible designs are a particular passion of his.

Since finishing grad school, Alex has continued working at CapTech as a Senior Software Engineer. The majority of his client engagements have been with financial services companies, such as Goldman Sachs, Mission Lane, LPL Financial, and Capital One. He specializes in backend systems and application development across various languages and frameworks. In particular, Alex has worked heavily with Java, Kotlin, and Python. He has built APIs, data pipelines, web applications, and event-driven systems. These have involved relational and NoSQL databases, cloud services (AWS primarily), containerization, and many other modern development tools.

Alex is interested in roles where he can work with talented people, solve interesting problems, and learn the business. Building, maintaining, and adapting a product throughout its life cycle is particularly exciting to him. He is always open to discussing ideas, job opportunities, collaborations, technology, the perfect cup of coffee, or Ohio State football.