Senior engineering you can count on,
from someone who does the work.
The Engineer
I didn't start in software. I studied digital art and telecommunications at University of Louisiana at Lafayette, which is an unusual path into engineering and, it turns out, a useful one. Thinking about how systems communicate, how they feel to use, and how they fail gracefully came naturally to me in ways that a more traditional background might not have emphasized.
I've been building in Colorado since 2006. In those twenty years I've worked across cloud-native backends, distributed systems, secure APIs, and cross-platform mobile. For several years I led platform work where I partnered directly with engineering teams at Google and Apple, delivering secure credential infrastructure that runs on millions of devices. I've decomposed legacy monoliths, built event-driven architectures, and mentored engineers from junior to senior.
More recently I've built the AI-augmented delivery workflow I now bring to client engagements. I didn't adopt AI tooling because it was trendy. I built the workflow myself, ran it on a production extraction project, and measured what happened: fourteen endpoints, full test coverage, eight days instead of six weeks. I keep using it because it works, and because it lets me deliver more rigorous software faster than I could before.
I started Pelican Digital Pathways to do the work I find most interesting, with clients who need it most. Legacy systems that block teams from shipping. Startups that have proven their product and need a real foundation under it. Founders with a clear vision and no one to build it. Those are the problems I want to work on, and this is the practice I built to work on them.
When you hire Pelican,
you get me.
I take the discovery call. I shape the architecture. I write the code and deliver the handoff. There is no bench of consultants, no junior engineers learning on your project, and no gap between the person who takes the call and the person who does the work.
That means I'm selective about what I take on. Every project gets my full attention, and I don't commit to work I'm not confident I can deliver well.
I also build with the next engineer in mind. Every engagement ends with documentation, knowledge transfer, and a codebase your team can maintain and extend. The goal is to leave you less dependent on outside help, not more.
What colleagues have said.
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Simply put - Michael is an expert in software and systems engineering and design. I know him to be one of the smartest and most capable engineers I've ever been able to collaborate with. His passion for excellence is evident in everything he does.
Senior Software Engineer -
Having worked with Michael both as a colleague and a longtime peer, I've watched him adopt AI-augmented workflows without losing the rigor that made him a great engineer in the first place. He's one of the few people I trust to use these tools aggressively and still deliver software that's clean, tested, and maintainable.
Director of Engineering -
Michael is an exceptionally skilled Cloud Software Architect and one of the best engineers I have had the privilege to work alongside. As the subject-matter expert for our mobile credentialing solutions, he consistently delivers high-quality architecture and solutions with remarkable speed and precision. He strikes an excellent balance between expert judgment and pragmatic use of AI tools (e.g., Claude) to boost productivity without sacrificing quality.
Lead Software Systems Engineer -
Michael communicates in a transparent way that makes it easy for everyone, even those that are non-technical, to understand the concepts that he is conveying. He puts in the effort to educate the team, making sure that he puts information in easily consumable ways such as visuals, documents, and other tangible deliverables.
Group Product Manager -
Michael is a technical superstar. The best compliment I can give Michael is that he empowers other engineers and makes them a better version of themselves. It is rare to find a technical person who not only understands the technical nuances, but also ensures there is clarity of execution and strategy for the team and also the organization.
Software PMO -
Michael is one of the best software engineers I have worked with. He is reasonable, cares about the business and their goals, has a vision that can be communicated and has a passion for technology. I can't list out all of the positives that he brings to the table as there are too many.
Product Manager
If this is the engineer you need,
let's talk.
Book a thirty-minute discovery call. I'll listen to what you're building, tell you honestly whether I'm the right fit, and walk you through what an engagement would look like.