Shawn Wallace

The best way to get in contact is through the social media links in the footer or by email at shawn@wshawn.com.

About

I’m a Principal Architect at Centric Consulting with over three decades of experience in software development and system architecture. My current work focuses on AI integration and event-driven architectures, helping organizations adopt modern patterns while maintaining practical, scalable solutions. I enjoy speaking at industry events, leading internal innovation initiatives, and staying at the forefront of emerging technologies.

Summary of Qualifications

  • Extensive experience as a Principal Architect, leading the design and development of enterprise-level software solutions for multiple companies in various industries.
  • Focus on AI integration, event-driven architectures, and cloud-native application design.
  • Leading AI adoption initiatives and multi-agent orchestration, regularly speaking at industry events and driving internal innovation initiatives.
  • Strong expertise in system architecture, software engineering, and application integration with focus on modern distributed systems.
  • Proven ability to analyze complex business requirements and translate them into scalable technical solutions.
  • Proficient in a wide range of programming languages, frameworks, and technologies including AI/ML tools and platforms.
  • Track record of successfully managing cross-functional teams and collaborating with stakeholders to deliver high-quality solutions on time and within budget.
  • Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to troubleshoot and resolve technical challenges in complex distributed environments.
  • Strong communication skills, with a proven ability to present technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders effectively and publicly speak on technical topics.

Professional Experience

Principal Architect | Centric Consulting | Kettering, Ohio | July 2019 - Present

Works with Centric’s national technology leadership team across all organizational groups. Serves as a subject matter expert for technology service offerings. Provides leadership for technical initiatives, both internally and for Centric’s customers. Technology evangelist and practitioner.

Is a technical leader of projects and teams. Responsible for:

AI Innovation & Adoption:

  • Leading internal AI innovation initiatives including multi-agent orchestration for building interactive AI agents
  • Services strategy and technical components of IT Strategy with focus on responsible AI adoption
  • Organizing and leading internal AI hackathons to explore practical applications in insurance and other industries
  • Implementing AI-assisted development practices and code generation solutions with GitHub Copilot and other tools
  • Speaking at industry events on AI adoption, event-driven architecture, and integration strategies for legacy systems

Architecture & Technical Leadership:

  • Enterprise solution architecture and design specializing in event-driven architectures and AI integration
  • Leading uplift of current platforms to adopt modern patterns and practices including Event-Carried State Transfer, CQRS, and other event-driven patterns
  • Developing architectural roadmaps, system design documents, and technical specifications
  • Leading the implementation of software solutions, ensuring adherence to best practices and industry standards
  • Attending major technology conferences including Microsoft Build to stay current with industry trends

Team Leadership & Culture:

  • Development coordination across multiple teams in local and international time zones
  • Driving technology culture, seeking to make Centric a “destination employer” for technologists

Client Engagement & Business Development:

  • Collaborating with clients to understand their business objectives, analyze requirements, and design scalable, event-driven software architectures
  • Conducting technology assessments and providing recommendations on suitable frameworks, tools, and platforms for AI integration
  • Building strong relationships with clients, fostering long-term partnerships and generating repeat business opportunities

Senior Architect | Centric Consulting | Kettering, Ohio | February 2011 - July 2019

Promoted to Senior Architect after demonstrating leadership and technical contributions. In this role:

  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams to design and develop scalable software architectures for enterprise-level applications
  • Conducted architectural reviews and implemented improvements to optimize performance, security, and maintainability
  • Worked closely with project managers, business analysts, and developers to ensure alignment of technical solutions with business goals
  • Implemented design patterns and best practices to enhance code quality and maintainability
  • Led efforts to modernize legacy systems, improving scalability, reliability, and user experience
  • Provided technical guidance and support to development teams, troubleshooting issues and supporting timely delivery of projects

Adjunct Professor | Columbus State Community College | Columbus, Ohio | June 2015 - June 2016

Concurrent with Senior Architect role at Centric Consulting

Collaborated with CSCC to modernize their computer science educational offerings by:

  • Updating curriculum and modernizing development tooling and practices
  • Contributing to the development of a new C# practical application course
  • Recruiting new instructors to expand program capacity
  • Planning the replatforming of multiple applications in the library’s customer-developed systems portfolio
  • Coaching existing instructors in modern development practices and design patterns

Architect | Centric Consulting | Kettering, Ohio | August 2010 - February 2011

  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams to design and develop scalable software architectures for enterprise-level applications
  • Conducted architectural reviews and implemented improvements to optimize performance, security, and maintainability
  • Worked closely with project managers, business analysts, and developers to ensure alignment of technical solutions with business goals
  • Implemented design patterns and best practices to enhance code quality and maintainability
  • Led efforts to modernize legacy systems, improving scalability, reliability, and user experience
  • Provided technical guidance and support to development teams, troubleshooting complex issues and ensuring timely delivery of projects

Senior Solutions Architect | Heuristic Solutions, LLC | Washington, DC | July 2008 - August 2010

  • Worked as an Architect and team lead in the Consulting practice. I worked on projects (large and small) for many Metro DC Area companies focusing on the Microsoft Technology stack.
  • Assisted in the creation of a new product business for Heuristics called LearningBuilder (http://www.learningbuilder.com/). In this role, I led the development of the first versions of this Learning Management system.

Director of Consulting Services | Allen, Williams & Hughes Co. | Dublin, Ohio | July 2007 - July 2008

  • Managed consulting engagements and participated in the sales cycle for new business opportunities
  • Designed and deployed AWH’s MOSS/InfoPath environment supporting sales workflow processes, recruiting workflow processes, collaboration, and corporate information delivery
  • Utilized SharePoint Workflow, multiple data collection (forms) and reporting utilities, and the Microsoft Taxonomy toolset to support content delivery
  • Deployment of GeoDocs Content Management System at numerous clients or in hosted environments. Configuration, conversion, and refinement of ASP.NET modules and templates
  • Developed and utilized taxonomies to support enterprise-wide content delivery strategies (Union County Health Department, Ohio Education Association, Mount Carmel Health Plans)
  • Architected Tablet PC-based information gathering application with specialized synchronization functionalities using serialization to manage connected/disconnected states

Chief Technical Officer | Symeron Software, Inc. | Columbus, Ohio | August 1998 - July 2007

  • Designed and led development of AutoClick, a Sales Force Automation/Customer Relationship Management tool for the Automotive Retail Market
  • Implemented comprehensive automotive retail vertical processes and workflows
  • Scaled platform to serve over 2,000 automotive organizations nationally
  • Designed and implemented scalable production hosting environment to support enterprise-level deployment
  • Integrated application with large-scale automotive systems using multiple technologies including extensive web services integration with major clients: Credit Acceptance Corp, General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Credit, Mazda North American Operations (MNAO), and various financial institutions
  • Utilized industry-wide information sharing standards including ADF and STAR for seamless data exchange
  • Implemented n-tier architectures and multiple programming languages to deliver cross-platform integration solutions
  • Managed software platform supporting 2 million prospects across the dealership client network in a hosted environment
  • Designed, deployed, and maintained SharePoint infrastructure (2003) to provide issue tracking, collaboration, and content management supporting multiple deployment teams and customer service initiatives

Senior Consultant | newMedia, Inc. | Columbus, Ohio | November 1995 - August 1998

  • Provided project management, sales coordination, and technical leadership & architecture for client engagements
  • Conducted research and technology assessments for Microsoft and competing technologies to guide client adoption strategies
  • Led technical teams implementing enterprise solutions including:
    • Legacy system connectivity and integration
    • Inter-system communication between dissimilar platforms
    • Large-scale WAN software deployments supporting thousands of users distributed worldwide
  • Served as Microsoft Certified Trainer delivering enterprise and technical training programs
  • Organized development teams and established development processes for optimal project delivery
  • Provided strategic recommendations for software solutions, tools, and supporting hardware infrastructure requirements

Application Developer | Metatec Corporation | Dublin, Ohio | September 1993 - November 1995

  • Developed commercial content applications for the emerging CD-ROM multimedia platform
  • Designed and implemented customer-facing software solutions for interactive content delivery
  • Built data processing and indexing systems for searchable content databases
  • Collaborated with content teams to optimize multimedia delivery and user experience
  • Participated in the full software development lifecycle from requirements gathering through deployment
  • Worked with cutting-edge multimedia technologies during the early adoption of CD-ROM as a commercial platform

Education

  • Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and Engineering The Ohio State University 1997

Certifications

  • Microsoft Certified Professional, since 1995
  • AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, July 2018

Professional Development

  • Microsoft Build 2025 - Attended multiple sessions on AI/ML, cloud infrastructure, and agent orchestration
  • Internal AI Innovation Lead - Leading development of interactive AI agent frameworks
  • AI Hackathon Organizer - Led internal hackathon focused on AI solutions for insurance claim processing
  • Technology Blog Author - Regular contributions on AI integration, event-driven architecture, and software development best practices

Technical Skills

Throughout an extensive career, I have worked with a broad range of platforms and frameworks across multiple technology stacks. My current focus is on implementing large-scale enterprise architectures with AI integration and event-driven design patterns.

  • AI/ML: Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft Copilot Studio, Agent Orchestration, Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agentic RAG, GitHub Copilot, Semantic Kernel
  • Event-Driven Architecture: Event Sourcing, CQRS, Event-Carried State Transfer, Event Notification, Outbox Pattern, Kafka, RabbitMQ
  • Programming Languages: C#, Python, JavaScript, T-SQL, Go, Objective-C, Swift
  • Frameworks and Technologies: .NET (including .NET Aspire), Angular, React, Teams AI Library, Custom AI Agent Frameworks
  • Databases: SQL Server, Cosmos DB, PostgreSQL, and various NoSQL solutions
  • Cloud Platforms: Azure (extensive), AWS, limited GCP
  • Tools and Methodologies: Multi-agent orchestration, Agile (SCRUM, Kanban), DevOps/CI/CD, MLOps

Patents

  • Customer Management System for Automobile Sales Industry, US 6941305, September 2005

Speaking and Presentations

  • AI for Small Business: Navigating Success and Pitfalls - Columbus Chamber of Commerce Innovation & Transformation Panel (May 2024)
  • Integrating AI into Enterprise Architectures - Multiple client workshops and internal training sessions
  • Event-Driven Architecture: Best Practices and Patterns - Community tech talks and client architecture reviews

References

Available upon request