Shawn Wallace

The best way to contact me 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 more than 30 years 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

  • Principal Architect with extensive experience leading enterprise-level software architecture, system design, and application integration across multiple industries with focus on modern distributed systems.
  • Deep expertise in AI integration, multi-agent orchestration, event-driven architectures, and cloud-native application design, leading adoption initiatives internally and for clients.
  • 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.

Serves as 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. 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, 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