Duane Storey

Valencia, Spain · Canadian Citizen · [duanestorey (at) gmail (dot) com]

Profile

Full-stack product engineer with 25 years of experience and graduate-level training in physics and electrical engineering. Capable of taking a product from concept to finished prototype entirely independently — architecture, firmware, PCB design, enclosure modeling, 3D printing, and software. Built and sold a software company, authored a media stack deployed across 100M+ endpoints, contributed to IETF protocol standards, and currently develops computational genomics tools and commercial embedded hardware. Equally comfortable in C++ firmware, Python data pipelines, and KiCad schematics.

Technical Skills

  • Embedded & Hardware: ESP32 and STM32 firmware development, custom PCB design and fabrication, DAC/DSP circuit design, SPI/I2C/UART interfaces, Li-ion battery management systems, Bluetooth integration
  • Mechanical & Prototyping: 3D printing (FDM, dual printer setup), OpenSCAD, OpenCascade, enclosure and mechanical design, full prototype-to-product pipeline
  • Languages & Frameworks: C, C++, Python, PHP, JavaScript, Bash, R
  • Bioinformatics: RNA-seq analysis, pathogen detection pipelines, immune cell deconvolution, STAR/Salmon alignment, convergent evidence frameworks
  • Multimedia & Networking: H.264/MPEG-2 video codecs, VoIP (SIP/RTP), IETF STUN/TURN protocols, real-time audio/video processing
  • Systems & Infrastructure: Linux (Arch/Ubuntu), RAID/NVMe storage architecture, Borg backup systems, remote server administration
  • Other: Cryptography and cipher analysis, patent holder, IEEE-published researcher

Work Experience

2024 – Present · Independent Researcher, Product Engineer & Contract Software Engineer

Embedded Systems & Hardware Product Development End-to-end product development from schematic through PCB fabrication, firmware, enclosure design, and 3D-printed prototyping. Completed a custom Hi-Fi 5.1 amplifier requiring 14–15 custom PCBs including ESP32 control systems, DAC circuits, and DSP boards with DTS/Dolby decoding. Currently prototyping a commercial 100Wh multi-purpose Li-ion battery pack targeting mobile professionals, featuring DC output for fridges and CPAP devices, SPI display, and Bluetooth telemetry — handling all hardware, firmware, and enclosure design independently.

OpenDCAD — Open-Source CAD Software Developing OpenDCAD, a modern programmatic CAD tool built on the OpenCascade geometry kernel as a replacement for OpenSCAD. Designed to support parametric enclosure and mechanical design workflows for hardware prototyping.

Bioinformatics Research — Chimera Genomics Pipeline Designing and building Chimera, a comprehensive RNA-seq analysis pipeline for Long COVID and ME/CFS research. The system processes 60M+ read samples through multiple analytical layers including pathogen detection, immune cell deconvolution, vaccine sequence discrimination, and convergent evidence scoring across multiple disease hypotheses. Developing an AI-powered interpretation layer for automated clinical report generation.

Contract Software Engineering Working as a remote contractor providing senior-level software development services for a US-based technology company. Responsible for architecture, implementation, and delivery across multiple project domains.

2018 – 2023 · Codeable · Expert WordPress Consultant

Accepted into Codeable's expert developer network, which admits only the top 1% of WordPress/PHP applicants. Worked as an independent consultant delivering custom WordPress development, performance optimization, and technical problem-solving for international clients.

2017 · Sabbatical

Took a planned year off following the successful sale of BraveNewCode. Walked the Camino de Santiago and travelled extensively.

2008 – 2016 · BraveNewCode Inc. · Co-founder & Lead Developer

Co-founded a software company that developed two widely adopted WordPress plugins. WPtouch was voted the #1 WordPress plugin globally in 2009; WordTwit was voted #3. Managed the full product lifecycle from concept through development, marketing, and support. BraveNewCode was acquired by SureSwift Capital Inc. in October 2016. Notable clients included Matthew Good, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, and Vision Critical.

2004 – 2008 · CounterPath Solutions Inc. · Principal Engineer

Hired to add video capabilities to CounterPath's flagship VoIP product; promoted to Principal Engineer (one of two in the company) based on performance and role in securing contracts with Yahoo! and British Telecom. Led development of the company's core media stack (audio and video), which was licensed by Yahoo! and deployed across 100M+ active endpoints. Mentored engineering staff and oversaw the full VoIP product suite. Contributed to IETF STUN and TURN protocol development.

2001 – 2002 · JDS Uniphase Inc. · NPI Product Engineer

Oversaw manufacturing for JDSU's most advanced R&D products, including Bragg-grating tuneable dispersion compensators, laser-welded thin-film optical filters, and a MEMS-based optical cross-connect. Responsible for converting experimental products into active, profitable product lines.

2000 – 2001 · JDS Uniphase Inc. · DWDM Product Engineer

Managed engineering operations for fibre-optic component manufacturing, responsible for approximately $500K USD in weekly revenue. Received two promotions and a 50% salary increase within the first year; promoted to the New Product Introduction group to bring JDSU's highest-priority products to market.

Education

  • 2006 · M.A.Sc., Electrical and Computer Engineering — The University of British Columbia Thesis: Joint MPEG-2/H.264 scalable coding and enhancements to H.264 intra-mode prediction. Supervisor: Dr. Panos Nasiopoulos. Graduated with a perfect GPA.

  • 2000 · B.A.Sc., Engineering Physics — The University of British Columbia Five-year program combining physics (quantum mechanics, solid-state, nuclear) with electrical, mechanical, and computer engineering. Graduated with an "A" average under the Chancellor's Entrance Scholarship.

Honours and Awards

  • 2011 — US Patent 7,958,276 B2: Automatic Configuration of Peripheral Devices
  • 1995–2000 — Academic Dean's List, The University of British Columbia
  • 1995 — Chancellor's Entrance Scholarship, The University of British Columbia

Publications

  • 2006 — "An Efficient Statistical Intra-mode Prediction Method for H.264," IEEE International Symposium on Signal Processing and Information Technology, pp. 803–806.
  • 2004 — "Multimodel Fine Resolution Ensembles for Short-Range Forecasts in Mountainous Terrain," Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

Selected Presentations

  • 2013 — "Commercializing WordPress Plugins," WordPress Sydney Meetup, Sydney, Australia
  • 2009 — "The State of the Mobile Web," WordCamp Portland, Portland, Oregon
  • 2011 — "Going Social — Social Media Enhancements to WordPress," WordPress Vancouver, Canada

Recommendations

"Duane worked in my team at CounterPath. He was the author of our media stack (audio/video). His expertise in this area is world-class and we were very lucky to have him. He works well with other engineers and does extremely well with customers. I would whole-heartedly recommend him." — Jason Fischl, VP of Engineering, Remind Inc.

"Duane is one of those unique engineers who sees the big picture. He has the capacity to solve very complex abstract problems quickly and aggressively. He is an expert in the areas of video and audio processing." — Sean O'Neil, Director of Software Development, Video Analytics and BI

"Duane has a marvellous analytical mind that allows him to conceptualize large problems, explore a variety of opportunities, then crystallize and effectively communicate solutions that reflect deep insights into technical architecture, user behaviour, and future expansion." — Martin Kuplens-Ewart, Product Manager, EventMobi