Résumé – Dale Woolridge

Owner-Builder
High Performance Home Renovation

Feb 2025 - Present
Toronto, Canada

Conceived and led the end-to-end transformation of a residential property into a high-efficiency "active house", creating long-term asset value while materially reducing carbon footprint and operating costs.
Approached building with a lifecycle value lens, using systematic risk assessment & scenario planning to set materials & vendor strategy for a tightly integrated mechanical, electrical and architectural system that balances performance, resilience, capital efficiency and future adaptability.
Took a building-science approach to optimize performance, resulting in airtightness, thermal-bridge elimination, and seasonal vapor & moisture management, that drives step-change improvements in comfort, resilience, maintainability and energy efficiency.
Designed and implemented an integrated energy system using a cold-climate heat pump, an air-to-water module, and hydronics to provide whole-home heating and cooling, demonstrating practical pathways for building decarbonization and climate-aligned infrastructure transformation.
Major renovation of my residential property into an all-electric, high-efficiency "active house", relying on a cold-climate heat pump, air to water module, and hydronics for whole home heating & cooling as well as domestic hot water pre-heat.

Skills:

systems design across mechanical, plumbing, hydronics, electrical & architectural domains, risk assessment & mitigation, documentation & communication with diverse stakeholders, project planning & budgeting, schedule & trade coordination, vendor & contractor selection

Technical:

hydronic radiant panels, open/closed hydronics integration, low-voltage smart lighting, building envelope & assembly design, ERV-based ventilation, H2X engineering, Chief Architect, Geogebra

Distinguished Technologist
Ethoca & Mastercard

Sep 2005 - Jan 2025
Toronto, Canada

As architect, I layout the technical strategic roadmap across a number of disciplines, including information management (data architecture), infrastructure (between hardware and application layers), software development (pipelines), and application design (distributed & hybrid).
Joined Ethoca as their first founding employee and helped grow the platform & organization from startup through acquisition by Mastercard, scaling to hundreds of employees and thousands of customers.
Previously led the security and compliance organization, creating & defining policies & controls, managing audits (PCI-DSS and 3rd party), establishing organizational best practices (e.g. embedded with professional leader), and evolving the security model from compliance-driven to risk-driven. I helped the organization adopt a risk management framework that allows for greater certainty in making risk-based decisions.
Initially designed the zoned & tiered application model, designed/implemented the data model, designed/implemented custom crypto-based search algorithms, and selected underlying, supportive technology (app container, RDBMS, HSM, etc.).

Skills:

distributed/redundant design, optimization, debugging, package management, enterprise servers, open source, traffic analysis, network security, configuration management, internet development, data security, storage and database design, risk management, leadership

Technical:

C, java, *sh, perl, python, *nix (linux, *BSD), TCP/IP, SQL, DB2, WebSphere, FAIR, kubernetes, kafka

Open Source Consultant
Tempstone Inc.

Mar 2004 - Sep 2005
Toronto, Canada

Partnered with a U.S. firm (DRH Internet) to deliver open-source consulting for small and mid-sized service providers across multiple industries, with a focus on email server architecture, deployment and maintenance.
Led clients through technology strategy and architecture decisions, enabling informed choices and sustainable platform designs.
Fostered long-term client relationships atypical of many consulting relationships, by setting clear technical direction early and maintaining consistent delivery standards throughout the lifecycle.

Skills:

distributed/redundant design, optimization, debugging, package management, enterprise servers, open source, traffic analysis, network security, configuration management, internet development

Technical:

C/C++, gcc, gdb, gprof, make, csh/sh, Perl, *nix (linux, IRIX, HP-UX, *BSD), Mac OS 9/X, TCP/IP, strace, tcpdump, qmail, HTTP (Apache,publicfile), DNS (bind/djbdns), SSH, SSL/TLS, iptables, pthreads, gdbm, SQL, MySQL, cvs, PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript

Software Architect
Tempestone Inc.

Dec 2002 - Mar 2004
Toronto, Canada

Designed and delivered web-based three-tier applications for niche markets, enabling small businesses to increase market visibility and streamline core business processes.
Served as trusted technical advisor to clients, guiding technology strategy, architecture choices, and delivery approach to support informed, long-term decisions.
Established durable client partnerships by aligning solutions to business outcomes, and building reliable, scalable systems from the outset of the architecting process and throughout the development stage.

Technical:

SQL, make, csh/sh, PHP, HTML, CSS, Perl, JavaScript, cvs, *nix (linux, IRIX, HP-UX, *BSD), Win32 (NT/2k/XP), Mac OS 9/X, MySQL, TCP/IP, qmail, HTTP (Apache,publicfile), DNS (bind/djbdns), SSH, SSL/TLS

Open Source Software Consultant
Personal

Feb 2002 - present
Toronto, Canada

Actively contributing to various public/free/open source projects, including a popular mail user agent, a highly respected and secure mail transfer agent, cryptography tools, digital camera file converters, and a well-known database server.
Built influence through sustained, high-impact contributions to critical infrastructure software used by global developer and operations communities.
Presently designing and implementing a new mechanism for decentralized cryptographic key distribution.

Technical:

C/C++, SQL, make, csh/sh, PHP, HTML, CSS, Perl, JavaScript, gcc, gdb, gprof, cvs, make, daemontools, djbdns, ucspi-tcp, pthreads, *nix (linux, IRIX, HP-UX, *BSD), Mac OS X, MySQL, gdbm, TCP/IP, qmail, HTTP (Apache,publicfile), DNS (bind/djbdns), SSH, SSL/TLS

Software Architecture Consultant
livedoor Inc.

Sep 2000 - Nov 2002
Toronto, Canada
Tokyo, Japan

Strategically planned the ongoing evolution of the company’s back-end architecture (originally authored), operating remotely from Canada and reporting directly to the CTO and President of livedoor, Inc.
Directed and built a high-performing Canada-based team, setting technical direction, delivery standards and execution priorities in close coordination with Japan.
Advised executive leadership on capital and operating trade-offs, including tooling strategy, vendor contracts and contractor hiring.
Set and drove the technology agenda to improve platform stability, reliability, efficiency and business growth; delivered a new mail architecture, major system upgrades and database modernization.
Authored executive migration and contingency strategies to guide board- and C-level decision-making.
Delivered performance and reliability programs that materially increased transaction throughput and observability.
Championed open-source contribution strategy, strengthening the company’s technical brand and external influence.
Developed and mentored engineers across Canada and Japan, raising standards in architecture, data design, testing discipline and technology adoption.
Built durable cross-border operating relationships, improving execution velocity and team effectiveness across cultures.
Elevated platform reliability to top-tier national ranking (ranked third nationally) and created strategic partnerships earlier than competitors by consistently delivering beyond expectations under compressed timelines.

Skills:

distributed/redundant design, optimization, debugging, multi-threaded (POSIX) development, database design, package management, enterprise servers, network access storage, configuration management, internet development, team leadership

Technical:

C/C++, SQL, make, csh/sh, PHP, HTML, Java, Perl, Win32 API, gcc, gdb, gprof, cvs, make, purify, insure++, sunpkg, bugzilla, daemontools, djbdns, ucspi-tcp, pthreads, SunOS/Solaris, *nix (linux, *BSD), Win32, Mac OS 9, MySQL, TCP/IP, qmail, FTP, DNS (bind/djbdns), SSH, SSL/TLS, RADIUS, Sun Enterprise, NetApp, Ascend, Cisco

Software Architect
X-Stream Technologies Inc.

Feb 1999 - Sep 2000
Toronto, Canada
Longdon, England

Led end-to-end architecture from business concept to final technical design, refining the original business architecture into a deliverable, scalable technical blueprint.
Reported directly to the CTO with accountability for core technology decisions, including hardware, software and database architecture.
Designed and implemented the data model and a high-throughput, transaction-based server platform with custom network protocols, supporting thousands of transactions per second.
Advised, mentored and supervised engineers throughout the project lifecycle, providing architectural guidance and technical leadership.
Reduced delivery risk by tightening scope to fit timelines, and strengthened team capability by coaching staff on emerging technologies, resulting in more effective tool choices, higher reliability and stronger employee engagement.
Directed global deployment strategy across seven countries in Europe and Asia, including database rollout and critical application launches.

Skills:

distributed design, optimization, debugging, multi-threaded (POSIX) development, database design, package management, enterprise servers, network access storage, configuration management, network security, internet development, software selection, team leadership, load balancing

Technical:

C/C++, SQL, make, csh/sh, PHP, HTML, Java, Perl, Win32 API, gcc, gdb, gprof, cvs, make, purify, insure++, sunpkg, bugzilla, daemontools, djbdns, ucspi-tcp, pthreads, SunOS/Solaris, *nix (linux, *BSD), Win32, Mac OS 9, MySQL, Oracle, TCP/IP, qmail, FTP, DNS (bind/djbdns), SSH, SSL/TLS, RADIUS, Sun Enterprise, NetApp, Ascend, Cisco

Senior Software Developer
Dreamplay Research Corporation

Dec 1997 - Dec 1998
Toronto, Canada

Introduced source control and core configuration management policies, strengthening release discipline and operational stability.
Led substantial rewrites of core network and application libraries to optimize multi-threaded stability, correctness and performance.
Designed and built critical infrastructure, including server monitoring software, environment safety tools, deployment automation and a credit-card transaction server for financial operations.
Conducted long-term statistical validation of algorithms and led comprehensive client testing.
Designed database enhancements and built C-based HTML reporting tools to verify accounting accuracy against business specifications.
Software innovations significantly improved platform stability and reliability, strengthening the company’s market reputation.

Skills:

distributed design, optimization, debugging, multi-threaded (POSIX) development, package management, enterprise servers, network access storage, configuration management, network security, internet development, software selection

Technical:

C/C++, SQL, make, csh/sh, HTML, Java, Perl, gcc, gdb, gprof, cvs, make, purify, pthreads, SunOS/Solaris, Win32, Sybase, TCP/IP, qmail, FTP, SSH, Sun Enterprise

Senior Software Consultant
Netron Inc.

Sep 1994 - Dec 1997
Toronto, Canada

Led architecture, design and delivery of complex enterprise client-server systems for major banking and insurance institutions across Norway, Sweden, the USA and Canada.
Defined and proved technical architectures across heterogeneous environments (COBOL, Java, C++, NT, IMS, CICS, TSO, Unix), guiding teams from concept through implementation.
Introduced modern configuration management, build systems and source control practices; delivered technical training on object-oriented COBOL frameworks and development toolchains.
Developed early tooling to generate administrative and customer service interfaces across arbitrary databases, accelerating delivery of business applications.
Mentored teams on major architecture redesigns, coordinating delivery under tight deadlines; progressive experience led to multiple promotions with expanding scope and accountability.
Strengthened cross-border collaboration with headquarters and international partners.
Leadership impacted the company’s evolution toward internet applications and Java frameworks, improving security and operational stability, and reinforcing market leadership.

Skills:

distributed design, optimization, debugging, multi-threaded (POSIX) development, enterprise servers, legacy systems, systems integration, configuration management, network security, internet development, software selection, team leadership

Technical:

C/C++, SQL, make, HTML, Java, Perl, MFC, Win32 API, Visual Basic, COBOL, CAP, rexx, cvs, pvcs, MSVC/MF, Fusion, *nix (linux, IRIX, HP-UX, *BSD), Win32 , OS/2, CICS, TSO, IMS, DB2, TCP/IP, ODBC

Software Consultant
Environment Canada

Oct 1993 - Jan 1994
Toronto, Canada

Led cross-platform and cross-language conversion of scientific modelling applications from Cray/COS FORTRAN to HP-UX C, consolidating multiple tools into a single modular application.
Performed full system and module analysis, built validation test suites, collaborated with stakeholders to resolve issues, and ensured numerical parity with legacy models through statistical comparison.
Developed a single unified application that enabled scientists to efficiently run multiple modelling techniques.

System Analyst
Environment Canada

May 1993 - Aug 1993
Toronto, Canada

Authored proposal for a new source control and revision management system, to improve configuration management across the development team.
Deployed such system, assisting developers to build C-based X Windows applications, focusing on correctness, robustness and sound programming practices.
Improved development efficiency, collaboration, and team morale through standardized workflows and tooling that my supervisor was able to spread to other departments.

Software Developer
Environment Canada

Sep 1992 - Dec 1992
Toronto, Canada

Provided initial high-level design of a multilingual C-based application to extract and integrate weather station data from multiple sources, based on a short business specification.
Provided regular progress reports and recommendations, helping the organization evaluate emerging technologies and future solution paths.
Delivered the project end-to-end from architecture to implementation, enabling Environment Canada to pilot new information deployment strategies, providing insights into possible future solutions.

Research Assistant
Environment Canada

Jan 1990 - Apr 1992
Toronto, Canada

Analyzed and ported a FORTRAN module from a Cray supercomputer to MS-DOS for a large-scale pollutant model; built batch test suites to validate results against the original system.
Debugged and corrected computational errors; applied statistical and mathematical analysis to identify flaws in existing formulations and recommend improvements.
Produced weekly technical reports on progress, findings, and risks; collaborated closely with field scientists on experimental methods and data analysis.
Contributed to 10+ published papers across four terms, including discovery and publication of a correction to a widely cited mathematical formula in a leading environmental journal.

About Me

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