---
name: Paul Halvorsen
keywords: backend engineer, java, go, rest api, sql, microservices, api design, secure systems
left-column:
    - "Email: paul.halvorsen@pm.me"
    - "Phone: +1-410-236-4665"
right-column:
    - "GitHub: github.com/malwhile"
    - "LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/paul-halvorsen"
    - "Blog: flow.halvo.me"
fontsize: 10pt
fontenc: T1
urlcolor: blue
linkcolor: magenta
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---

## Professional Summary

Backend Software Engineer with 15+ years of experience designing and implementing secure, scalable REST APIs and backend systems. Expert in Java, Go, and SQL with proven track record of building high-performance services, optimizing database queries (50%+ improvements), and architecting microservices supporting hundreds of thousands of users. Passionate about clean code, rigorous testing, and solving complex backend challenges.

## Core Technical Skills

**Languages:** Java (Advanced), Go (Advanced), Python, Rust, C | **Backend:** REST APIs, microservices architecture, service-oriented design | **Databases:** MySQL, SQLite, SQL (query optimization, indexing, schema design) | **DevOps:** Docker, GitLab CI/CD, automated testing | **Practices:** Test-driven development, code reviews, agile development, secure coding

## Professional Experience

### Software Engineer | Abnormal AI
\resumedate{**January 2026 – Present**}

- Design and develop Python-based backend microservices for multi-region distributed systems with auto-scaling capabilities
- Build and maintain Docker containerized services and Kubernetes orchestration across 10+ clusters
- Develop REST APIs and data aggregation services handling millions of data points at scale
- Implement performance optimizations achieving up to 70% efficiency gains
- Write comprehensive unit and integration tests; maintain high test coverage

### Sr Software Engineer | Binary Defense
\resumedate{**April 2022 – October 2025**}

- Architected and implemented backend libraries in Python and Rust for cross-platform services
- Designed and built REST APIs for secure communication between distributed client-server systems
- Optimized backend services achieving 60-80% improvements in memory and network efficiency
- Implemented encrypted database layers (SQLite) with secure key storage
- Built comprehensive end-to-end testing frameworks and automated test suites
- Developed scalable services using event-driven architecture handling millions of events
- Maintained GitLab CI/CD pipelines for compilation, testing, and deployment

### Security Software Engineer | Parsons
\resumedate{**April 2018 – November 2020**}

- Designed and built backend file storage service supporting concurrent multi-user access with role-based access control
- Implemented REST APIs for file management with web and CLI interfaces
- Managed relational databases (MySQL) with advanced indexing and query optimization strategies
- Developed data deduplication logic and custom serialization protocols for network optimization
- Implemented LDAP integration for enterprise authentication systems

### Security Software Engineer | NSA
\resumedate{**November 2011 – April 2018**}

- Designed and maintained relational databases (MySQL) holding thousands of records with complex queries
- Built REST JSON APIs for real-time data transfer between web interfaces and backend services
- Implemented query optimization and indexing strategies reducing query latency by 50%+
- Developed backend web applications using Java, Python, and PHP on application servers (Tomcat, Apache, Nginx)
- Designed and deployed secure communication protocols and custom serialization formats
- Built backend systems serving thousands of concurrent users across distributed infrastructure
- Implemented security hardening including encrypted storage, secure key exchange, and certificate validation

### Systems Engineer | NSA
\resumedate{**September 2009 – November 2011**}

- Managed infrastructure supporting 130+ RHEL servers across 10+ systems with multiple services
- Developed Python automation scripts for system monitoring, health checks, and remediation
- Built reporting systems integrating with REST APIs for real-time alerting and status tracking

## Education

**Master of Science in Computer Science** | University of Maryland Baltimore Campus (2013)
- Thesis: "Stateless Detection of Malicious Traffic: Emphasis on User Privacy"

**Bachelor of Science in Computer Science** | Salisbury University (2009)
- Graduated Magna Cum Laude

## Open Source & Projects

- **sjles-pta-vote** (Go, TypeScript) - Full-stack community voting platform with Go backend and REST APIs
- **testct** & **ctclient** (Rust) - Certificate transparency testing, validation, and monitoring tools
- **baseball-nn** (Python) - Machine learning project with data pipeline development