Austin M. Email & Phone Number

Ames, Iowa, United States

In this advanced role at Workiva, I am entrusted with steering the Arelle project's long-term direction, ensuring it meets the evolving needs of the SEC and other regulators along with adhering to the specifications set by XBRL International. My responsibilities extend beyond technical leadership to global advocacy and community engagement, representing Workiva and Arelle at conferences to gather user feedback and drive continuous improvement.Key Responsibilities and Achievements:- Strategic Leadership: I lead the strategic planning for Arelle, collaborating with the SEC and participating in XBRL International working groups to ensure comprehensive support for XBRL specifications. - Global Representation and Community Engagement: Actively attending conferences worldwide, I engage with users to collect feedback and insights that inform the project's development roadmap.- Innovation and Performance Optimization: Tasked with addressing the Python environment's inherent performance limitations, I explore innovative solutions to enhance efficiency while preserving compatibility with existing Python plugins developed by our stakeholders.Notable Projects and Improvements:- Documentation: Responding to community requests, we launched a documentation project for Arelle on Read the Docs, significantly improving accessibility and user support.- Jurisdiction Validations: Updated and implemented validation plugins for multiple XBRL taxonomies, enhancing the project's utility and compliance capabilities.- SEC Preview Builds: Initiated a process for releasing preview builds of SEC plugins, allowing for community testing and early bug detection, thereby improving the reliability of SEC updates.- XULE Plugin Performance: I contributed to the enhancement of the XULE plugin, enabling multiprocess compiling of XULE rules, which resulted in a substantial performance boost.

Ames, Iowa, United States

At Workiva, I took on the leadership of a pivotal engineering team and the stewardship of a crucial open-source project relied upon by government institutions and industry stakeholders. This role not only reinforced my technical proficiency but also broadened my leadership skills, positioning me at the forefront of both team and project management.Key Responsibilities and Achievements:- Team Leadership: Directed a team responsible for essential microservices, including taxonomy ingestion and normalization, and XBRL validation against regulatory standards. This role underscored the importance of our team's deep understanding of XBRL specifications and jurisdictional requirements.- Stewardship of Arelle Open-Source Project: Entrusted with leading the Arelle project, I was responsible for setting its long-term vision and ensuring its continued relevance and utility to governments and industry stakeholders worldwide. By hosting monthly public meetings, I facilitated open discussions on development progress, future objectives, and solicited valuable feedback, thereby nurturing a collaborative project community.- Automation and Efficiency Improvements: Overhauled Arelle's build process by implementing GitHub actions for automated workflows, significantly increasing the project's release frequency. This strategic move enabled us to respond swiftly to the needs of the community.- Conformance Suite Test Runner: Introduced a rigorous testing framework to ensure all Arelle contributions maintained XBRL conformance suite compliance, safeguarding the project's integrity and reliability.- Python Support and Accessibility: Updated Arelle to support the latest versions of Python and facilitated its availability as a library on PyPI, broadening its accessibility and utility for developers.- Performance Optimization: Achieved a 75% improvement in formula performance for the most challenging XBRL reports, demonstrating a commitment to enhancing the project's efficiency.

Ames, Iowa, United States

In my role I focused on building microservices and providing XBRL knowledge and mentorship to our engineering teams. My tenure has been marked by significant contributions to the adoption and support of new XBRL taxonomies, replacement of legacy systems, and the introduction of innovative solutions to enhance our platform's capabilities.Key Contributions and Projects:- XBRL Microservices Development: I worked on the development of robust, scalable, and performant microservices for XBRL processing that replaced a legacy Python based monolith service. In the process I learned how to use and scale Docker and Kubernetes clusters, gaining insights into containerization and orchestration best practices.- Legacy Services Overhaul: A significant part of my role was to streamline the onboarding process for new XBRL taxonomies. Transitioning from one off code based solutions to a more efficient, config-based setup. This overhaul dramatically reduced the time required to onboard new taxonomies from weeks to hours, enhancing our agility to respond to regulatory changes and quickly target new markets.- XBRL Search Service: Designed and developed an XBRL search service using Elasticsearch, achieving a performance improvement of two orders of magnitude over the legacy system. This service became a cornerstone of our platform, becoming famous for its rock solid reliability.- Taxonomy Migration: I worked on a service for migrating tagged documents between different years and families of XBRL taxonomies, facilitating seamless updates and transitions for our users.- XULE XBRL Validation Rules: I introduced the first XULE XBRL validation rules at Workiva, demonstrating the feasibility of developing, compiling, and executing custom rules within our platform.- XBRL International Working Groups: My involvement in Working Groups was important in keeping Workiva at the cutting edge of compliance and aware of opportunities that could come from new and updated specifications.

As a member of the XBRL Standards Board (XSB), I contribute to the oversight and management of the consortium's technical materials. My role involves helping to set priorities and direction for developing new standards and updating existing ones, all while promoting the global adoption of XBRL. I work closely with both technical and domain-specific working groups, playing a part in advancing the XBRL standard and its worldwide implementation.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

During my tenure as a Senior Software Engineer at Merrill Corporation, I led pivotal advancements in both front-end and back-end development, significantly enhancing application performance and reliability. My role was characterized by a keen focus on innovative solutions and a commitment to excellence in software architecture.Key Contributions:- Architectural Leadership: Directed the architectural strategy for Angular-based front-end and NodeJS back-end systems, ensuring scalability, maintainability, and efficiency across our software solutions.- Real-Time Communication: Spearheaded the integration of WebSockets to facilitate real-time updates within the application, a critical enhancement that transformed the user experience by providing immediate feedback and updates, even in environments with poor network connectivity.- Performance Optimization: Implemented fault-tolerant mechanisms to improve front-end performance for users with unreliable network connections, ensuring the application's responsiveness and reliability under varying conditions.Professional Growth:- WebSockets: Acquired expertise in real-time communication technologies, learning to create and manage persistent, stable connections between clients and servers.- Fault Tolerance: Gained valuable experience in designing systems capable of maintaining functionality and data integrity despite frequent network disconnections.- Cross-Disciplinary Expertise: Enhanced my ability to navigate and innovate across the full stack, from Angular and NodeJS development to real-time updates and system resilience strategies.This role was a testament to my ability to drive technological innovation and deliver robust, user-centric solutions, further solidifying my contributions to Merrill Corporation's success.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Throughout this time at Merrill Corporation, I embraced a dynamic role that spanned across front-end, back-end, analytics, and DevOps, showcasing my versatility and deep technical acumen. My responsibilities and achievements included:- Back-End: I worked on microservices implemented in Node.js, C#, and Java/Kotlin, ensuring seamless integration with Mongo, Elasticsearch, and RabbitMQ. This work laid a solid foundation for scalable and efficient back-end systems.- Front-End: I tackled performance issues within Angular applications, delving into the intricacies of RxJS. My leadership in transitioning to NgRx for state management marked a significant enhancement in our front-end architecture, driven by my appreciation for reactive programming and Redux. The initiative to generate TypeScript interfaces from backend APIs, inspired by GraphQL, further streamlined our process.- DevOps: My contributions to DevOps were multifaceted, including optimizing test suite executions through strategic splitting and parallelization, and crafting code generation schematics. Our commitment to daily deployments on Pivotal Cloud Foundry, facilitated by Jenkins pipelines, demanded a rigorous testing culture and a meticulous code review process, especially given the low tolerance for production bugs in our sensitive field.- Innovation and Learning: This role was a testament to my ability to learn and adapt quickly, entrusting me with the freedom to explore and implement new technologies. My efforts not only introduced new solutions to the organization but also fostered a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.- Team Collaboration and Leadership: Working with distributed teams necessitated exceptional communication skills and a strong emphasis on automation to maintain an accelerated feedback loop. My role involved not just technical execution but also mentoring peers and advocating for best practices in software development.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

In my capacity as a Performance Engineer at Merrill Corporation, I focused on elevating the performance and reliability of our XBRL platform. My role was characterized by innovation, technical skill development, and a significant contribution to both internal projects and the wider open-source community.Innovative Solutions:- Spearheaded the identification and resolution of performance bottlenecks within the XBRL platform, significantly boosting system efficiency and reliability.- Developed an advanced automation testing framework and domain-specific language (DSL) in C#, leveraging White and SpecFlow for comprehensive testing of a complex desktop application.- Designed and constructed a test lab, supporting both physical and virtualized environments, to facilitate rigorous application testing and validation.Open-Source Contributions and Community Engagement:- Actively contributed to the White open-source project, eventually taking on a role as a project maintainer. This involvement highlighted my dedication to community-driven development and the sharing of knowledge and tools.Data Analysis and Insights:- Implemented a system for capturing telemetry data, enabling detailed performance monitoring and analysis.- Created extensive Power BI dashboards and employed R for exploratory data analysis, providing the organization with actionable insights into performance trends and opportunities for further optimization.Skills and Professional Development:- This role was instrumental in expanding my technical skill set, including proficiency in C#, R, Power BI, and DSL design.- Enhanced my knowledge in open-source project contribution, reinforcing my commitment to collaborative development and innovation.I not only contributed to significant improvements in our platform's performance but also embraced opportunities for professional growth and community engagement. My efforts led to more efficient, reliable, and insightful development practices.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

At Merrill Corporation, I was tasked with leveraging technology to modernize how XBRL reports were manipulated and validated. My tenure was marked by significant contributions to the development of applications, research into XBRL trends, and strategic guidance on software acquisitions.Key Contributions:- Development of XBRL Applications: I spearheaded the creation of a comprehensive suite of applications, which played a pivotal role in automating and streamlining the XBRL tagging and report production processes. This suite not only enhanced the efficiency of our operations but also significantly improved the quality of our filing data.- Research and Strategic Guidance: My role involved conducting extensive research into the latest trends and technologies within the XBRL domain. This research was critical in enabling us to make informed decisions about software acquisitions and integrations. My insights and recommendations helped shape the company's strategic direction, ensuring we remained competitive.Skills Developed:- Expertise in Python: My work in developing Python applications for XBRL processing deepened my skills with Python, making me proficient in creating tools that can handle complex data manipulation tasks.- Research and Evaluation: I honed my skills in software research and evaluation, learning to critically assess emerging technologies and their potential impact on our business. This skill was instrumental in guiding the company through technological transitions and upgrades.- Strategic Thinking: My involvement in strategic software acquisitions and the integration of new technologies into our existing systems enhanced my strategic thinking abilities. I learned to consider not only the technical merits of a solution but also its alignment with our long-term goals.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

As a Senior XBRL Structural Analyst at Merrill Corporation, I played a crucial role in bridging the gap between XBRL International specifications, SEC requirements, and practical application within the company. My primary responsibilities included interpreting these standards for coworkers and ensuring a comprehensive understanding across teams. This role deepened my expertise in XBRL and reinforced my ability to collaborate effectively within a large, dynamic team.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

During my tenure as a Senior XBRL Consultant at Merrill Corporation, I played a pivotal role in producing valid extension taxonomies for clients, leveraging my knowledge of XBRL. My responsibilities extended beyond taxonomy creation to include providing comprehensive guidance on taxonomy design, delivering training sessions, and advocating for architectural best practices.

Hartford County, Connecticut, United States

In my role as an XBRL Consultant at Financial Reporting Solutions, I was instrumental in constructing standards-compliant XBRL filings and enhancing team workflows through strategic process improvements. My initiative to develop Python utilities for automating repetitive tasks led to significantly faster project turnaround times. Notably, I contributed to some of the earliest SEC XBRL filings, a testament to my ability to adapt and excel under tight deadlines. This position was pivotal in my career, marking the beginning of my journey with XBRL and further developing my skills.

Hartford, Connecticut Area

As a contract Production Support Engineer at Desai Communications, I handled internet operations, focusing on server maintenance, deployment automation, and production support. A key project under my stewardship was the creation and management of Python utilities designed to streamline the processing and publishing of a weekly podcast, showcasing my ability to innovate and improve operational efficiencies. This role allowed me to refine my skills with Python and server management, contributing to their digital content distribution capabilities.