✆ 0422 162 555✉ michaelwalton@outlook.com.auI am a maker and a tinkerer. An engineer by nature. My default approach to software is to understand the abstract concepts and logic behind it, meaning I can readily adapt to new languages. I naturally have high attention to detail. The professional exposure that I’ve had has highlighted interests additional to my love of programming, such as automation, MELT, SRE and data analytics, and I aim to enhance my skills in these areas and increase my experience with satisfyingly complex logic and design patterns. Ultimately, I hope to take my career in a direction that will allow my software and engineering skills to synergise with my core values of sustainability, reusability, and maintainability. I take pride in my work and wish to forever create and integrate solutions to problems.I live in Point Cook, VIC, with my fiancé, our two children and our pets. We previously lived in the country town of Leeton, NSW, moving to Melbourne in early 2020 with a 3-year-old and a two-week-old baby, just before lockdown. This was a challenging time, as we'd moved here, away from family, for opportunities, career options and disability supports, which immediately became difficult to access. We, like most Melbournians, persevered. We never lost our love for this city, we found a fantastic school for our daughter, our son attends an excellent childcare centre, my fiancé is progressing through her studies, and I've had a great start to my career. We aren't without our challenges, as we're a neurodiverse family, and my fiancé and I are on our own journeys of self-discovery while also providing and facilitating support for our children. However, we are a very close and loving family, we nourish and value our differences, and we advocate for inclusion and awareness.I love modifying, maintaining and repairing cars and I was previously working as a panel beater until a serious accident in early 2017 put me in hospital and forced a change in direction. I found gratitude in this, because it gave me a new perspective, showed me how resilient my fiancé and I could be, and put us on the path that led to where we are today. I was given the opportunity to study and to stay at home with my then-new baby girl. I still have cars as a hobby, and it's better this way.I have a broad range of other interests, including DIY, space and aviation, stargazing, fighter planes, extreme weather, music (especially metalcore), gaming, motorsport, science, electronics and wiring, IOT and automation, smart tech, gardening, nature and of course my family.