Open to opportunities

Nathan Franklin

@nathanfranklin

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I build scalable geospatial, scientific, and cross-platform software from desktop clients to cloud services.

Ireland

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What I'm looking for

I'm looking to build high-quality, maintainable software with product, UX, and research partners, especially scalable geospatial, scientific, AI-enabled, and cross-platform systems.

At the Texas Advanced Computing Center, I architect and develop production HPC science gateways and geospatial platforms using Python, React/TypeScript, Django, Litestar, Celery, PostgreSQL, and PostGIS. I’ve also deployed AI inference services for zero-shot classification and raster-to-vector extraction, with MCP integration for agentic access.

Earlier, I led development of 3DStress® at Southwest Research Institute, built large-scale LiDAR processing and Qt visualization tools at Applied Research Laboratories, led the EU-funded SimPhoNy simulation framework at Fraunhofer IWM, and delivered cross-platform Qt interfaces for precision power analyzers at ZES ZIMMER. I enjoy working closely with researchers, product stakeholders, and UX teams to turn complex requirements into maintainable software.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Engineering Scientist

Current

Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), University of Texas

Jun 2018 - Present (8 years 2 months)

Architect and develop full-stack web applications for HPC science gateways and geospatial research platforms. Designed AI inference services and migrated raster/vector serving to cloud-native formats.

Django Celery PostgreSQL React TypeScript Litestar PostGIS GDAL PDAL Pandas SQLAlchemy Docker Kubernetes GitHub Actions Jenkins Maplibre PMTiles MCP AI Inference Zero Shot Classification

Engineering Scientist

Applied Research Laboratories, University of Texas

Aug 2016 - May 2018 (1 year 9 months)

Developed C++ software for processing large-scale LIDAR-derived 3D point cloud data and built a C++/Qt desktop application for visualization and analysis.

C++LiDAR Point Cloud Processing PDAL Unit Testing Performance Testing

Software Developer

Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM

Apr 2014 - Feb 2016 (1 year 10 months)

Technical lead for the design and development of a multi-scale simulation framework, SimPhoNy, an EU funded Horizon 2020 project. Coordinated international team and integrated plugins for simulation tools.

Python C++LAMMPS OpenFOAM Project Coordination

Software Developer

ZES ZIMMER Electronic Systems

Mar 2012 - Feb 2014 (1 year 11 months)

Designed and developed a cross-platform user interface (C++/Qt on Debian Linux and Windows) for a new generation of precision power analyzers.

C++Linux Windows Cross Platform Development

Software Developer

BCC Unternehmensberatung GmbH

Jun 2010 - Feb 2012 (1 year 8 months)

Designed and developed C++ client and server applications for managing Lotus Notes infrastructure.

C++Lotus Notes

Research Scientist

Southwest Research Institute

Nov 1999 - Aug 2006 (6 years 9 months)

Lead developer for 3DStress®, an interactive tool for analysing effects of stress on faults and fractures. Performed research and geologic system characterization for government agencies and energy companies.

C++OpenGL Research