Daniel Perrefort

Software Engineer / Mountain Climber

About

I'm a teamwork-focused software engineering professional with 10+ years of experience in developing scalable solutions, leading cross-functional teams, and leveraging modern technologies to drive innovation.

As an active adventurer and alpine mountaineer, I'm currently working to climb the highest points in all 50 US states. Whether working with a team of climbers or a team of developers, I bring a collaborative spirit, a strategic mindset, and a relentless drive to overcome challenges and achieve goals.

Software Stack

The following list highlights some of the technologies I use in my current role. As an engineer, I'm always looking for opertunities to grow and work with new technologies.

  • Languages: Python, JavaScript, Java, Bash, Lua, SQL, PromQL
  • HPC Tools: Slurm, Lmod, Spack, CMake, Make
  • Containerization: Docker, Podman, Singularity/Apptainer, Compose, Kubernetes
  • Automation: Git, GitHub, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Travis CI, Terraform
  • Cloud: Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Technical Skills

Diverse Project Leadership

Experienced leading cross-disciplinary teams to maximize productivity across organizational boundaries.

Data-Driven Communication

Expert in leveraging data-driven communication to collaborate effectively with diverse project stakeholders.

Software Design and Delivery

Extensive experience developing software to meet detailed project requirements and design conditions.

Quality Driven Development

Well versed in managing comprehensive test suites and QA standards using a variety of modern frameworks.

DevOps and Automation

Design DevOps strategies at scale, including CI/CD automation and infrastructure management.

Resume

Professional Experience

DevOps and Software Engineering Lead

Dec 2023 - Present

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

  • Support 6 HPC clusters serving 10,000+ researchers and $90M in funded research.
  • Lead the design and deployment of HPC services including a self-service LLM platform and gateway applications.
  • Provide strategic guidance on hiring, workload prioritization, hardware acquisition, and cost recovery.
  • Manage the lifecycle and deployment of 450+ scientific packages across diverse infrastructure.
  • Maintain observability stacks to monitor performance and ensure high service reliability.

Research Software Consultant

June 2021 - Dec 2023

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

  • Consulted with researchers to deploy and optimize software across HPC and cloud environments.
  • Led technical debt remediation efforts, eliminating 70% of legacy debt over 2 years.
  • Delivered company-wide workshops on GitOps, CI/CD, testing, workflow automation, and containerization.
  • Mentored 4 junior engineers in modern development practices and team efficiency.

Graduate Research Assistant

Aug 2015 - May 2021

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

  • Developed web, API, and CLI tools for scalable, reproducible research workflows.
  • Reviewed and optimized code for reproducibility, maintainability, and efficiency.
  • Collaborated with world-leading industry engineers to design cloud-backed systems for large-scale data analysis.

Education

Ph.D. - Astrophysics and Cosmology

2021

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

M.S. - General Physics

2017

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

B.S. - Applied Physics

2014

University of Connecticut, Storrs CT

Professional Organizations

Dark Energy Science Collaboration

Full Member

Planning projects, managing junior personnel, building software, and analyzing data to support the world’s largest optical telescope.

UConn Student Leadership Board

Alumni Mentor

Mentor UConn undergraduate students on professional networking and career goals.

  • Alumni Mentor: 2022 - 2023
  • Board Member: 2014 - 2015

Travel

I get to work with an amazing team of individuals from around the globe. Here are some recent workshops I've attended along with their official workshop photos (where available).

2025

  • November: Super Computing 2025
  • July: Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing
  • March: Nvidia GTC (San Jose)

2024

  • Atlanta: Super Computing 2024

2023

  • November: Super Computing 2023
  • July: Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing

2022

  • November: Super Computing 2022
  • August: Rubin Observatory Project and Community Workshop
  • August: Dark Energy Science Collaboration Bi-Annual Meeting
  • February: Dark Energy Science Collaboration Bi-Annual Meeting

2021

  • November: Super Computing 2021
  • November: LSST Broker Technical Workshop
  • August: Rubin Observatory Project and Community Workshop
  • July: Dark Energy Science Collaboration Bi-Annual Meeting
  • Apr: LSSTC Enabling Science Broker Workshop - Part II
  • Feb: Dark Energy Science Collaboration Bi-Annual Meeting

2020

  • Oct: LSSTC Enabling Science Broker Workshop - Part I
  • August: Rubin Observatory Project and Community Workshop
  • July: Dark Energy Science Collaboration Bi-Annual Meeting
  • Jan: Dark Energy Science Collaboration Meeting

2019

  • Sep: TOM Toolkit Workshop
  • Sep: Midwest Workshop on Supernovae and Transients
  • Aug: LSST Project and Community Workshop
  • Jul: Coordinated Theoretical-Experimental Project on QCD
  • Jul: Dark Energy Science Collaboration Meeting
  • May: PITT-PACC Phenomenology Symposium
  • Feb: Dark Energy Science Collaboration Meeting
  • Feb: Dark Energy Science Collaboration Broker Workshop
  • Feb: UConn Astro-Lunch Seminar Series
  • Jan: The Future of SN Host Galaxy Studies

2018

  • Oct: LSST / DESC Calibration Workshop
  • Sep: Phipps Science Communication Workshop
  • Jul: Dark Energy Science Collaboration Meeting
  • Jun: Data Visualization and Exploration in the LSST Era
  • May: PITT-PACC Phenomenology Symposium
  • May: LSST Data Science Fellowship Workshop
  • Apr: New Advances in NIR Type Ia Supernova Science
  • Feb: Dark Energy Science Collaboration Meeting

2017

  • Jul: Sci-Coder Development Workshop
  • Jun: Summer School in Statistics for Astronomers
  • May: PITT-PACC Phenomenology Symposium