About Spencer Callicott, Software Engineer

How I got here

I grew up wiring things together that weren't meant to talk to each other, which turned out to be excellent preparation for a career in software. I studied Electrical and Computer Engineering at Mississippi State University, where I got to work next to SHADOW, a Cray CS300-LC supercomputer with 260 Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors housed at the HPC2 facility. One of those experiences that recalibrates your sense of scale pretty quickly.

From there I spent several years doing serious systems work on government programs: cybersecurity evaluation environments, automated test harnesses, and RF analysis toolchains. These needed to work right the first time, because the alternative wasn't acceptable.

Today I run my own production Kubernetes cluster at home (TuxHPC.net), build AI-assisted observability tools, write mods that inject into bytecode of half-million-line codebases for fun, and generally find ways to make computers do things they weren't quite expecting.

Spencer Callicott at Mississippi State University next to the SHADOW supercomputer — MSU HPC2 Lab, next to the SHADOW Cray CS300-LC supercomputer.

How I work

I care deeply about testability as a design constraint, not something you bolt on at the end. I write code that future maintainers can reason about without guessing at intent. I reach for the simplest thing that's correct, and I do the harder architectural work when "simpler" just pushes the complexity somewhere less visible.

I default to async communication, document decisions when I make them, and push back when I think a problem is worth rethinking at a higher level. I don't ship code I'm not willing to own long-term. If you're building something technically interesting, I'd like to hear about it.

Side quests

Outside the terminal, I stay busy. Zulu thinks all of this is insufficiently focused on him, but he's biased.

Spencer Callicott and friends under the illuminated TRON Lightcycle Run at Disney — TRON at Magic Kingdom. The idea of jumping into a computer grid has always hit different when you actually write code for a living.

Spencer Callicott's TuxHPC homelab rack with blue LED lighting — TuxHPC, the homelab rack. Yes, the LED lighting is load-bearing.

Spencer Callicott in historic downtown Breckenridge, Colorado at night during the Snow Sculpture Championships — Downtown Breckenridge at night. The Christmas light setup here is a whole production: string lights, storefronts, the works. I'm a sucker for good lighting.

Zulu the black Lab puppy at the pool, not thrilled about swimming — Zulu's first pool. Natural swimmer from day one. Couldn't get him out.

Spencer Callicott and a packed crowd at a live music venue lit up in blue stage lights — Dave's Dark Horse Tavern with the whole 2019 MSU ECE crew, plus our favorite technical writing professor who also fronts a rock band and absolutely earned that spotlight. Rock On!

Spencer Callicott at the skeet shooting range — Trap and skeet shooting. Good for the patience, bad for the wallet.

Spencer Callicott dressed as a blind pilot at a Halloween party — Dressed as a blind pilot for Halloween. Doesn't matter. Doesn't the autopilot just fly the plane anyway?

Spencer Callicott flying a drone outside to capture footage of a friend's new townhouse, with Zulu on a leash nearby — Licensed drone operator. Here I'm capturing footage of a friend's new townhouse. Zulu handles ground security.

Spencer Callicott at the International Snow Sculpture Championships in downtown Breckenridge, Colorado at night — Breckenridge International Snow Sculpture Championships: 25-ton blocks of snow, hand-carved over five days. Temporary outdoor art gallery in historic downtown. Worth the altitude headache.

Licensed Amateur Radio Operator KQ4VYY

Ham radio is where my RF engineering background and my hardware instincts meet something actually fun. I run a Xiegu G90 HF transceiver, built a custom 3D-printed chassis for my handheld, run SDR setups for signal analysis, and yes, the RF analysis toolchain in my work history is related. Turns out "what kind of antennas are you using?" is both a hobby question and a professional one.

Xiegu G90 HF transceiver with spectrum display showing active signal

Out in the world

I do occasionally leave the house.

Spencer Callicott in gaming headset in front of wall of MSU diplomas and awards — The wall says engineer. The headset says I have priorities.

Spencer Callicott with a gray Jeep Wrangler on a sunny day — The Jeep life found me.

Spencer Callicott gaming with his dog Zulu watching — Zulu supervises my gaming sessions. Very critical audience.

Spencer Callicott on the Good Morning America studio set — Live studio audience at Good Morning America, invited as a Presidential Scholar from Mississippi State. They broadcast the whole show three feet away.

Spencer Callicott's custom 3D-printed ham radio — Licensed amateur radio operator. 3D-printed nameplate on my favorite radio. Of course I did.

Spencer Callicott telling a story over lunch mid-ski trip in the mountains — Day two on skis. Lunch break storytelling, mostly about the wipeout I'd never admit was as bad as it was.

Spencer Callicott and friends in front of giant Halloween pumpkins at Magic Kingdom — Three grown men cheesing in front of giant pumpkins at Magic Kingdom. No notes.

Spencer Callicott whitewater rafting — Whitewater rafting. Some rapids are harder to navigate than a three-day-old merge conflict.

Spencer Callicott in front of a US military jet on display — Up close with a fully armed combat aircraft. Live ordnance on the pylons. Working DoD contracts gives you a certain appreciation for the hardware you're helping support.

Spencer Callicott next to his muddy blue Toyota Tacoma on a forest trail — The Tacoma earns its mud.

Quick facts

Education: B.S. Electrical & Computer Engineering, Mississippi State University
Dog: Zulu, black Lab, tactical vest enthusiast and gaming co-pilot
Homelab: TuxHPC.net: 8-node Kubernetes cluster (3 control plane, 5 workers)
Callsign: KQ4VYY, licensed amateur radio operator
Other hobbies: Ham radio, trap/skeet shooting, whitewater rafting, off-roading
GitHub: github.com/Tuxprogrammer
Currently building: AI-assisted log monitoring, GitOps infrastructure, developer tooling