John C. Chapin

Summary

With over twenty-five years of experience in web-based application development, systems administration, DevOps, and SDLC management, I maintain a proven track record in the healthcare, government (local, state, and federal), academic, and financial sectors. Notably, I have experience with contracts for four federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Health and Human Services via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. I lead teams delivering reliable, national-scale systems in highly regulated environments, ensuring resilience and performance under public scrutiny while driving organizational progress.

Experience

2021 – Present | Ad Hoc LLC | Philadelphia, PA (Remote)

Engineering Manager – Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

• Direct and scale multiple cross-functional engineering teams, accountable for the delivery, reliability, and security of the Medicare Coverage Tools (MCT) program.
• Lead engineering teams through each Open Enrollment season, most recently handling 2.2M enrollments in Medicare Prescription Drug (Part D) and Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans. We maintain near-zero downtime through graceful degradation and quick service resumption during disruptions such as the 2025 AWS East Coast outage.
• Lead team training and discussions to deliver the first Provider Network discovery tool for Medicare Advantage Plans. Identify and evaluate data sources, explore advanced provider search techniques, and review FHIR APIs as sources of geographic-based coverage information. This effort produced prototypes that clarify project scope before external partnerships are established.
• Oversee modernization of frontend and backend components of MCT to improve developer experience and security posture by addressing software rot and patching vulnerabilities rapidly.

Staff Software Engineer – U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs

• Managed a team of five engineers on a multi-disciplinary team of twelve members.
• Led bi-weekly practice management meetings, sprint planning, and agile ritual meetings.
• Progressed from evaluating solutions for a developer console (Console UI) to fielding a working system integrated into the VA Platform's standard support processes within nine months.
• Coordinated with over six platform teams to onboard their products into the Console UI project, producing documentation to teach other engineers how to build plugins for our system.
• Improved team practices using GitHub and ZenHub, and wrote RFC and ADR documents.
• Reported progress to platform teams and the product owner, the Platform Crew Lead from the CTO's Office of the Veteran's Administration.

2014 – 2021 | Capital Technology Services | Nashville, TN, and Philadelphia, PA

Software Development Consultant and Virtual Chief Technology Officer

• Lead Architect and CTO for a fintech startup providing data to financial institutions for BSA/AML enforcement, including three of the top five U.S. asset management companies. (Ruby on Rails 5, PostgreSQL, Heroku, AWS, GCP)
• Developed sites for The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. (WordPress, Rails 6)
• Created experiment tasks and database systems for neuroscience research at The University of Pennsylvania. (JavaScript)
• Enhanced autism research software for Drexel University. (JavaScript)
• Built e-commerce tools for a medical goods retailer, integrating FedEx and Sage ERP. (Spree, Rails 6, Ruby, AWS Lambda)
• Developed the front end for a top National Park Service website. (AngularJS, .NET Web Services in SOAP)
• Led development for Milligram Inc., a prescription drug pricing research startup. (Rails 5, PostgreSQL, NIH NLM API)
• Maintained the HealthStream, Inc. Wiki-Health project, recording and categorizing training materials and standards. (MediaWiki)
• Assisted eGovernment Solutions LLC in delivering $2B in annual property tax bills for Nashville and Davidson County, TN. (PHP 5 and 7)
• Released a new version of insurance claims intake software for QRM Inc., replacing a version I developed eight years earlier. (Rails 3)
• Developed and hosted the African Methodist Episcopal Church website, managing mobile app implementations for quadrennial conferences. (WordPress, Rails 4, Cvent CrowdCompass)
• Developed software for Vanderbilt University Medical Center to track press engagement across media. (Rails 5)

2011 – 2014 | Bytes of Knowledge, Inc. | Nashville, TN

Software Development Manager

• Established Agile development practices and systems for source code management, issue tracking, and CI, applied across 100 projects and over 8,000 issues.
• Expanded the web and software development staff from three to sixteen members in two years.
• Managed projects in various open-source technologies for clients like Peabody College of Education, Logan's Road House, The Zander Insurance Group, and Caterpillar Financial.

2011 | Robert Half Technology | Nashville, TN

Software Developer and Consultant

• Developed Android, iPhone, and iPad applications for brands including Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.

2010 – 2011 | Hooah Interactive Communications LLC | Nashville, TN

Senior Software Engineer

• Developed applications for the Army Reserve's "Hero 2 Hired" program. (Rails)
• Managed the development of a HIPAA-compliant web portal for the Army National Guard. (Zend Framework, PHP, SOAP, CAC Authentication, OCSP)
• Member of the website development team for the $480 million Amway Center, an NBA venue. (Drupal)
• Designed mobile and social media applications for Kraft Foods and the Orlando Utilities Commission.

2007 – 2009 | eGovernment Solutions LLC | Knoxville, TN and Nashville, TN

Director of Software Development

• Led a team to implement the first online vehicle registration renewal system for Nashville and Davidson County, TN. (PHP)

2005 - 2007 | Base Systems, Inc. | Nashville, TN

Senior Developer

• Maintained and documented a Linux-based voice recorder built on Asterisk PBX and developed in Perl.
• Enhanced a digital voice recorder management system to support proprietary Dictaphone hardware.
• Developed HIPAA-compliant software for securing patient medical information.

2003 - 2005 | Independent Contractor and Software Consultant | Nashville, TN

Software Developer and Network Administrator

• Deployed IT resources for NBC Universal's accounting staff supporting "Nashville Star."
• Conducted data mining and reporting for the National Online Bankruptcy Information Center. (PHP)

2000 - 2001 | Vanderbilt University | Nashville, TN

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant

• Delivered lectures on computer usage and programming to first-year engineering students.
• Assigned in-class work and homework, and graded assignments and tests.

Education

2003 | Vanderbilt University | Nashville, TN

Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering

• Student Chapter President, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Freshman Engineering Science Award
• Advanced Undergraduate Research Projects in Laser Interferometry and Friction Stir Welding

1999 | The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga | Chattanooga, TN

Honors

• Dean's List

1998 | The McCallie School | Chattanooga, TN

Honors

• Vanderbilt University PAVE Program
• Duke University Talent Identification Program and Summer Residence Courses
• 3 Years of Japanese Language Study

Volunteering / Charitable Causes

• Code for Nashville - Established Nashville's Code for America brigade, growing membership from 0 to 650 in the first year. Organized Nashville's National Day of Civic Hacking in 2015.
• The Nashville Software School - Mentored software development students, assisted in interviewing applicants, and supported certification efforts.
• Chattanooga Robotics - Supported youth participation in FIRST Robotics competitions.
• Vanderbilt University Engineering Alumni Council - Served on the council and interviewed students for engineering science courses.

Additional Skills

Private Pilot Certificate: Airplane Single Engine Land, Instrument Rated