David Tishkoff Chidester

About

I’m David Chidester, a computer enthusiast and professional software engineer who is passionate about Linux and open source software. My dream is to one day make a meaningful contribution to the Linux kernel. I currently work for Stanford University IT as a DevOps engineer. At Stanford IT I developed two JavaScript APIs which can notify users about automated tests and deployments. I also work on utilizing generative AI to improve deployment processes, such as creating release notes for new software versions.

In my previous role at Thermo Fisher Scientific, I managed two DevOps automation servers and developed a serverless application to tag new resources with the email of the user who provisioned them. I also created an SDK to transfer data between Microsoft Sharepoint and AWS S3 so that business users could easily get their CSV files into the s3 data lake. I co-authored two AWS blog posts dealing with integration between Microsoft’s technology and AWS focusing on Power Apps in 2022 and Sharepoint in 2023.

Outside of Stanford, I volunteer at The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment (The MADE), a museum dedicated to preserving the history of video games through playable exhibition. I volunteer both as a web developer helping them maintain and expand the MADE’s website, and as an archivist backing up and maintaining the MADE’s collection and exhibits. I'm an advocate for professionals on the autism spectrum and also a member of a career networking group for neurodiverse professionals called AASCEND. I have also advocated for and mentored other young professionals with disabilities during my work at JVS.

Apart from computing, I have a passion for cooking and I post pictures of my culinary creations on my Instagram page and my PixelFed page. In my free time I enjoy gaming, ultimate frisbee, and spending time with my dog, Shoko.