Isaac Sloan

I'm a software architect, musician, recording engineer, photographer, and videographer based in the American West. For more than twenty years I've divided my time between building software, creating music, and documenting the world through cameras and lenses. Whether designing systems, producing recordings, filming performances, photographing lightning over the desert, or waiting for wildlife to emerge from the brush, I'm drawn to work that combines technical craft with creative expression.

Software has been my profession for more than two decades. Most of that time has been spent in Ruby and Rails, building products, infrastructure, and developer tools, with side excursions into Crystal, C, and C++. More recent work has focused on software architecture and engineering leadership at companies including Nikola Motor and Cappa Health.

A portion of that work lives in the open-source community. PeterGate became a widely adopted authorization library for Rails applications, and my Crystal projects—including cry, bitfields, and CRelease—grew out of involvement with the Amber Framework ecosystem and a longstanding interest in programming languages, developer experience, and tooling.

Music has been a constant throughout my life and remains one of my deepest passions. Beyond writing and performing, I've spent years learning the craft of recording, production, mixing, and engineering. What continues to draw me to music is the same thing that drew me to it in the beginning: its ability to communicate meaning and emotion in ways words often cannot. Over the years I've performed both as a solo artist and with bands, collaborating with other musicians to create and share music that connects with people.

Photography and videography have accompanied nearly every stage of that journey. Much of my work focuses on the landscapes of the American West, birds, severe weather, and lightning. I'm fascinated by fleeting moments—light that lasts a fraction of a second, wildlife that appears only briefly, places that reveal themselves differently each time you visit. The camera has given me countless reasons to explore, observe, and pay attention.

Outside of work and creative projects you'll usually find me spending time with family, roasting coffee, pouring latte art, or planning my next adventure.