Ben Livingood
Belgrade, US
livingood@gmail.com
(406) 285-1066

I am a results-focused Software Engineer. I enjoy increasing stability of server code while working at a high speed. I have engineered and maintained scalable infrastructure reliably handling high traffic while still maintaining compliant code, and keeping it up to date with current trends and protocols.

Experience


Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)
June 2023
 — 
September 2025
Workiva

In this role it was my job to create integration tests suits and other software to reliably run on github actions and assisting the team to with complying with software development lifecycle requirements and meeting security practices such as keeping libraries up to date, and patching CVE's all without causing loss of service.

  • Designed and executed the FIPS transition plan, including a testing suite, migration strategy, server side code and failover infrastructure to ensure zero service disruption (and it worked)
  • Migrated all team repositories to GitHub Actions (GHA), streamlining CI/CD and improving developer efficiency
  • Implemented and Optimized key metrics (SLO/SLI) for team infrastructure
Software Developer
September 2012
 — 
June 2023
Workiva

Software Developer and Infrastructure Engineer specializing in system automation and cloud delivery. I established CI/CD pipelines for server deployments, migrating systems to container orchestration using Docker and Kubernetes. I also provisioned scalable cloud infrastructure with AWS and Terraform, built an internal chatbot used across over 150 channels, and integrated security maintenance (Dependabot) into team workflows.

  • Migrated team repositories from doing maven plugin-based library upgrades to using Dependabot. Delivered in 2 days what was aske for in 6 months
  • Wrote CI/CD software (Python) to chain builds into working Docker images, deployed reliably via Helm to Kubernetes clusters
  • Engineered a full-stack developer environments using Vagrant, and later Docker, reducing application setup time and enabling faster feature releases
  • Strengthened the testing strategy for teams by ensuring robust unit and total stack integration tests, increasing code stability and quality and 50% fewer mocks
  • Analyzed,Tuned, and Exported service metrics (Kotlin/Java) to various internal sites to optimize for deployability, maintenance, and sustained up-time
Systems Engineer
March 2012
 — 
August 2012
Oracle
  • Architected, built, and tested large-scale infrastructure capable of handling billions of monthly requests
  • Scaled, tuned, and extended existing solutions to proactively react to demanding, high-volume real-world changes
  • Assisted in rigorous security audits and compliance initiatives for government entities (Army/FEDRAMP)
Linux Systems Engineer
June 2010
 — 
March 2012
RightNow Technologies

First officially titled Linux Systems Engineer at RightNow. I worked in the Cloud Operations group making packages for deploy to our datacenters as well as triaging day-to-day operation issues.

  • Maintained and extended cloud-based infrastructure, reliably handling billions of monthly requests with minimal latency
  • Served as a Liaison between internal teams, customers, and Government entities on critical matters of security and compliance

Education


Montana State University-Bozeman
January 2000
 — 
January 2002
Master of Science in Computer Science
  • CS 536 - Advanced Artificial Intelligence
Montana State University-Bozeman
January 1995
 — 
January 1999
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
  • CS 436 - Artificial Intelligence

Awards


Kudo
Present
 — 
Present
Workiva

Received multiple times for assisting employees in addition to work in normal role

A-Team Q3, Star Award
December 2010
RightNow

DISA team performance and compliance work.

Languages


English:
Native speaker
Spanish:
Basic

Skills


Development Languages:
Kotlin, Java, Python, Go, CoffeeScript, Bash/Zsh
DevOps & Cloud software:
Kubernetes, Docker, Helm, New Relic (dashboards , monitoring and alerts), Splunk (deep dives into code execution debugging), Vagrant, Amazon Web Services (AWS), CI/CD Construction, GitHub Actions (GHA)
Misc:
SLO/SLI/SLA creation, tuning, refinement, Integration Test Environment Suite writing, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE)

Interests


Exercise:
Kettlebell, Powerlifting
Language Learning:
Spanish, Norwegian (Bokmal), German, Frensh

References


Andrew Perkins, Technical Lead, Workiva

Ben is someone who makes everything move more smoothly for a team. He finds the rough edges and smooths them out. His ability to make things seem easy that others struggle with is amazing. He is very good at being the grease that makes a team run smoothly. He helps with systems level issues, is very quick at dealing with operational items, and is a wizard with linux and AWS infrastructure. His knowledge in those areas is powerful and keeps a team moving forward quickly and smoothly. My time working with Ben was always a pleasure, and he always made things smoother and easier. If we needed something done, he jumped on it and made sure it got completed. He is an asset to any team, and brings a strong work ethic with a lot of knowledge spanning ops that many people are lacking in most engineering cultures.Ben is someone who makes everything move more smoothly for a team. He finds the rough edges and smooths them out. His ability to make things seem easy that others struggle with is amazing. He is very good at being the grease that makes a team run smoothly. He helps with systems level issues, is very quick at dealing with operational items, and is a wizard with linux and AWS infrastructure. His knowledge in those areas is powerful and keeps a team moving forward quickly and smoothly. My time working with Ben was always a pleasure, and he always made things smoother and easier. If we needed something done, he jumped on it and made sure it got completed. He is an asset to any team, and brings a strong work ethic with a lot of knowledge spanning ops that many people are lacking in most engineering cultures.

Carson Williams, Software Engineer, Workiva

Ben and I both worked together on the Backend Graph team at Workiva. Consistently, Ben showed up for the team and provided tooling and support to help ensure we all were working to the best of our abilities. He was easy to talk to and always listened, which I value greatly; whenever I had an issue, Ben could help address it. Ben would make a great addition to any team.Ben and I both worked together on the Backend Graph team at Workiva. Consistently, Ben showed up for the team and provided tooling and support to help ensure we all were working to the best of our abilities. He was easy to talk to and always listened, which I value greatly; whenever I had an issue, Ben could help address it. Ben would make a great addition to any team.

Randi Cunningham, Engineering Manager, Workiva

Ben is a standout Software Engineer and technologist. I had the pleasure of being Ben's manager for six years at Workiva. Professionally, Ben consistently demonstrated deep product knowledge and an ability to consistently solve very difficult problems related to our backend systems. He consistently delivered quality solutions that solved problems and helped team members progress. On a personal level, I have always viewed ben as the ultimate team player, willing to grind for the benefit of the team without personal glory. Anyone looking for a dedicated engineer that will consistently go to bat for his team will not be disappointed.

Ryan Nix, Staff Software Engineer at Workiva

Ben is an insightful engineer with a strong infrastructure and systems background. He has extensive experience in building, maintaining and debugging the infrastructure around production grade systems. His experience allows him to considering risks and difficulties that others may overlook, which is a much needed perspective in any team. Having worked closely with him, I always valued his input and technical knowledge on any software development task or infrastructure goal.