Summary
Mark Powers is a Principal Software Engineer based in Park City, Utah, with a multi-decade background in security, cryptography, and systems software spanning government labs to Oracle. He has deep expertise in PKCS #11, FIPS validation, and Solaris cryptographic frameworks, and currently contributes to core Java (OpenJDK) by improving jarsigner behavior and cross-module code quality. Mark blends hands-on low-level engineering—dating back to AN/UYK-44 military systems and System V/MLS—with modern backend and QA practices, making him equally comfortable in legacy platforms and contemporary open-source projects. His career shows a rare continuity of focus on trustworthy, auditable software across product, compliance, and standardization efforts. Despite a relatively recent formal LinkedIn/GitHub footprint, his impact is evident in widely used ecosystems like OpenJDK and long-running Oracle security initiatives.
4 years of coding experience
35 years of employment as a software developer
Master's degree, Computer Science, Master's degree, Computer Science at Virginia Tech
Bachelor of Arts - BA, Bachelor of Arts - BA at The University of Toledo