Ryan Shepherd
Senior Software Development Engineer at Professional trombonist
Kirkland, Washington, United States
Summary
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Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolRyan Shepherd is a Senior Software Development Engineer with over eight years focused on C++ systems and Windows engineering, currently driving core library and build pipeline improvements at Microsoft from Kirkland, WA. He specializes in C++/C, object-oriented design, and debugging, and has contributed notable fixes and features to high-profile projects like C++/WinRT and the Windows App SDK, improving time conversions, array view comparisons, and VSIX/NuGet packaging automation. His open-source work spans performance-focused changes to pip and deep metadata parsing in microsoft/xlang, reflecting a blend of low-level systems thinking and tooling automation. Prior experience includes defense and aerospace software roles and a background in scientific computing, and he also brings an unusual parallel career as a professional trombonist that underscores discipline and creative collaboration.
8 years of coding experience
10 years of employment as a software developer
Alta High SchoolThe University of Utah
Stackoverflow
1reputation
0reached
0answers
0questions
Github Skills (33)
caching10
vsix10
reflection10
c-language10
python10
msbuild10
packaging10
metadata10
cicd10
parsing10
performance-optimization10
reflections10
powershell10
pip10
cprogramming-language10
Programming languages (11)
Github contributions (5)
microsoft/cppwinrt
Apr 2020 - Sep 2022
C++/WinRT
Role in this project:
Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:1 release, 65 reviews, 19 commits in 2 years 5 months
Contributions summary:Ryan primarily contributed to the C++/WinRT library, focusing on enhancing its functionality and stability. Their work included enabling conversions between different time representations, allowing comparisons of array views with cv-qualified conversions, and improving the debugging experience by fixing visualizer issues. The user also updated the VSIX build process. These modifications suggest a focus on improving core library features.
cppwinrt
microsoft/xlang
Jul 2018 - Jun 2019
Role in this project:Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:17 reviews, 62 commits, 42 PRs in 10 months
Contributions summary:Ryan primarily contributed to the `microsoft/xlang` repository by implementing and refining the meta-reader, which parses and interprets metadata within the context of the xlang project. Their work involved parsing custom attribute blobs, CMOD signatures, and other metadata structures. They introduced functionality to handle events, properties, and generic type parameters, further extending the capabilities of the meta-reader. Furthermore, the user added improvements for custom attribute values and parent lookups for various types.
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