Kaden Goodell

Madison, AL · kaden.goodell@gmail.com · 402-980-2907 · Top Secret (lapsed)

Senior software architect, 12+ years across military intelligence, defense training systems, manufacturing, and PLM/PDM SaaS. Currently Senior Staff at Duro (acquired by Altium), where I was a primary architect on the full-platform PLM rebuild that catalyzed our acquisition, its multi-CAD plugin layer (SolidWorks, NX), and its PDM integrations (SolidWorks PDM and others). AI is how I ship. US Air Force veteran.

Highlights

A primary architect on Duro's full-platform PLM rebuild — the rebuild that catalyzed our acquisition by Altium.
Built Duro's multi-CAD plugin layer — a unified abstraction with SolidWorks and NX adapters, exposed as a reusable .NET SDK that opened a partner-integration channel.
Architected Duro's PDM integration layer — including a SolidWorks PDM integration alongside others — for migration and bidirectional sync with clients' incumbent tooling.
Worked with AI as an engineering partner from the earliest days — ChatGPT → Cursor → Claude Code — adapting practice with each generation. Significant contributor to Jig, Duro's open-source AI-workflow toolkit for engineering teams.
Built and led a 4-engineer integrations team — hiring, performance, and roadmap.
US Air Force veteran (Airborne Korean Linguist → Tactical Support Operator). Top Secret clearance (lapsed).

Experience

Architected Duro's multi-CAD plugin platform — a unified abstraction layer with SolidWorks and NX adapters, exposed as a reusable .NET SDK so partners and downstream teams can integrate additional CAD systems without touching the core.
A primary architect on the full rebuild of Duro's PLM platform after the prior architecture hit a scaling ceiling with the largest customers; the rebuild catalyzed Duro's acquisition by Altium.
Architected Duro's PDM integration layer — including a SolidWorks PDM integration alongside other client PDM systems — enabling migration and ongoing sync so customers can adopt Duro without ripping out incumbent tooling.
Architected the Altium integration rewrite and built the majority of the implementation before handoff to a teammate — bridging Duro's PLM with Altium's broader tooling.
Worked with AI as an engineering partner since the earliest days — ChatGPT → Cursor → Claude Code — adapting practice with each generation of tooling. Every feature shipped in the last year was built that way: sub-agents, command pipelines, standardized workflows. Significant contributor to Jig, Duro's open-source AI workflow toolkit.
Built and managed the integrations team — up to 4 direct reports, full ownership of hiring, performance, and roadmap.
Architected backend services in Node.js / NestJS + GraphQL on PostgreSQL, powering both plugin integrations and the web client.
Established CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions) automating build, test, and deployment.

Developed a distributed training system for military applications using C#, .NET Core, WPF, and React, supporting Army, Air Force, SOCOM, and foreign military clients.
Built MEF plugin-based front-end and backend systems with an embedded Java-based map for real-time student feedback.
Leveraged C++ for high-performance calculations and ActiveMQ for real-time messaging across distributed components.
Established Agile and CI/CD practices using the Atlassian toolset (Jira, Bamboo, Bitbucket, Confluence).

Developed the Global Hawk Sensor Operator Part Task Trainer using C#, MVVM, and Visual Studio; led migration from Team Foundation Server to Azure DevOps.
Contributed to architecture pattern selection and established testing standards including TDD and gated check-ins.

Led full-stack development and maintenance of responsive applications using ASP.NET, JavaScript, jQuery, T-SQL, HTML, and CSS.

Provided real-time support to Special Forces units during critical operations, including location, acquisition, and elimination of high-value targets; coordinated across diverse cultures, ranks, and partner nations.

Operated, evaluated, and managed airborne intelligence information and related ground processing systems.

Selected Projects

Duro PLM Platform + Multi-CAD & PDM Integrations

Duro / Altium

A modern PLM/BOM platform for hardware engineering teams, plus the multi-CAD plugin layer that lets engineers work natively with Duro from inside SolidWorks and NX — and the PDM integrations (SolidWorks PDM and others) that bridge to clients' incumbent tooling.

PLM platform rebuild

Re-architected and rebuilt Duro's PLM platform from scratch after the prior architecture hit a scaling ceiling with the largest customers. React web client backed by a Node.js / NestJS + GraphQL API on PostgreSQL, powering both the UI and every plugin integration.

Multi-CAD integration layer

CAD-agnostic core plus thin per-CAD adapters that implement a clean contract; adapters run inside the host CAD (SolidWorks, NX). Exposed as a reusable .NET SDK so partners and downstream teams can add new CAD systems without touching the host app's UX, API, or data layer.

PDM integrations

Integration layer connecting Duro to clients' incumbent PDM systems — including a SolidWorks PDM integration alongside others — for migration and ongoing bi-directional sync so customers can adopt Duro without rip-and-replace.

Outcome

The PLM rebuild was the trigger for Duro's acquisition by Altium.

Stack

.NET Core, C#, WPF, React, Node.js, NestJS, GraphQL, PostgreSQL, NuGet SDK distribution.

Jig — Standardized AI Workflow for Engineering Teams

Duro · open source

Open-source toolkit codifying how Duro's engineers actually work with AI day-to-day — a shared vocabulary of sub-agents, commands, and patterns any team can adopt.

My role

One of the earliest Claude Code adopters on the team and a significant contributor to the patterns Jig standardizes. Jig emerged from everyone comparing notes and we built it together; my contributions shaped what became the published toolkit.

Why it matters

AI-assisted engineering is most powerful when a team shares a workflow. Jig captures that workflow as installable, executable artifacts.

Education & Certifications

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Auburn University · In progress

Associate Technical Fellow

Radiance Technologies · Apr 2021

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Mathematics Minor

The University of Alabama · May 2016

Linguistics Certification with Honors in Korean Language

Defense Language Institute

Skills

Languages & Frameworks

.NET Core · C# · TypeScript · JavaScript · Java · Python · SQL · PostgreSQL · GraphQL · REST · React · WPF · Astro · Node.js · NestJS

AI-native development

Claude Code · sub-agents & commands · MCP · Jig (open source)

CAD, PDM, PLM & COM interop

SolidWorks · NX · SolidWorks PDM · PLM / PDM integration design · multi-CAD adapter architecture · WPF/MEF plugin architecture

Cloud & DevOps

GitHub Actions · AWS (incl. GovCloud) · Cloudflare · Docker · CI/CD pipelines

Leadership

Technical leadership · Hiring & team building