Founder of Platypus
A full-stack systems engineer with more than a decade building across cybersecurity, energy, fintech, social platforms, civic technology, smart devices, and the web.
A Systems Perspective
Clayton works across product, software, infrastructure, and operations. That range makes it possible to follow a problem from the human decision at its center through the interfaces, data, services, and deployment systems that support it.
He founded Platypus to build thoughtful software, AI-enabled tools, and resilient systems for people solving complex real-world problems. The goal is not technology for its own sake; it is technology that remains understandable, dependable, and useful when the surrounding conditions are messy.
Across the stack
Selected Experience
Founder · Full-time
November 2022–Present · Miami
Founded an independent studio for trustworthy software, AI-enabled tools, infrastructure, and decision-support systems. Current products span local-business websites, field reporting, service discovery, and public-service paperwork.
Senior Staff Software Engineer
January 2021–February 2022 · Remote / New York City
Architected and navigated internal platforms, microservices, and cloud infrastructure inside large-scale cybersecurity operations.
Senior Software Engineer · Acquired by Palo Alto Networks
March 2020–January 2021 · New York City
Architected the PDF reporting system that became central to the acquisition and built data-rich dashboards for understanding internet-scale attack surfaces.
Software Engineer
September 2019–February 2020 · New York City
Built full-stack investment-research features, dynamic comparison-report modules, and data-pipeline improvements while moving development toward lighter Docker-based environments.
Software Engineer
August 2018–September 2019 · New York City
Restructured parts of a distributed-energy platform, implemented centralized authorization, improved database performance, and helped stabilize releases across product and QA.
Software Developer · Full-time
July 2014–September 2016 · Washington, DC
Built and maintained civic-technology systems including Scout and the Congress API, and created Email Congress to turn government data into clear, deliverable constituent workflows.
Founder & CTO
July 2011–July 2012 · Providence
Co-founded a political social network and led product, design, and engineering for interactive political comparisons and location-based discovery while helping raise more than $100,000 in seed funding.
Education
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Economics, and Classics.
Work Together