David Daniel

Principal Engineer · Builder · Researcher

Portland, Oregon

I'm a principal engineer and an around-the-clock builder. By day I drive modernization at Nike; nights and weekends I keep shipping — running Proof Labs on the side, building apps for family and friends, and prototyping ideas just to see how far they go.

I research well beyond any one company's enterprise-approved toolset, on purpose. Working past those limits is how I find where the frontier actually is — and bring it back to inform what's possible beyond where the teams I work with are today. My focus is AI-native and agentic engineering: turning emerging AI tooling into dependable, production-grade workflows, plus the cloud architecture and platform design that lets them scale.

Areas of expertise

  • AI-native development
  • Agentic engineering
  • Cloud architecture
  • Digital commerce platforms
  • Full-stack engineering (Node.js / React)
  • Technical leadership

Experience

  • Founder & BuilderProof LabsOngoing
  • Principal Engineer (prev. Lead, Full Stack)Nike2016 – Present
  • Solutions EngineerOracle Maxymiser2015 – 2016
  • Instructor & Technical ArchitectHack Oregon2016 – Present

Background

My route into engineering was unconventional — before code I worked in mental health, photography, and the arts. I went through General Assembly's Web Development Immersive in 2015 and have been building ever since, including ongoing community work as an instructor and technical architect with Hack Oregon.