CHRIS CLARKSYSTEMS · PEOPLE · HANDS-ON WORK

FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA / SYSTEMS & IT LEADERSHIP

IT leadership.
Still hands-on.

I’m Chris Clark. My 14 years at W. L. Gore & Associates have taken me from support to systems administration and team leadership.

Outside that work, I build software and run a home lab. These projects are a look at the problems I enjoy working through—and the systems I’ve put together to solve them.

Grindstone dashboard showing a demo portfolio project, daily writing quests, side quests, and weekly goals
Grindstone · An app I’m buildingActual interface · Demo data
01Daily actions, connected to a bigger goal.Read the project story
14 years at W. L. Gore & Associates
  1. Support
  2. Systems administration
  3. Team leadership

01 / INDEPENDENT PROJECTS

What I’ve been working on.

Real applications, a home lab,
and a few problems worth following through.

Process Timing application with shared station timers and a completed-batch table comparing station work time with total elapsed time
Actual app · Fictional stations, targets, and batches. Select to enlarge.

PROCESS TIMING In use · Manufacturing

Where do the hours
in a batch actually go?

A manufacturing business needed to understand the time going into each batch—not just at individual stations, but between steps, too.

I built a shared timing app that follows a batch through the process. It records station runs, keeps the targets attached to those records, and brings completed batches together in an exportable history.

The owner now uses those records to understand operator hours at each station and the time between steps, informing process costing.

That distinction matters: time spent at stations and total elapsed time answer different questions. Both are visible in the batch history.

PythonSQLiteDocker
Real Grindstone demo showing a portfolio-writing quest linked to a weekly goal and one-time publishing deadlines
Actual app · A disposable demo account, with no personal progress data.

GRINDSTONE Working app · Demo available

A goal needs a next step.
And a reason to come back.

Grindstone is my take on personal accountability: an RPG where daily actions become quests and progress becomes XP.

I connected recurring quests, weekly goals, and one-time deadlines in a single app. The less visible work includes account verification, saved progress across devices, and separate demo sessions so visitors can try it without sharing someone else’s activity.

In the demo, “publish my portfolio” becomes a writing task, a weekly target, and a deadline. It’s a small example of the problem I’m exploring: making the next action clear without losing sight of the goal.

Try the Grindstone demo
Next.jsNode.jsSQLiteDocker
DockerBackup public information page describing encrypted backup packages, offsite storage, and recovery preparation
Actual public information page. Private backup records and recovery controls are excluded.

DOCKERBACKUP + RESTORE Personal infrastructure · Evolving

If the host failed,
what would I need back?

As the home lab grew, the question stopped being just how to run another app. I also needed a way to bring back its data and configuration.

I built tooling to package selected Docker data, encrypt it, and verify an offsite copy. The companion recovery work separates preparation and validation from the decision to start restored services.

Recorded checks include encrypted round-trip and database restore checks, plus a verified remote checksum. Those checks are a starting point. They do not establish that every app has passed a full disaster-recovery test.

Read the DockerBackup project overview
PythonDocker ComposeBackup & recovery

ALSO ON THE WORKBENCH

What Can I Cook?

A shared pantry with barcode scanning, stock tracking, shopping lists, and recipe suggestions. A separate demo edition is prepared for publication.

Salon Scheduler

A calendar and client workspace with chair assignments and conflict checks. A separate, fictional demo edition is prepared for publication.

Family Command Center

A touchscreen home dashboard for routines, events, and weather. Kept private, with household details left out of the portfolio.

02 / BACKGROUND

From helping people
with systems to
leading the team.

Based in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Support, systems administration, and team leadership have given me different ways to approach the same question: what does the person relying on this system need?

I still enjoy getting into the details. A question about a manufacturing process can become a shared app; a growing stack of containers can become a recovery project. I like following that work through the interface, the data, and the deployment.

I’m interested in systems and IT leadership roles where I can bring that experience together with the hands-on curiosity you see here.

Talk with me about a role

03 / AFTER THE WORKDAY

The Mac mini
that keeps me learning.

My home lab is where I can follow an idea through: build an interface, connect the data, put it in a container, and work out how to keep it running.

The apps

Custom projects sit alongside Audiobookshelf, Calibre, and other self-hosted tools. There’s usually a practical reason to try something—and another question once it’s running.

The plumbing

Docker Compose, Git, nginx, and Cloudflare Tunnel connect the pieces. I work on backup and restore alongside the applications so I can understand how to bring them back.

The toolkit

Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, React/Next.js, Node.js, and SQLite show up across the projects. I choose from them based on what I’m trying to make.

Browse my public GitHub profile

NEXT CONVERSATION

Let’s talk systems
and IT leadership.

If this is the kind of experience and approach your team needs, I’d be glad to talk.

Email Chris

Project screenshot