Rory Finnegan

[ rofinn.dev ] . [ linkedin.com/in/roryfinnegan ] . [ github.com/rofinn ]

Results-driven software developer with expertise in building machine learning platforms, data pipelines, and cloud infrastructure. Proven track record of optimizing performance, reducing costs, and accelerating development cycles across complex ML systems.

Experience

Solutions Architect | Denvr Dataworks (2024-present)

Led technical alignment between client requirements and Denvr's service offerings, serving as the bridge between stakeholders.

  • Accelerated client and employee onboarding with comprehensive documentation and demos
  • Informed data-driven product roadmaps with detailed market research and competitive analysis
  • Standardized internal workflows, reducing CI/CD failures and improving time to first response
  • Developed SDKs and tooling to eliminate critical bottlenecks for both clients and internal teams

Research Software Developer | Invenia Labs (2020-2023)

Translated research concepts into production-ready models and scientific software solutions.

  • Mentored junior researchers and established technical roadmaps for long-term research initiatives
  • Designed streamlined prototyping environments, reducing research iteration cycles
  • Built a feature selection and transformation API, increasing model evaluation throughput by 4x
  • Optimized cloud resource utilization, resulting in a 25-30% reduction in AWS costs
  • Implemented local caching solution that reduced average query latency by an order of magnitude

Software Developer | Invenia Technical Computing (2016-2020)

Core contributor to production data and ML platform infrastructure.

  • Reengineered Gentoo AMI build pipeline, reducing build times from hours to minutes
  • Migrated the monolithic MATLAB application to a modular Julia / Python platform
  • Tuned database indices and optimized queries, improving response times by 10x
  • Established release management process that increased deployment frequency by 3x while reducing incidents

Undergraduate Research Associate | HCILab, University of Manitoba (2012-2013)

Developed immersive spatiotemporal data visualization application using C++ and OpenGL.

Computer Programmer & Analyst | National Microbiology Lab (2012-2012)

Enhanced HIV mutation analysis pipeline supporting clinicians in treatment decision-making.

Skill

  • Languages: Python, Julia, SQL, Shell
  • Cloud & Infrastructure: Linux, AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform
  • Databases: PostgreSQL, SQLite
  • ML & Data: Neural networks, Imputation, Probabilistic graphical models, Convex optimization

Education

Master of Science | McMaster University (2014-2016)

Thesis: "Computational Modelling of Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis" Focused on neural network modeling and machine learning applications in neuroscience

Bachelor of Computer Science Hons. | University of Manitoba (2008-2013)

Specializations in Computer Systems and Databases

Publications

  • Finnegan, R., Shaw, M., & Becker, S. (2017). Restricted Boltzmann Machine Models of Hippocampal Coding and Neurogenesis. In The Rewiring Brain: A Computational Approach to Structural Plasticity in the Adult Brain (Chapter 21). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803784-3.00021-4/
  • Finnegan, R. (2016). Computational Modelling of Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis. McMaster University Dissertations and Theses. http://hdl.handle.net/113/
  • Finnegan, R., & Becker, S. (2015). Neurogenesis paradoxically decreases both pattern separation and memory interference. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, Research Topics: The Dentate Gyrus and its Local Circuits. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2015.00136/
  • Ens, B., Finnegan, R., & Irani, P. (2014). The personal cockpit: a spatial interface for effective task switching on head-worn displays. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '14), Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/2556288.2557058/
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