David Birnie
David Birnie

Virtual resume / David Birnie

Software / AI systems / Product thinking

Vague problem in.
Tangible system out.

I do my best work when the problem isn't already solved. Give me ambiguity, a deficiency, or a mess, and I come back with something that runs.

See the systemsResume
Scroll to meet Dave

Explore the work

My role, what I built, and where it stands.

SB GamingSole developerIn production since 2021 · three halls3 AM CEOFounder, architect, developerPrivate betaFamilyLockSole designer and developerIn daily use · test labDanger DaveConcept, instructional design and directionIn Production
Fields worked in: Software, Care work, Crisis response, Electrical, Two exits, AI systems, Blacksmithing.

01 / Who I am

I like figuring things out. Then I like building them.

I've built software, run and sold two businesses, worked as a PSW and an emergency medical responder, pulled wire, and taught myself whatever the problem required. What connects it isn't a job title. It's a habit of taking something unclear and making it concrete.

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Companies sold

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Developer on SB Gaming

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YouTube subscribers

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Fields worked in

David BirnieChatham, Ontario

02 / The pattern

“Give me the vague problem.”

01Vague ideaSomeone describes an outcome, not a solution.
02UnderstandWhat's actually needed, versus what was asked for.
03DesignA system simple enough to survive real use.
04BuildLearn whatever is missing. Ship something that runs.
05Tangible systemIt works, it's in use, and it can be handed over.
Disorder000

03 / Proof of work

I turn ideas into working systems.

4 systems. Open a brief for my role, what I built, and the outcome ↓

01 / 03

Grit + determination

SB
Gaming

One sentence of instruction. A product three halls still run.

The brief was to get a bingo hall running online during the shutdown. I was the only developer. I designed and built the caller console, the streamed boards, live card validation against six commercial card sets, and the session workflow around all of it.

  • Product definition
  • Live systems
  • Full ownership

02 / 03

Product + AI architecture

3 AM
CEO

A platform with installable apps and a shared assistant.

A founder operations platform with a shared dashboard, installable apps that can share data, and a multi-model assistant across them. The apps are also meant to keep working when AI is switched off.

  • Platform architecture
  • AI integration
  • Product design

03 / 03

Where the tools get proven

Family
Lock

This is where I try tools in real daily use before I turn them into something shareable.

This is where I try tools in real daily use before I turn them into something shareable.

  • Rapid prototyping
  • AI workflows
  • Product validation

04 / 03

Teaching + compliance

Danger
Dave

This is an interactive safety module that turns a policy into something staff work through.

I created an interactive safety module that turns a policy document into something you work through rather than scroll past. Hazard-spotting, decisions and checks carry the content, and the sign-off at the end belongs to someone who actually went through it. Built for Chatham-Kent Community Health Centres, where I work, as a single self-contained file that needs no LMS and no install.

  • Instructional design
  • Safety training
  • AI-directed build

04 / Professional journey

My career isn't a straight line. That's one of its strengths.

  1. Age ~10

    First business

    Buying, refurbishing and reselling computers for about $100 profit each.

    Value hides in things other people have written off.

  2. Early work

    Customer service

    Food service and retail. Focus, organization, sales, patience with people.

    Going past the minimum for someone is usually remembered.

  3. Care & crisis

    PSW / EMR

    Supporting people through hard days, and making fast calls under pressure.

    Judgment under pressure is a skill you can practise.

  4. Trades

    Electrical

    Troubleshooting physical systems when the answer isn't obvious.

    Every system has a fault path if you test it methodically.

  5. Software

    SB Gaming

    Sole developer. One sentence of instruction to a live, running system.

    Ownership means designing the parts nobody specified.

  6. Ownership

    Two exits

    Initial Care and Lighting Effects, built, grown and sold.

    Building something saleable teaches you what value really is.

View resume

Two businesses built and sold. Five-figure exits, each.

05 / Character

What kind of guy am I?

Depth on demandDavid Birnie

06 / Away from screens

I build things away from screens too.

  • A single small mushroom with a bright orange domed cap on a slender yellow stem, standing among dry fallen leaves on the forest floor.
    Mushroom photography

    Fungi

    Photographing fungi where they grow, which is most of the walk.

  • A morning's foraging laid out on a white cutting board: a pile of honeycomb-capped morels, one large scaly bracket mushroom, and a bundle of wild leeks.
    Foraging

    Wild food

    Morels and wild leeks. The season is short and the walk is long.

  • A tumbler of a pale blended drink on a dark wooden table, topped with a thick layer of grated chocolate and a chocolate wafer, beside a small potted plant.
    Cooking

    Foodie

    The other half of the kitchen. Made properly or not at all.

  • Two stacked beehive boxes standing in clover, with a dense cluster of bees bearding across the outside of the lower white box.
    Beekeeping

    Lapsed

    Kept hives for a few seasons. Lapsed, and labelled as such.

  • An animal skeletal remain, showing a spine and rib cage, lying on the muddy ground among green grass and brush near a wooded edge.
    Hiking & Adventures

    Hikes

  • Workshop workbench setup with a pegboard wall, glowing blue and red lantern lights, LED strip lighting, and hanging tools.
    Custom Workshop

    Workshop

    Custom Built Workshop

  • A glowing orange peel candle burning in a dark room, casting a warm amber light with its reflection visible on a windowpane.
    Learning & experiments

    Tinkering

    Orange Peel Candle

Curiosity doesn't stop when I close the laptop.

Think we'd work well together?

Let's talk.

Contact Dave →View resume
David Birnie