Steve Ahlstrom

Forty years of turning ideas into software — from Atari cartridges to AI-powered relationship intelligence.

~1975–1994

The Pioneering Years

Self-taught, pre-internet. Writing software when you had to know the hardware — 6502 assembly, floppy disk controllers, and telecom protocols. Shipped commercial software sold in retail stores.
~1975–85

Atari Era — The 4th Works

With Dan Moore, created SynFile+ (database), PaperClip (word processor), and Sherlock (search utility) — commercial Atari 8-bit software sold via retail. Sherlock still gets support emails 40+ years later.

1984–86

Software Developer — Antic Magazine

Developed software published through Antic's retail sales division.

1987–90

Columnist — Amiga Transactor

Wrote a monthly column covering Amiga development and the ecosystem.

1987–94

Information Provider — CompuServe

Published content and built tools on the early online service.

~1987–90

Amiga: BackTalk, Whap!, AutoPilot

BackTalk — telecom/modem software (with Don Curtis). Whap! — automated CompuServe reader (with Jim Nangano). AutoPilot — more sophisticated version, solo project.

1997–2024

The Corporate Years

From intranet pioneer to lead engineer. Java, enterprise architecture, payment systems, team leadership across industries — energy, finance, aviation, e-commerce.
Web Applications Development Manager — KN Energy
Jan 1997 – Mar 1999 · 2 yrs 3 mos
Denver Metropolitan Area
Built the corporate intranet from scratch — enterprise applications delivered to 3,500 employees across 80+ locations in the U.S. and Mexico. Championed the thin-client model before it was mainstream. Java 1.1, Sybase, Perl, Delphi.
Java 1.1SybasePerlDelphi
Practice Manager — Modis
Mar 1999 – Oct 1999 · 8 mos
Managed the Internet Development and E-Business Applications practice. Client relationships, project delivery, hiring, vendor partnerships.
Technical Project Manager — Arrow Electronics
Oct 1999 – Mar 2003 · 3 yrs 6 mos
Denver Metropolitan Area
Designed and implemented a global intranet spanning 60+ countries. Managed multiple simultaneous projects, mentored development teams, established development methodologies and standards. J2EE/Java, Oracle, application server and CMS research.
J2EE/JavaOracleSourceSafeApplication ServersCMS
Senior Java Developer — InfoFUSION (at Jeppesen)
Oct 2004 – Jun 2007 · 2 yrs 9 mos
Denver Metropolitan Area
Transformed Jeppesen's aeronautical chart delivery from paper publishing to real-time electronic delivery (Aspen project). Also designed GUI and backend services for an Operations Control Center application. Championed agile, continuous integration, and testing.
J2EE/JavaEJBHibernateOracleWeblogicSOAP/WSDLJBossStrutsAJAX
Senior Java Developer — Aurora Loan Services / Lehman Brothers
2007 – Mar 2008 · 1 yr 3 mos
Automated Underwriting team — maintained and extended the Eligibility and Presentation services for mortgage automated eligibility, pricing, and product identification. Championed agile, CI, and continuous testing.
J2EE/JavaHibernateOracleWeblogicJMS/TibcoXSLTJrules
Senior Java Developer/Analyst — Charles Schwab
Mar 2008 – Nov 2008 · 9 mos
Equity Operations and Equity Award Center systems. Prototype development of new consumer-facing products using latest Java technologies.
Java 6Spring 2.5JPA/HibernateStruts 2DojoWebsphere
Senior Java Developer / Team Lead / Product Manager — Etilize
Dec 2008 – Dec 2009 · 1 yr 1 mo
Denver Metropolitan Area
Defined product requirements, managed development and delivery, managed product roadmaps and life-cycles. Managed technical relationship with strategic customers including SP Richards and Acer.
Senior Java Developer — Elavon
Nov 2009 – Oct 2011 · 2 yrs
Denver Metropolitan Area
Developer on the Fusebox hosted payment gateway. GWT, GXT, Spring, Hibernate, and various Java technologies.
GWTGXTSpringHibernate
Senior Java Developer — Canoe Ventures
Oct 2011 – Apr 2012 · 7 mos
Englewood, CO
Implemented SCTE specifications for SOAP WebServices for Video on Demand and Dynamic Ad Insertion systems.
JavaHibernateSpringCXFGroovy/GrailsGit
Senior Java Engineer — Elavon, Inc.
Apr 2012 – Oct 2012 · 7 mos
Englewood, CO
Designed and implemented a Token Vault system for credit card tokenization between merchants and Elavon. Championed open-source agile processes in a mainframe-oriented environment.
JavaSOAP WebServicesJPASpringAOPGWT
Senior Java Engineer — ePlan Services, Inc.
Oct 2012 – Jul 2013 · 10 mos
Denver Metropolitan Area
Built custom 401k platform enabling small companies to offer retirement plans. Agile/Scrum team releasing every two weeks. All tiers from UI to database.
JavaSpringVelocityHibernateOracle
Tech Lead / Scrum Master / Developer — KillerIT
Jul 2013 – Apr 2015 · 1 yr 10 mos
Denver Metropolitan Area
Led an outsourced agile team in India — wearer of many hats: team lead, architect, developer, scrum master. Built a business analytics tool.
JavaSpringHibernateOracleAngularJSNode.jsGit
Senior Java Developer — Six Actual
May 2015 – May 2016 · 1 yr 1 mo
Virtual Office · Denver, CO
Enterprise Java development for the defense and aerospace sector. Built and maintained backend services, ETL pipelines, and data processing systems for mission-critical applications.
JavaSpringSQLETL
Lead Software Engineer — ACT
Jun 2016 – Sep 2024 · 8 yrs 4 mos
Denver Metropolitan Area
Lead a team of developers building a Content Delivery Environment for the education sector. Full-stack enterprise engineering across the entire stack — from high-availability APIs and microservices to responsive front-end applications handling millions of student interactions. Drove architecture decisions, mentored junior engineers, and championed modern CI/CD and testing practices in a legacy-oriented organization.
Spring 5.xSpring Boot 2.2.xMySQLJava 14Angular 2.xReactTypeScriptCI/CD
2023–Present

The Modern Chapter

Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer — HighRQ
Jun 2023 – Present · 3 yrs
Littleton, Colorado · Remote
Co-founded with Dr. Steven Griggs — a relationship rekindled 55 years after meeting in Lemoore, California in 1969. Together they built highrq.com, an AI-powered platform that measures and improves relationship quotient through scientifically validated assessments and intelligent matching.
Full-stack development of a ~105-page Next.js application with products spanning $9.95–$349: Relationship Quotient assessment, couple matching, premium reports, practitioner tools, and AI-driven content. Everything from database schema design (Prisma + Neon/Postgres) to authentication (Auth.js), Stripe payments, real-time messaging, and advanced matching algorithms.
TypeScriptNext.jsReactPrismaNeonPostgresAuth.jsStripeAIVercel

Currently building: HighRQ — measuring and improving relationship intelligence through AI-powered assessment and matching. After 40+ years across the stack — from 6502 assembly to large language models — still writing code every day from Littleton, Colorado. When not shipping features, you'll find him at a Colorado Avalanche game or playing authentic Delta blues guitar.