Ian Cavanaugh

Systems over
spreadsheets.

Sales engineer turned systems designer — I build the tools that make complex workflows predictable.

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Browser Tool

On-Screen Takeoff Tool

A browser-based measurement tool for reading HVAC floor plans. Custom canvas engine for drawing and scaling duct runs; AWS backend for auth, storage, and persistence.

Canvas API AWS Cognito DynamoDB Vanilla JS
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Estimating Pipeline

Three-layer automation replacing a manual estimating workflow: takeoff ingestion, a Python pricing engine, and a browser-based proposal dashboard. Coverage grew from 14% to 56% of jobs.

Python PowerShell AWS S3 SQLite
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VBA → Python Modernization

Years maintaining production VBA tools, then leading the migration to Python. A case study in understanding legacy systems from the inside before designing what replaces them.

VBA Python Legacy Systems
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About

My career sits at the intersection of technical sales and software architecture — a position I've occupied long enough to understand why the gap between those two disciplines keeps creating problems.

The pattern I keep returning to: find the workflow held together with Word documents and institutional memory, then design the system that should replace it.

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