About Ray

The short version

I'm a geospatial software engineer at the U.S. Geological Survey by day, and I run Ravenwood Software on the side: a solo consultancy that builds map-powered web apps and self-hosted systems for businesses that need reliability, privacy, and performance without paying SaaS markup for the privilege.

I spent several years in the U.S. Army before moving into software, and the discipline stuck. I work in tight loops, document what I build, and treat your infrastructure the way I'd want mine treated.

Why self-hosted

Everything I build runs on infrastructure I control: Docker containers behind Cloudflare tunnels on a Linux VPS, monitored with real alerting and real backups. When the third-party API price goes up or the SaaS platform pivots strategy, you keep the data, the stack, and a predictable hosting bill.

Where I work

I'm based in Soper, Oklahoma, a small town in Choctaw County, about 90 minutes from the Arkansas border. I serve local businesses in southeast Oklahoma and north Texas, plus remote clients across the country. Time-zone friendly for U.S. work; flexible for international.

How I test

The same stack I run for clients runs my own house. New work gets battle-tested on my homelab before it ships to you.

How I build

Visitor-facing tools usually run on Next.js with PostGIS for map data and Docker on a Linux VPS behind Cloudflare. That keeps the stack yours: no surprise platform lock-in, and the parts that matter (maps, data, hosting) stay under your control.