Severin Goddon~/severin-goddon
github ↗linkedin ↗branch: main · lang: en
~/severin-goddon/ README.md

Engineering software from application code to production infrastructure.

I'm a software engineer working across fullstack development, cloud-native infrastructure, research software and applied AI. I build reliable applications, operate Kubernetes-based systems, and run AI models and agents on hardware I can inspect end to end.

$ whoami
severin goddon · software engineer · zurich
$ ls ~/work
swisslex/  wsl-research/  local-agents/  local-rag/
# also studying: CAS in artificial intelligence
Portrait of Severin Goddon

Severin Goddon

Software Engineer at Swisslex

Zurich, Switzerland

Properties
location
Zurich, CH
focus
software · platform · ai
also
research software, WSL
studying
CAS AI · 2026
languages
de · en · fr
~/severin-goddon/ expertise.md

Expertise

Three areas, each demonstrated through my professional work and independent projects.

application/

Application engineering

Business applications with clean APIs and interfaces people use every day.

  • C# / .NET
  • Java · Spring Boot
  • Angular · TypeScript
  • Python · FastAPI
  • SQL Server · PostgreSQL
platform/

Platform engineering

Running software reliably once it leaves the repository.

  • Kubernetes · Helm
  • Argo CD · GitOps
  • GitLab CI/CD · Docker
  • Prometheus · Grafana · Loki
  • Proxmox · Talos Linux
ai/

AI engineering

Local inference, retrieval, agents and research models, with attention to isolation.

  • PyTorch · deep learning
  • vLLM · open-weight models
  • RAG · bge-m3 · ChromaDB
  • Coding agents · Pi
  • NVIDIA OpenShell · Landlock
~/severin-goddon/ current-work /

Current work & projects

Two professional roles and two independent projects. Each entry says which one it is.

swisslex.mdProfessionalSwisslex AG

Fullstack and platform engineering

At Swisslex I own features of the Swisslex platform end to end: business logic and APIs in C#/.NET, user interfaces in Angular and TypeScript, deployment and operations. Architecture discussions and code reviews are part of the daily work.

I also work on the platform those applications run on: Kubernetes with GitOps-based delivery through Helm and Argo CD, CI/CD automation in GitLab, an observability stack built on Prometheus, Grafana and Loki, and troubleshooting in distributed environments. I also drive technology evaluations for the platform, weighing options against our operational requirements and turning the results into recommendations the team can act on.

Coding agents are part of my workflow for refactoring, infrastructure work and debugging across repositories. Technical judgement, code review and hands-on debugging stay with me.

  • C# / .NET
  • Angular
  • TypeScript
  • SQL Server
  • Kubernetes
  • Helm
  • Argo CD
  • GitLab CI
  • Prometheus
  • Grafana
  • Loki

// Generic illustration. Internal systems are not described here.

  1. code
    • Gitapplication code and Helm charts
  2. build
    • GitLab CItests and container images
  3. deploy
    • Argo CDsyncs the state in Git to the cluster
  4. run
    • KubernetesAPIs, frontends and background jobs
  5. monitor
    • Prometheus · Loki · Grafanametrics, logs, dashboards and alerts
fig. 01 · From commit to production on Kubernetes

wsl-research.mdProfessional · part-timeWSL

Research software for quantitative wood anatomy

At the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL I develop ROXAS AI, an open-source napari plugin for quantitative wood anatomy. It detects tree rings and wood cells in microscopy images with deep learning, measures traits such as lumen area, cell wall thickness and ring width, and turns them into research-ready datasets for climate and forest research.

My work covers the segmentation of cells and ring boundaries, interactive manual editing of the results, crossdating, measurements, GPU support across CUDA, Apple Silicon and Intel GPUs, and the user documentation. The plugin is in active development and not yet officially released.

  • Python
  • napari
  • PyTorch
  • CUDA · MPS · XPU
  • NumPy
  • pytest
  1. input
    • Microscope imagesthin cross-sections of wood
  2. detect
    • Deep learning modelsPyTorch finds tree rings and individual cells
  3. review
    • napariresearchers check and correct the results
  4. measure
    • Measurementscell size, wall thickness, ring width
  5. output
    • Research datadatasets for climate and forest research
fig. 02 · From microscope image to research data

local-agents.mdIndependent · CAS projectpidev

Local AI and sandboxed coding agents

pidev runs a coding agent inside an NVIDIA OpenShell sandbox on a Mac, backed by a model served with vLLM on an NVIDIA DGX Spark. One command per project, and the agent only ever sees that project folder.

Landlock restricts the file system, a per-binary network policy controls outbound traffic, and Git tokens never enter the sandbox. Custom TypeScript tools extend the agent; web access runs through a self-hosted SearXNG and fetch service with an SSRF guard, and a persistent memory service combines semantic (bge-m3) and full-text search.

  • DGX Spark
  • vLLM
  • Qwen
  • OpenShell
  • Landlock
  • TypeScript
  • Python
  • Docker
  1. project
    • Project folderthe only files the agent can see
  2. isolate
    • OpenShell sandboxrestricted files and network, deleted on exit
  3. think
    • Local modelQwen on vLLM, running on a DGX Spark
  4. tools
    • Web search and memoryself-hosted services, no credentials inside
  5. result
    • Code changesback in the project folder for review
fig. 03 · A local coding agent that stays inside its sandbox

local-rag.mdIndependentGoddoniWiki

Retrieval-augmented generation on local hardware

GoddoniWiki answers questions against my own Obsidian notes without any cloud service: bge-m3 embeddings, a ChromaDB index, Qwen3-14B on vLLM and an Angular front end that streams the answer and shows its sources.

A second setup exposes the same kind of index to an agent through an MCP server, which let me compare a fixed retrieval pipeline with retrieval the agent decides on itself.

  • Python
  • FastAPI
  • ChromaDB
  • bge-m3
  • vLLM
  • MCP
  • Angular
  1. notes
    • Obsidian vaultpersonal Markdown notes
  2. index
    • bge-m3 + ChromaDBnotes turned into searchable vectors
  3. retrieve
    • Similarity searchfinds the five most relevant passages
  4. answer
    • Qwen3-14B on vLLMwrites an answer from those passages
  5. show
    • Angular UIstreams the answer with its sources
fig. 04 · Answers from my own notes, without the cloud
~/severin-goddon/ positions.md

Job positions

Professional software engineering since 2019.

  1. Oct 2024 – presentcurrent

    Software Engineer

    Swisslex AG · Zurich

    I own features of the Swisslex platform end to end in C#/.NET, Angular and TypeScript, from APIs to the user interface, and work across Microsoft SQL Server, LLM integration, Kubernetes, GitOps and GitLab CI/CD.

    • Preview environments per merge request Testing a change in a real Kubernetes environment used to mean merging it first. I built a GitLab CI/CD flow where labelling a merge request "preview" deploys exactly that state to the dev cluster, and removes it again automatically when the merge request is closed. The team now uses it heavily to test and review changes before they are merged.
    • Production observability Some errors in the .NET backend only appeared in production and took long to track down. I built a set of Grafana dashboards covering everything from .NET runtime and API metrics to logs, frontend monitoring and cluster resources, plus one overview that brings them together. We now see the health of the whole application live and find production errors far faster.
    • Single sign-on for customers I took sole ownership of the OpenID Connect single sign-on integration, from implementation to production. Customers who opt in now sign in to Swisslex seamlessly with their organisation's own login.
  2. Jan 2026 – presentcurrent

    Senior Software Engineer, Research & Development

    WSL · Birmensdorf / remote · part-time

    I develop ROXAS AI, an open-source napari plugin that applies deep learning to quantitative wood anatomy: Python and PyTorch workflows that detect tree rings and wood cells and turn measurements into research datasets.

    • Technical lead I take full technical ownership of the project, including software architecture, technology selection, and the definition of engineering standards.
  3. Oct 2023 – Oct 2024

    Software Engineer

    Business Solution Group · Zurich

    Fullstack software with Java, Spring and Angular. I built prototypes for project proposals and contributed to requirements engineering.

  4. Aug 2019 – Jul 2023

    Software Engineer

    Federal Office of Information Technology (FOITT) · Bern · part-time

    Built and modernised business applications with Java/Spring Boot, Angular, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Docker and Python, including database design, authentication and security. Contributed to requirements engineering, Scrum and Kanban delivery, and mentoring junior developers.

~/severin-goddon/ personal-projects / workbench.md

Personal projects

Personal side projects, built in my free time. Most started out of curiosity or to solve a small problem at home, and they are where I try out new tools before I need them at work.

  • Homelab Kubernetes

    Type: infra

    Talos Linux on Proxmox, a local container registry and an Argo CD app-of-apps setup with Grafana.

    Stack: proxmox · talos · argo cd
  • SparkVision

    Type: vision

    Real-time object detection split across two devices: a Raspberry Pi streams camera frames over ZeroMQ to a DGX Spark running YOLO11-X on the GPU. Only the bounding boxes travel back, so the video stays smooth on the Pi.

    Stack: python · zeromq · yolo11 · raspberry pi
  • Spark Chat

    Type: tooling

    A browser console for the DGX Spark: chat, FLUX images via ComfyUI, telemetry, model start and stop.

    Stack: angular · vllm · comfyui
  • GoddoniTracker

    Type: ios

    A personal expense tracker: SwiftUI app with budgets, projections and multi-currency, backed by a FastAPI service with Google sign-in, self-hosted on a Raspberry Pi.

    Stack: swiftui · fastapi · docker · ansible
  • FlightTrain

    Type: ios

    A SwiftUI app for my pilot training: ICAO alphabet and callsign drills, a listening mode that reads callsigns at radio speed, flashcards for practising with a partner, and more repetition for the letters I get wrong.

    Stack: swiftui · swiftdata · avspeechsynthesizer
  • Departure board

    Type: hardware

    A tram departure board for the hallway, modelled on the ones at Zurich stops: live departures with delays and cancellations, physical buttons to switch direction, and a motion sensor that turns the screen on only when someone walks by.

    Stack: python · raspberry pi · gpio · tkinter
  • Cat Feeder Hub

    Type: home

    A web app for our two smart cat feeders: feeding plans, skipping or adding a meal, a log of what was actually dispensed, food costs and a reminder when it is time to reorder.

    Stack: angular · fastapi · tinytuya · raspberry pi
  • Flight radar

    Type: hardware

    A Raspberry Pi desk gadget that draws aircraft nearby on a rotating radar sweep.

    Stack: python · pygame
~/severin-goddon/ about.md

About

I enjoy working across the boundaries of application development, infrastructure and emerging AI systems.

I care about how software behaves beyond the codebase: how it is deployed, observed, secured and improved in practice. I learn best by building, investigating problems and understanding how the pieces fit together. At home that means a small Kubernetes cluster, a DGX Spark and a steady supply of Raspberry Pis.

German (native), English and French (full professional).

Since May 2026 I've been training for my private pilot licence (PPL), flying through the whole summer, and I'm now approaching my first solo flight. Naturally, I also built an app to practise radio callsigns.

Off the clock: strength training and calisthenics, surfing, travel, photography, and building my own campervan. At home I'm outnumbered by three cats, Artemis, Orion and Apollon, who are also the most demanding users of my self-built cat-feeder app.

  • Severin Goddon with a headset in the cockpit of a small aircraft, flying over the mountains
    Training flight
  • Artemis, a grey cat, sitting in the evening sun
    Artemis
  • Apollon and Orion, two grey cats, looking up side by side
    Apollon & Orion

Education

  • 2026 · in progressCAS in Artificial Intelligence
  • Aug 2019 – Jul 2023BSc in Computer ScienceSwiss Distance University of Applied Sciences (FFHS)
  • Aug 2013 – Jul 2017MaturaKantonsschule Zürich Nord

Certifications

  • Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I)
  • iSAQB Certified Professional for Software Architecture – Foundation Level
  • IREB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering – RE@Agile Primer
~/severin-goddon/ contact.md

Let's connect.

Interested in software engineering, cloud-native systems or applied AI? Find me on LinkedIn or GitHub, or write me an email.

Zurich, Switzerland

© 2026 Severin GoddonZurich, Switzerland · built with Angular · anonymous visitor stats, no cookies
Portrait of Severin Goddon

Severin Goddon

Software Engineer at Swisslex

Zurich, Switzerland

Properties
location
Zurich, CH
focus
software · platform · ai
also
research software, WSL
studying
CAS AI · 2026
languages
de · en · fr