Hi there, my name is
Radison Akerman.
I lead and build exceptional software experiences. Currently, I'm responsible for all software initiatives at Vista Power (YC W24) and Section Leading Stanford's Code in Place. Previously at SpaceX.
01. About
Relentlessly radical.
High impact, high quality. I'm constantly exploring new ideas, technologies, and methods to create software that genuinely moves the needle.

Hey there! I'm Radison, a software engineer obsessed with building and leading quality software products. My interest in digital technology started back in middle school when I tinkered with microcontrollers and competed in FIRST LEGO League competitions — it turns out you can learn a lot from bits of plastic and expensive servos.

I've worked across industries including commercial clean energy, spacecraft manufacturing, tech consulting, university administration, political campaigns, enterprise security systems, film + television production, and athletic special events. Through each experience, I've proven I can adapt quickly to new challenges, be industry agnostic, and deliver exceptional software.

Nowadays, I lead all software engineering efforts at Vista Power. We deliver clean energy as a service for commercial, industrial, and municipal facilities at low or no upfront cost, powered by safe, modular, and cost-effective solar power and battery energy storage. We're moving incredibly fast and dangerously talent-dense (entire leadership team is ex-SpaceX).

In 2024, I graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago with a degree in Computer Science and Business. During my time at UIC, I project-managed and worked directly with 8+ software developers under the College of Engineering. Together we developed and shipped over 10 full-stack web applications used by 1000s on campus. I was also a member of the UIC SAE Formula E team.

In 2023, I was a Software Engineering Intern on the Starship Software team at SpaceX! I demonstrated leadership and technical excellence by owning a critical flight reliability tool used to validate over 1,000,000 spacecraft configuration values.

Making an impact is part of my DNA, especially with personal projects. I've given 3 distinct guest lectures at UIC and 1 lecture internally at SpaceX about Exploding Chickens — a popular web-based card game I built with my friends during COVID-19 (with over 1,500 games played). We dove deep into project management, design patterns, test coverage, browser architecture, and software engineering basics.

Exploding Chickens fanned the flames and acted as a springboard for both my professional skills and future projects. I now lead Radical Platforms, a small group of highly motivated software engineers, project managers, and creatives developing incredible software products.

In my spare time, I love to build things with my hands (woodworking, small electronics), volunteer in the community (Stanford's Code in Place, UIC Cities Project), and compete in endurance multisport events.

02. Experience
Redefining full-stack.
Technical depth, and breadth. I'm obsessed with building true end-to-end technical infrastructure and user interfaces.
Technical Leadership
Proven ability to lead software initiatives from concept to launch with strategic, technical, and product-driven clarity.
User Interfaces & Experiences
I eat pain points for breakfast. Obsessive about design details, user flow, and "wow, they thought of everything" moments.
APIs & Data Systems
Experience building composable services and data ingestion pipelines that serve critical environments.
Platform Infrastructure
Expertise in designing scalable, cloud-native architecture that is automated, modular, and built for developer velocity.
Computer Engineering
I've designed and fabricated complete products. Self-taught in microcontrollers, CAD, 3D printing, and PCB design.
On a quest for quality. I thrive in fast-moving, early-stage teams where the pressure's real and the product matters. I bring contagious energy, craft under constraint, and the kind of care that shows up in the edge cases.
Vista Power LogoSpaceX LogoUniversity of Illinois Chicago Logo
03. Projects
Projects make perfect.
From prototype to powerhouse. Every project serves as a foundational learning experience, yielding pixel-perfect applications that solve real problems.
Exploding Chickens screenshot
Personal Project
Exploding Chickens
A beautiful, online alternative to the popular Exploding Kittens card game. Built on Node.js with nearly 1750+ games played by 600+ players, led development and a team of 5.
Node.js
MongoDB
Mocha
Handlebars
Vue
Tailwinds
Auth0
Stripe
Steven Olikara Website screenshot
Pulqra
Steven Olikara Website
A foundational website supporting Steven Olikara's 2022 run for the U.S. Senate in Wisconsin. Completely rebuilt from the ground up with unified colors, textures, and mobile optimizations.
Nuxt
Cloudflare Workers/KV
Tailwinds
Author screenshot
Personal Project
Author
A centralized user management backbone for all RAkerman Foundation services. Instead of manipulating user data on each RF service, Author serves as a "one-stop-shop" for users and RF services.
Nuxt
Cloudflare Workers/KV
Typescript
Tailwinds
Trial by wireframe. These projects weren't assignments — they were love letters to real painpoints I've discovered in my own life.
  • m8
    Alpha
    A media upload, organization, and display tool leveraging Cloudflare Workers
    Nuxt
    Cloudflare Workers/KV
    Typescript
    Tailwinds
  • Mark 4
    A fourth attempt at Radison Akerman's personal website. Notes of programming, cleanliness, and unification
    Nuxt
    Cloudflare Workers/KV
    Tailwinds
  • Informr
    Beta
    A web form submission intermediary leveraging edge cloud compute
    Nuxt
    Cloudflare Workers/KV/R2
    Auth0
    Typescript
    Tailwinds
    Mailgun
  • Pulqra Website
    A minimalist website showcasing Pulqra's vision, product, and collaborations worldwide
    Nuxt
    Cloudflare Workers/KV
    Tailwinds
  • RAkerman Status
    A global fallback web server and status monitor designed to be deployed at scale
    Nuxt
    Cloudflare Workers/KV
    Typescript
    Tailwinds
  • RRATFR Manager
    Archived
    An effort to streamline the organizational efforts of the Rock River Anything That Floats Race
    Node.js
    Express
    MongoDB
    Auth0
    HTML/CSS
  • RAkerman Linker
    Archived
    A simple url shortener that can be deployed in a pinch on Cloudflare Workers + KV
    Nuxt
    Cloudflare Workers/KV
    Typescript
    Tailwinds
  • Vibhav Bansal Website
    Archived
    A razor-sharp business portfolio website for a nationwide leader in Neuroscience
    Nuxt
    Cloudflare Workers/KV
    Tailwinds
  • Passport UIC Shibboleth
    Archived
    A npm package that integrates Shibboleth's SAML SSO with Node.js Express web apps
    Node.js
    Express
    SAML
    Vite
    Tailwinds
  • Mark 3
    Archived
    A third attempt at Radison Akerman's personal website. Notes of blog, professionalism, and classic web design
    Ghost.io
    HTML/CSS
    Webpack
  • Remindcord
    Archived
    A dead-simple, custom Discord bot that sends messages on a defined interval
    Node.js
    Express
    Discord API
  • Homebase
    Archived
    A localized, custom-built home automation platform leveraging IoT devices
    Particle.io
    C++
    Small Electronics
    Autodesk Fusion
    Homebridge
  • PaperMC Manager
    Archived
    A bash script that can manage multiple active papermc instances on Linux using screen and pm2
    Bash
    PM2
  • Particlecord
    Archived
    A Particle.io events recognition filter (specifically for Tracker One) that pushes select updates to the Discord API
    Node.js
    Express
    Particle.io
    Discord API
  • ImpackAI
    Archived
    An inventory management and purchase order platform built for small packaging warehouses
    Node.js
    Express
    MongoDB
    Auth0
    HTML/CSS
  • Mark 2
    Archived
    A second attempt at Radison Akerman's personal website. Notes of photography, one-pagers, and info-dumpage
    Node.js
    Express
    HTML/CSS
  • Particle Pace Clock
    Archived
    A pair of meshed swim pace clocks built using neopixel segments and Particle.io microcontrollers
    Particle.io
    C++
    Small Electronics
    Mesh Networking
  • Mark 1
    Archived
    The first attempt at Radison Akerman's personal website. Notes of 'lil Rad, programming, and paid website templates
    Node.js
    Express
    HTML/CSS
04. Contact
Let's connect.
Drop a line, not a packet. I'm always excited to talk tech, share ideas, or explore potential collaborations.