About

Joe Curlee is a software engineer in Colorado with more than 20 years of experience building web applications, desktop software, internal tools, and interactive projects.

What I do

My work sits at the intersection of product engineering, tooling, and independent software projects. I have worked across healthcare, e-commerce, analytics, and games, in roles ranging from individual contributor to engineering leadership.

I care most about building software that is useful, maintainable, and thoughtfully designed. My background also includes graphic design coursework, which still shows up in how I think about interfaces, product feel, and the overall shape of a tool. That includes production web applications, custom internal systems, desktop AI tools, and smaller experimental projects that let me explore new ideas quickly.

Selected work

Some of the work I am most comfortable pointing people to includes AI Runner, an open source desktop application for running local AI models; Cowboy Casino, an indie retro-styled game built from the ground up; and a long body of professional engineering work spanning team leadership, architecture, and hands-on delivery.

AI Runner

Open-source desktop software for local AI workflows, chat, voice, and image generation.

View project details

Cowboy Casino

A commercial indie game built end to end, including code, UI, art, music, and release work.

Browse selected projects

Professional Work

Hands-on engineering and leadership across healthcare, SaaS, integrations, and product delivery.

Review roles and experience

If you want more detail, you can browse my projects, professional roles, selected client work, and writing.

Writing

I keep a small writing section on the site for essays and fiction that matter to me, even when they are not directly related to software work. That includes short stories such as Endless Silence and longer-form essays such as The Consciousness Gradient: Qualia, Integration, and the Emergence of Intelligence.

Endless Silence

A short post-apocalyptic story about autonomous systems, ruin, and a world that outlives its makers.

Read on this site

The Consciousness Gradient

An essay on qualia, integration, and the emergence of intelligence.

Read on Zenodo

Elsewhere

You can find my code, projects, and profiles on GitHub, YouTube, Bluesky, Hugging Face, itch.io, and elsewhere on the web via the links page.