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Christian Skafte Beck Clausen
Software Engineer (PhD)
Systems & Software Architecture • Software Testing Platforms • Distributed Systems • Co-Simulation
web@skafte.phd
Summary
Software Engineer (PhD) with 10+ years of experience delivering software for energy systems, robotics, enterprise and the public sector. Specialized in building testing platforms to validate critical business logic in realistic environments. Currently architecting a cloud-native simulation platform for agent-based energy systems. Technical leader, mentor, and clear communicator with proven interdisciplinary collaboration across industry and research. Hands-on with backend and platform engineering in Java/Python/C#, CI/CD & containers (GitLab, Docker), event-driven systems (MQTT/NATS), and data/observability (PostgreSQL/MongoDB, InfluxDB, Grafana) on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Professional Experience
Platform Architect / Assistant Professor
November 2025 – Present
SDU Center for Energy Informatics, Odense, Denmark
- Architecting and implementing an innovative software-as-a-service platform for agent-based energy systems, supporting industry and research partners to run scalable simulations, test control strategies, and validate critical business logic.
- Established software design patterns and development best practices for an agent-based simulation framework used by an interdisciplinary research and development engineering team.
PostDoc and PhD Fellow
September 2020 – October 2025
SDU Center for Energy Informatics, Odense, Denmark
- Developed test platforms using software-in-the-loop, co-simulation, and continuous integration to validate critical software and infrastructure while reducing test feedback cycles from weeks to minutes.
- Modernized a legacy Java multi-objective optimization framework with a more modular, testable design, reducing the codebase by 71%, increased test coverage from 3% to 70%, and thereby simplifying long-term maintenance.
- Worked with industry partners and interdisciplinary teams to define requirements and deliver testable software for multi-objective optimization and validation workflows.
- Designed and taught software architecture and object-oriented programming courses, mentored engineers and communicated complex technical concepts clearly.
- Produced technical writing (papers, docs, videos) documenting system designs and contributed to open-source software. Regularly presented these deliverables to international engineering and stakeholder audiences.
Previous Industry Experience (Full-time, Part-time, and Contract)
2010 – 2020
Dania Software A/S • Universal Robots A/S • University of Southern Denmark • Strategirummet.dk
- Developed software solutions across C#, VB.NET, Java, Python, and SQL for robotics, enterprises, Danish ministries, and municipalities.
- Implemented features and resolved defects in a Java-based UI for collaborative robots, and automated documentation workflows integrated into CI/CD pipelines.
- Implemented CI/CD pipelines, Dockerized development workflows, and migrated teams from SVN to a self-hosted GitLab environment.
- Created SQL-based KPI dashboards and automation tools supporting agile development processes and operational reporting.
- Delivered servicedesk and helpdesk support for major enterprise clients (Vestas, Rambøll, TDC, COOP, LIDL, Sitecore), resolving issues across backend systems and maintaining on-premises servers, VMs, and networking infrastructure to ensure reliable operation.
Education
PhD in Software Engineering (Energy Informatics), University of Southern Denmark
2021 – 2025
- Project: “A Software-in-the-loop Testing Framework for Energy Management Systems”
Developed a software-in-the-loop testing framework for energy management systems, integrating structured methodologies, reusable design patterns, and implementation guidelines. The framework was validated through three case studies across different energy domains, demonstrating its generality and practical applicability. This work bridges the gap between validation and verification phases, enabling earlier testing of the real energy management system implementation to enhance reliability and reduce risks of failure.
MSc in Software Engineering, University of Southern Denmark
2019 – 2021
- Project: “Architectural Refinement of a Multi-Objective Multi-Issue Optimization Framework”
This thesis reverse-, re-, and forward-engineered a legacy multi-objective optimization framework to enable modular optimization, evaluation, and decision-making. The redesigned architecture, compatible with multiple object-oriented languages, improved maintainability and modularity. Its effectiveness was demonstrated through a distributed application using a genetic algorithm to minimize energy costs and CO2 emissions in a simulated greenhouse environment.
BSc in Software Engineering, University of Southern Denmark
2016 – 2019
- Project: “Implementing DevOps Practices in a Danish Research Institute with the Action Research Method”
Built CI/CD pipelines and Docker-based deployments for a selection of research projects, integrating organizational analysis and DevOps practices to streamline development across teams in the organization.
Core Skills and Technologies
- Professional Strengths: Technical leadership, mentoring, interdisciplinary collaboration, modernization of legacy systems, clear communication of complex engineering concepts.
- Architecture: Distributed systems, cyber-physical systems, event-driven architecture, modular, maintainable and testable software design.
- Platform Engineering: Agent-based systems, (co-)simulation platforms, software-in-the-loop testing platforms.
- DevOps & Infrastructure: GitLab CI/CD, Docker, automation pipelines using infrastructure-as-code principles, containerized development workflows, Cisco CCNA level computer networking.
- Programming Languages: Java, Python, C#, JavaScript / TypeScript, VB.NET.
- Tools and Technologies: Spring, Maven, JUnit, MQTT, NATS.io, InfluxDB, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Grafana, GitLab, VMware, Linux/Windows/macOS.