Learn beside the experts.
Shadow mode let the agent run alongside payroll specialists before handling live payroll. Their judgment helped reveal where the system needed to improve.
Hi, I’m Dave.
This is our crew.
Cassie and I are raising Bella, Abbi, and Aidan in Rochester. Three kids, different interests, and usually another project or trip taking shape.
A little of our life together. A little of what I build.
Glad you found your way here.
Our people.
Our story.
There’s more than one story in this family. Cassie’s work in education. The kids finding their own interests. The things we build, the places we go, and the days in between.
This is a place to keep a little of all of it.
A life
together.
A few places.
A lot of memories.
Still curious.
Still hands on.
The lake. Scouting. A ’74 Javelin that keeps me working on a very different kind of system. And a game for Aidan that turned into a project of its own.
Under the hood +
The 1974 AMC Javelin was my dad’s car. We started restoring it together, and we were putting the engine in when he passed away.
I finished it with my close friends Alfie and Marcus. We did all the work ourselves, figured it all out, and got it running.
The 1968 Ford F-250 beside it is Cassie’s. That one is a future project, for Bella and me to take on together.
Orion's Realm
A fantasy math adventure I built for Aidan.
Play the game ↗Big steps.
Shared celebrations.
Different interests. Different next steps. Plenty to celebrate together.
2026This chapter
CassieGrace in the Disarray
Cassie's work as an owner and curriculum developer has its own place in our story. Grace in the Disarray brings her ideas into educational resources for others.
Explore Cassie's resources ↗BellaLooking toward aerospace engineering
College applications and a big next chapter. Bella is exploring engineering, with a particular interest in aerospace. The school decision is still ahead.
AbbiAn early look at law
Abbi is exploring law and diplomacy, including the Supreme Court & My Hometown program.
AidanA new school chapter
A new school chapter, Scouting, basketball, and a learning game we built together.
DaveLeading engineering and technology
Managing Director, Engineering and Technology at Paychex, and a member of the Executive Committee. A responsibility that spans the teams who build, operate, secure, and modernize the company's technology.
Read the professional biography ↗A few earlier chapters
2019
Workforce Game Changer
Named to Workforce's 2019 Game Changers class.
Read the announcement ↗
2017
Aidan’s adoption day
The day Aidan officially became a Wilson, surrounded by the people who supported us.
2017
GREAT Technology Leader
Recognized with the Technology Leader Award at Digital Rochester's GREAT Awards.
Read the award coverage ↗
2015
Rochester Business Journal Forty Under 40
Part of Rochester Business Journal's 2015 class of Forty Under 40.
Read the class profile ↗That same curiosity, at work
It started with a robot.
And a real problem.
17
When I began writing control software for nuclear inspection robots.
My path into technology started with a real machine and a problem that mattered.
That curiosity grew into work across cloud platforms, security, engineering, and the systems people depend on every day.
The scale has changed. The questions still interest me: how does this work, where does it break, and how can we make it better?
The work / Paychex
Technology is personal.
Payroll certainly is.
I lead engineering and technology at Paychex. One of the stories I'm proud to share is how our teams brought agentic AI into payroll, with Bain and OpenAI.
Bain & CompanyIn conversation
Winningwith AI. Watch on Bain
Getting from promising
to dependable.
Greg and I talk about the hard parts: learning alongside payroll specialists, building confidence before going live, and bringing the whole system into production.
The point is better service. Less waiting for clients, and more time for the people who help them.
Watch Bain's introduction on LinkedInWhat it took to make it work
Build beyond the model.
The production pipeline demanded as much attention as tuning the AI. Reliability came from the surrounding engineering and repeated learning.
Explore the documented workflow, the engineering behind it, and the outcomes in Bain’s case study.
Read the case study ↗Say hello.
A question, an idea, or something worth comparing notes on?
I’d be glad to hear from you.
