Custom software development and AI automation for small businesses that need systems they can trust.
Butler Software Labs helps Pasadena and remote teams replace manual work, brittle legacy systems, and disconnected tools with reliable software, workflow automation, and practical AI systems.
Who We Help
- Small businesses buried in spreadsheets, email, and copy-paste work
- Operations teams that need dependable software integrations, not experiments
- Founder-led teams that have outgrown brittle internal tools
- Businesses evaluating AI automation and wanting something practical, not hype
If your business is losing time to manual workflows, disconnected systems, or software nobody trusts, we can help.
Custom Software Development, AI Automation, and Systems Integration
Custom software that fits the way you work
- Internal tools and dashboards
- Integrations between existing systems
- Modernization of legacy or brittle codebases
- Clean, maintainable systems built to last
AI automation that removes busywork
- Task automation using AI agents
- Internal assistants for operations, support, or data workflows
- AI-powered document, email, and data processing
- Human-in-the-loop systems that stay understandable
Workflow and systems design that scales
- Mapping and simplifying business processes
- Reducing manual work and operational drag
- Choosing the right tools (and avoiding the wrong ones)
- Designing systems that scale without growing headcount
Who You're Working With
Butler Software Labs is led by David Butler, a senior software engineer and engineering leader with nearly two decades of experience building and scaling production systems.
Before founding Butler Software Labs, David spent over seven years at Indeed, most recently as a Principal Software Engineer, working on large-scale systems at the intersection of software, machine learning, and AI. His work included:
- • Designing and leading early production use cases for large language models
- • Building configurable, scalable LLM platforms used across multiple product surfaces
- • Improving developer productivity and cross-team collaboration
- • Architecting systems intended to evolve safely over time — not just ship quickly
Earlier in his career, David held senior engineering and leadership roles at companies including Spokeo, Levo, ZestFinance, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he worked on mission-critical systems supporting projects such as the Mars Science Laboratory.
Across startups, large companies, and research institutions, the through-line of his work has been consistent: solve real problems, design for clarity, and build systems that teams can trust.
David holds a B.S. in Physics from UCLA, with a minor in Philosophy, a background that strongly influences his approach to system design — emphasizing modeling, tradeoffs, and clear reasoning.
He lives in Pasadena, California, and works with clients in-person and remotely.
For more about David's professional background, see his LinkedIn profile.
What Working Together Looks Like
Discovery
Short conversation to understand your needs and current challenges
Proposal
Clear scope, timeline, and tradeoffs — no surprises
Delivery
Iterative work with regular check-ins and demos
Handoff
Clean documentation and knowledge transfer
We start with your business, not the technology. No hype. No black boxes.
We offer project-based work and ongoing advisory support.
What Our Clients Say
I am extremely grateful for all the guidance and knowledge that David has shared with me. He has taken keen interest in ensuring the growth of his team with efforts such as organizing weekly technical discussions, pair programming, career counseling and a lot more. His enthusiasm and energy to deliver high quality, efficient and scalable products is simply awesome and very inspiring to me. He is also a very creative and proactive problem solver.
Asma Tameem
Senior Engineering Manager, Amazon
David is one of the best software architects I know and is great at managing teams of developers. His vast knowledge of so many different technologies and frameworks makes him great at building large systems and choosing the right tools for the job. His best quality is having very well thought out opinions on structuring code, but being able to understand opposing view points and make the best decision even if the idea was not his.
Danny Banks
Principal Design Engineer, Ex-Amazon
I worked closely with David for 1.5 years, and he was a thoughtful, highly reliable engineering partner. He brings a strong architectural mindset, with deep care for code quality, maintainability, and long-term system health. David consistently ensured that development decisions were grounded in present needs while deliberately shaping code structure and contracts to support future evolution, often guiding other engineers through forward-looking technical discussions.
Horatio Lun
Product Management Lead, Ex-Indeed, Ex-Google, Ex-Adidas
Let's Talk
Ready to stop fighting your tools and start making progress? Let's have a conversation about what's not working and what could be.
Book a free intro call, fill out our contact form, or email us at hello@butlersoftwarelabs.com.
About Butler Software Labs
Butler Software Labs is a Pasadena software consultancy that helps small and mid-sized businesses build reliable software, streamline operations, and apply AI automation where it genuinely helps.
We work with teams that are feeling friction: manual processes that don't scale, software that's brittle or hard to change, and tools that promised leverage but delivered complexity instead.
Typical engagements include custom internal tools, workflow automation, system integrations, legacy modernization, and AI-assisted back-office processes that save time without creating new operational risk.
Our focus is practical and grounded. We design and build systems that:
- • Reduce real operational burden
- • Stay understandable to the people who use them
- • Age well as the business grows
- • Avoid unnecessary complexity and vendor lock-in
AI and automation are part of the toolbox, but never the starting point. We begin with how your business actually works, then apply technology thoughtfully to support it.
Butler Software Labs is intentionally small, senior-led, and hands-on. Engagements are focused, collaborative, and built around long-term outcomes rather than short-term demos.
We work with clients in Pasadena, across Los Angeles, and remotely throughout the United States.
Ready to Get Started?
If you want to talk through your project, workflow, or automation goals, we can start with a simple conversation.