At Rōnin Consulting, we value people who bring more than technical skills. We’re talking curiosity, grit, perspective, and a few great stories. That’s precisely what you get with Charles Lueker, a senior software developer whose path has taken him from Army bands and Air Force hospitals to software engineering in Nashville.
In this conversation, Charles opens up about his winding journey into tech, the challenges he loves tackling at Rōnin, and why he won’t waste his time working with people who don’t respect the craft—or the person doing it.
Finding the right fit
When Charles was job hunting in 2021, he wasn’t hurting for offers. “I had three job offers in the same week, one was Rōnin and the other two were from Fortune 500 companies,” he recalls. But he chose Rōnin for reasons that went beyond salary or status. “I liked the people. It was a smaller team, local to where I lived, and the work struck the right balance of what I already knew and what I wanted to learn.”
Nearly four years later, he hasn’t looked back.
The military mindset meets modern dev
Before Rōnin, and even before coding, Charles spent 12½ years active duty in the Air Force as a hospital administration officer, overseeing everything from clinics to aeromedical evacuations. His career started in the Army Band, where he played trumpet up and down the West Coast and even toured internationally.
That military background taught him much about pressure, systems, and mission-critical work. But it also left him craving more flexibility. “I didn’t want to do 20 years in the service, and then hit 47 and suddenly try to start a new career,” he says. “So, I planned my pivot early.”
That pivot? Learning to code. He attended a boot camp, moved to Nashville for tech and music, and built a second career.
Learning by doing (and asking for help)
One of the reasons Charles chose Rōnin was to stretch his skill set. “When I started, I couldn’t write a SQL query to save my life,” he admits. “Now I’m writing them daily.”
For him, a considerable part of that growth came from Rōnin’s collaborative culture. “There’s no ego here. If you don’t know something, someone will hop on a call and walk you through it. I’ve learned so much just by asking questions and being surrounded by people who are generous with their knowledge.”
Complex projects, clear impact
One of Charles’s most memorable challenges? Learning the ins and outs of Azure DevOps for a client in the fintech space. “It was painful at first,” he laughs. “I even took a certification course. But now, I get it. I understand how the parts fit together—and I can help others get there too.”
The current project he’s working on involves everything from Angular and C# to SQL and cloud integrations. “The tech stack is wide. And the hardest part usually isn’t the code…it’s decoding tickets and figuring out what the business really wants.”
AI, Copilot, and what’s next
Charles isn’t shy about the future of tech, and he’s already hands-on with AI tools like GitHub Copilot. “I use it almost every day,” he says, “it helps with everything from reformatting files to rewriting complex queries. It’s like having a second brain that never gets tired.”
He also worked briefly on Rōnin’s internal AI projects and took an AI course from UT Austin tailored to technical managers. His view? “The tech is there, but what’s holding it back is trust. Once industries like finance and healthcare feel secure with AI’s guardrails, it’s going to explode.”
Beyond the keyboard
When he’s not solving problems with code, Charles raises a four-year-old son, serves in the Air Force Reserves, and plays music when time and health allow. A trained musician with a degree in music performance, he’s played guitar, bass, trumpet, and fiddle in bars from Austin to Nashville. He even tried forming a new band, but life had other plans.
“Music is still a part of me,” he shares, “but these days, I focus on work that matters, people I respect, and spending time with my family.”
Want to hear more stories from the Rōnin team? Stay tuned for the next Talk to a Rōnin!
Interested in joining us? We’re always on the lookout for talented folks. Check out our open roles and see if there’s a fit!
