Backend systems | APIs | integrations

I build the backend parts people count on.

I'm a senior backend engineer with 13+ years building services, APIs, and data-heavy systems. Most of my recent work is Java, Spring Boot, and SQL, shipped with Kubernetes, Helm, Azure DevOps, and GitLab CI/CD. I like taking messy systems and making them clearer, safer, and easier for the next team to own.

Email me See the work Tech stack
13+ years Backend services, APIs, and system cleanup.
Java / SQL APIs, relational models, and correctness.
Kubernetes Docker, Helm, deployments, and release automation.
Regulated work Banks, credit unions, government contracts, and school districts.

01 / About

Practical backend work.

I usually work where product asks, external systems, security needs, and production reality all collide. I help clean up the rough edges and turn them into clear services, better APIs, and stable releases.

I build backend services that behave in production. I also like cleanup work: untangling old flows, clarifying ownership, and making the rules easier to follow.

Lately that has meant a lot of Java, Spring Boot, and SQL, plus containers, CI/CD, and release work.

I also spend plenty of time with product, sales, and leadership, because the best bugs are the ones you avoid in planning.

  • Own the work from design through delivery: planning, implementation, testing, logs, and docs included.
  • Automate the boring stuff: CI/CD, tests, scripts, and little tools that save time.
  • Write things down so the next person, often me, is not guessing.
  • Comfortable in regulated spaces: banks, credit unions, government contracts, FAFSA-style workflows, and public schools.

02 / Skills

Tools and technologies.

The stack changes by project. These are the tools I have used in real production work.

Languages

Java SQL C# Python JavaScript C++ PHP

Backend systems

Spring Boot REST APIs OpenAPI / Swagger microservices idempotency retries / backoff error models request correlation

Data

relational modeling transactions data integrity performance-minded SQL MySQL caching concepts

Platform

Docker Kubernetes Helm Azure DevOps GitLab CI/CD Key Vault App Services Git Linux / Windows fundamentals

Delivery, AI, and tooling

Agile / Scrum Jira Confluence code reviews documentation OpenAI API integration agent-assisted coding (Claude) VectorDB / RAG OpenCV

Currently ramping

AWS React Terraform

03 / Career highlights

A few projects that explain how I work.

Company names omitted. Most of this work involved APIs, data boundaries, vendor systems, shared standards, and release follow-through.

regulated

Kubernetes-native integration services

Java | Spring Boot | SQL Docker -> Kubernetes | Helm CI/CD | secrets management
  • Built Spring Boot services that connected internal systems with third-party providers.
  • Added C# adapters for existing .NET workloads so teams could modernize without breaking consumers.
  • Handled the regulated-environment basics: least privilege, vault-backed secrets, audit-friendly changes, and runbooks.
  • Integrated external APIs, including LLM APIs when they helped, with logging and clean failure paths.
Kubernetes Helm vendor integrations regulated
platform

Making microservices work together at a national bank

platform standards shared libraries cross-service workflows
  • Defined OpenAPI contracts and conventions so teams could ship without stepping on each other.
  • Helped build shared libraries for auth, correlation IDs, retries, idempotency, and error models.
  • Made service-to-service calls, logging, and API standards easier to follow.
  • Improved monitoring, runbooks, and release follow-through for production systems.
OpenAPI service contracts shared libraries idempotency
LLM

LLM integrations for internal workflows

LLM APIs summarization context retrieval
  • Integrated hosted LLM APIs where they made real workflows faster.
  • Used vector search and RAG when the context was too big for one request.
  • Kept the boring parts covered: logs, traceability, and clean failure modes.
OpenAI VectorDB RAG
retail

Retail barcode scanning app and lightweight CMS

C++ | SQL barcode scanning REST | JavaScript UI
  • Built a C++ retail app and lightweight CMS with barcode scanning.
  • Shipped inventory/catalog workflows, reporting, hardware integration, REST endpoints, and SQL storage.
C++ hardware integration SQL REST
integration

Device data integration web app

PHP | MySQL REST device data integration
  • Worked on a PHP/MySQL web app that exposed test-equipment data to a mobile client.
  • Early career reps with APIs, device data, and shipping with a team.
PHP MySQL integration

04 / Personal projects

Personal projects.

A few things I built outside the day job: a first business, computer vision, automated reports, transcription, summaries, and RAG.

OfficiallyAwesome.com

Inspired by the Million Dollar Homepage. Instead of buying pixels, you paid $5 to be "Officially Awesome." Goal: $1,000,000. Actual revenue: $10. Thanks, Mom and Dad.

  • Built the directory, a small admin flow, and the hosting setup.
  • Learned the useful hard stuff: ship it, show people, adjust.

ACT practice test scorer

Built the system that scores our scanned bubble sheets, stores results, and sends student-ready reports. It is still running in my ACT/SAT prep business.

Sample ACT math question
test content
  • Made the bubble sheet layout myself in Word/Paint, very high tech.
  • Used C++ and OpenCV to detect answers by region darkness.
  • Posted results to a Symfony service and generated HTML reports.
  • Rendered PDFs and emailed results automatically.
  • Still powered by the same ScanSnap scanner.
ACT practice site

Sidekick

Built a meeting note taker: upload audio, transcribe it, summarize it, and pull out structured notes.

Sidekick assistant character
sidekick
  • Java services for ingest, transcription, summarization, and delivery.
  • Used OpenAI APIs for transcription and summaries.
  • Used VectorDB/RAG patterns for transcripts that were too long for one prompt.

05 / More context

Business and education.

Running a real business has made me a better engineer. People notice when the system breaks.

ACT/SAT Prep business

I've run an ACT/SAT prep business for 10+ years, helping 1,000+ students every year. I also built the internal software we use to score tests and send results.

entrepreneurship automation student reports

Education

University of St. Thomas
St. Paul, Minnesota
B.S. in Computer Science, 2013

Want to talk?

Email is fastest. I'm happy to talk about backend roles, service design, vendor integrations, SQL-backed APIs, or production problems.

[email protected] (612) 432-8980