🟢 Open to Senior level roles

Makesi Hamilton

Software Developer

Turning problems into production-grade solutions that teams actually want to maintain.

Experience

Each role includes queryable AI context—the real story behind the bullet points.

Systems / Web Application Engineer — Georgia Tech (EE Department)

March 2024 – Present

Resume summary context: Migrated mission-critical departmental web applications and data across hosting environments with measurable performance gains.

Integrated an LLM with read only access to our DB. This allowed end users to retrieve information with natural language.
Migrated VIP’s webman application from legacy servers and AWS to OIT’s Plesk hosting service, coordinating dev/test/prod/demo environments with GitHub version control.
Improved VIP web application response time from minutes to seconds; all pages now load in under 5 seconds.
Maintained and shipped features on a production stack including RHEL Linux, Apache, MySQL, Oracle, and PHP.
Executed database migration from MySQL to Oracle using data design and an ETL process.
Authored documentation for cloud hosting, migration steps, and local operational procedures to improve maintainability and continuity.
Migrated VIP’s Drupal website to WordPress and migrated data from AWS to EE’s internal servers.

SITUATIONDepartmental web applications and content were split across older servers and AWS with performance issues and operational complexity.

APPROACHPlan and execute an incremental migration: stabilize environments, standardize deployment workflows, migrate data with validation, and document repeatable runbooks.

TECHNICAL WORKRHEL/Apache hosting operations, Plesk migration, MySQL→Oracle ETL, CMS migration (Drupal→WordPress), environment parity (dev/test/prod/demo), and performance remediation.

LESSONS LEARNEDSuccessful migrations are equal parts data correctness, environment discipline, and operational documentation—not just “moving servers.”

Software Engineer — MacStadium (Atlanta, GA)

Aug 2021 – Feb 2023

Delivered UI enhancements in a React frontend and implemented feature requests across internal and customer-facing applications.
Retrieved, formatted, and persisted data from MySQL for front-end display across two stacks: Laravel/PHP (internal) and Node.js (TypeScript) + GraphQL + React (external).
Integrated and maintained APIs for Salesforce (customer data), Chargebee (financial data), and Jira (ticketing), improving cross-system data consistency.
Implemented data visualization using Google Charts; validated APIs and workflows using Postman.
Worked in containerized/tested environments with Docker and Jest; deployed workloads on AWS.

SITUATIONTwo production stacks (internal + external) required consistent delivery cadence, reliable data display, and stable third-party integrations.

APPROACHPrioritize correctness and clarity: normalize data retrieval patterns, standardize API integration behavior, and ship UI changes with test coverage.

TECHNICAL WORKReact UI delivery, MySQL-backed data formatting layers, GraphQL/TypeScript services, Jest tests, Docker workflows, AWS deployment support, and integration maintenance (Salesforce/Chargebee/Jira).

LESSONS LEARNEDOperationally “boring” integration work is high leverage: consistent data contracts and testing reduce incidents and accelerate feature velocity.

Software Engineer — KyckGlobal (Atlanta, GA)

Jan 2020 – Aug 2021

Led the integration of the platform with FiServ for initial push-to-card and push-to-account capabilities with Visa.
Integrated and maintained SaaS connections with payment processors including FiServ, PayPal, Incomm, and Visa.
Delivered UI enhancements to an Angular frontend supporting payments workflows.
Designed DynamoDB tables and improved performance by converting expensive scans to queries where applicable.
Worked in an AWS-deployed stack: Angular, Node.js, DynamoDB, Golang, PostgreSQL; tracked work with Jira and version control with Bitbucket/Git.

SITUATIONPayments integrations required dependable external connectivity, well-defined data contracts, and low-latency lookups in a cloud-native environment.

APPROACHBuild integration layers that are observable and resilient: validate inputs/outputs, isolate external failure modes, and optimize hot-path data access.

TECHNICAL WORKProcessor integrations (FiServ/PayPal/Incomm/Visa), DynamoDB access pattern design (queries over scans), Angular UI updates, and AWS deployment operations.

LESSONS LEARNEDIntegration reliability is earned through disciplined contracts, defensive engineering, and performance-aware data modeling.

Software Engineer — Senegal (Atlanta, GA)

Mar 2017 – Dec 2019

Built features and debugged a multi-tenant web platform on Linux, Apache, MySQL, and Laravel (PHP).
Mentored interns through feature/bug delivery and conducted code reviews to improve quality and throughput.
Developed internal APIs for storing and retrieving files from Rackspace cloud storage.
Delivered front-end enhancements using Vue, Bootstrap, and JavaScript; created data visualizations with Google Charts.
Used Git/GitHub for version control and team collaboration.

SITUATIONMulti-tenant product needed steady delivery while maintaining stability and onboarding junior contributors effectively.

APPROACHShip incrementally with maintainability in mind: keep tenants isolated, reduce regressions via reviews, and build internal APIs to simplify repeated workflows.

TECHNICAL WORKLaravel/PHP feature work, MySQL-backed data flows, Vue UI updates, Rackspace file APIs, and mentorship/collaboration workflows.

LESSONS LEARNEDEarly investment in internal APIs and review discipline pays compounding dividends as teams grow and systems evolve.

Independent Contractor

Aug 2023 – Feb 2024

Delivered contract work across multiple stacks including MySQL + Laravel (PHP), MySQL + Node.js (TypeScript) + React, and MySQL + Python (Flask).
Queried databases to produce analytics outputs and charts in Microsoft Power BI and Tableau.
Adapted quickly across environments by standardizing data access patterns and focusing on readable, maintainable delivery.

SITUATIONShort timelines and changing requirements across different client stacks required rapid ramp-up and consistent delivery quality.

APPROACHAccelerate onboarding by leaning on fundamentals: clear data models, predictable API patterns, and pragmatic testing where it reduces risk.

TECHNICAL WORKLaravel/PHP delivery, TypeScript/React feature work, Flask APIs, and BI-oriented querying for reporting and visualization.

LESSONS LEARNEDCross-stack contracting is easiest when you standardize how you think about data flows, boundaries, and validation—regardless of framework.

Skills Matrix

A realistic snapshot: strengths, working skills, and explicit gaps.

STRONG ✓

PHP Python MySQL JavaScript Node.js

MODERATE ○

React Angular AWS Oracle

GAPS ✗

DBs at scale Servers at scale Golang

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