Desmond Smiley
Sr Full Stack Engineer
PROFILE
Accomplished Senior Full-Stack Engineer with over 13 years of experience in developing scalable, cloud-native solutions utilizing JavaScript/TypeScript and leading frontend frameworks such as Angular and React. Expert in architecting and deploying microservices, secure APIs, and DevOps pipelines across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. Demonstrates exceptional leadership in guiding cross-functional teams, optimizing system performance, and employing advanced technologies to enhance user experiences, streamline workflows, and maintain system integrity. Committed to mentoring developers and fostering innovation in high-stakes, data-intensive environments.
EDUCATION
Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering Aug 2008 – May 2012 | Urbana, OH, USA
Urbana University
SKILLS
Category
Technologies & Tools
Programming Languages
Java (Spring Boot, Java 11+), Python (3.9), JavaScript (ES6+), TypeScript
Frameworks & Libraries
Node.js, NestJS, Spring Boot, Hibernate, Angular (15+), React (17), Vue.js (3), Redux, NgRx, Bootstrap
Frontend Technologies
HTML5, CSS3, Sass, RxJS, Angular Material, GraphQL
Cloud Platforms
AWS (S3, RDS, Lambda, ECS, DynamoDB, CloudFormation, IAM, CodePipeline), Azure (AKS, App Service, Service Bus, Event Grid, Key Vault), GCP (Dataflow)
Microservices & APIs
RESTful APIs, gRPC, Event-Driven Architecture, Event Sourcing, Kafka, RabbitMQ, API Gateway, OAuth 2.0, JWT
Containerization & DevOps
Docker, Kubernetes, Helm, Terraform, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, Azure DevOps Pipelines
Database & Caching
Database Engineering, PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, Neo4j, Azure SQL, AWS Aurora
Monitoring & Logging
Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack, AWS CloudWatch, Azure Monitor, Application Insights
Testing & QA
JUnit, TestNG, Mockito, Cypress, Selenium, Unit Testing, Integration Testing
Security & Compliance
OAuth 2.0, JWT, RBAC, AES-256, SSL/TLS, HIPAA, FISMA, NIST 800-53, SOC 2
Project & Sprint Tools
Jira, Trello, Git, GitHub, GitLab, Confluence
CI/CD & Automation
Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, AWS CodePipeline, Terraform, Bash
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Senior Software Engineer
UpNest Real Estate Jan 2021 – Present | San Francisco, CA (Remote)
Project: Real Estate Platform
• Developed a Scalable Property Management Platform: Led the creation of a cloud-native property management system using JavaScript, TypeScript, NodeJS, Nest.js, Kubernetes, and AWS. Integrated OAuth 2.0 and JWT authentication, ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations and significantly improving response times for crucial tenant and property services.
• Enhanced Real Estate Operations with Seamless Integration: Collaborated with stakeholders to design a unified interface for property listings, tenant billing, and virtual tours, leveraging Node and AWS Lambda. Streamlined operations, reducing administrative overheads for property managers.
• Implemented Advanced Virtual Tour Features: Developed secure, real-time virtual property tours using Twilio and WebRTC, enabling remote video walk-throughs. Optimized API design to support 160K+ monthly sessions, increasing property engagement by 35% across real estate agencies.
• Enabled Regulatory Compliance: Directed the implementation of security controls based on industry guidelines, conducting regular risk assessments and monitoring. This effort maintained full compliance with data protection policies.
Cloud-Native Microservices and Infrastructure
• Developed Cloud Infrastructure with Terraform: Automated cloud resource provisioning using Terraform across AWS and GCP environments. Achieved consistent deployments with reduced configuration errors.
• Designed Real Estate Microservices Architecture: Designed and deployed 13+ modular microservices using Node.js, Kafka, and RabbitMQ, handling 400K+ concurrent property transactions daily. Kafka was used for high-throughput event streaming, enabling real-time property data updates across services, while using RabbitMQ managed task-based messaging and ensured reliable delivery for processes like notifications and billing. Integrated circuit breakers and auto-scaling via Kubernetes HPA on AWS EKS and GCP GKE to reduce downtime and ensure system reliability.
• Deployed Serverless Applications: Leveraged AWS Lambda and ECS GCP functions to build cost-efficient, scalable serverless infrastructures. Designed Jenkins-based CI/CD pipelines with AWS CodePipeline, reducing deployment time from 45 minutes to under 10 minutes and eliminating manual intervention in production releases.
• Optimized Database Performance: Managed healthcare data with PostgreSQL and Redis caching, improving query performance during peak loads
Data Analytics and Security
• Developed a Real-Time Analytics Platform: Engineered a real estate analytics system using JavaScript, NodeJS, and AWS Glue. Provided actionable insights into market trends and property performance.
• Integrated Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Architected fine-grained RBAC policies using AWS IAM, AWS Secrets Manager, and Security, enforcing least privilege access across 1M+ property and tenant records. Reduced unauthorized access attempts by 60% through automated auditing and security monitoring.
• Advanced Monitoring and Logging: Integrated ELK Stack and AWS CloudWatch for real-time monitoring and troubleshooting. Reduced issue resolution time.
Enhanced Frontend and User Experience
• Built a Responsive Front-End for Agents and Tenants: Developed a React-based, mobile-first UI integrated with GraphQL and REST APIs, reducing task load for real estate agents. Enhanced accessibility by implementing WCAG 2.1-compliant UI components and optimizing for low-bandwidth virtual tours.
• Developed Internal Admin Dashboards Using Angular: Designed secure, modular Angular-based dashboards for administrators to manage property listings, monitor platform usage, and configure tenant management workflows. Used RxJS for reactive state management and Angular Material for consistent UI patterns.
• Designed Cross-Platform Mobile Applications: Created mobile apps with Flutter and Kotlin for remote property management and virtual tours, increasing user engagement.
Leadership and Mentorship
• Fostered Knowledge Sharing: Conducted knowledge-sharing sessions on microservices, AWS, and CI/CD practices, reducing onboarding time for new team members.
• Mentored Junior Developers: Guided junior engineers through code reviews, technical workshops, and hands-on pair programming, accelerating onboarding and skill development. Collaborated with product managers, designers, and DevOps teams to align technical solutions with business objectives.
• Streamlined Agile Processes: Utilized Jira and AWS CodePipeline to manage sprints, boosting team velocity and efficiency.
Full Stack Engineer/Cloud Engineer
Netleaf Dec 2016 – Dec 2020 | Altamonte Springs, FL
System Modernization and Migration
• Led the modernization of national land tenure registry system, "SURE," by upgrading from Java 1.6 to Java 11. This involved migrating legacy libraries to Maven and developing custom solutions for replacing deprecated Java 1.6 libraries with no direct Java 11 equivalents. This transformation resulted in a 60% increase in processing speeds, improved scalability, and future-proofed the platform.
• Ensured system integrity through rigorous unit and integration testing, and upheld high code quality standards using SonarQube and SonarLint.
• Achieved seamless scaling, orchestration, and fault tolerance by containerizing and deploying all application components.
Cloud-Based Banking Switch Development
• Designed and implemented a cloud-based banking switch middleware using Spring Boot microservices, which enabled seamless integration between local banks and government institutions for daily payment reconciliation and authentication. This ensured transparency and accuracy within public services.
• Utilized BPMN and jBPM to orchestrate and streamline customizable workflows, addressing diverse business scenarios. Each workflow step interacted with service tasks, which communicated via JSON parameters to trigger REST endpoints within the Spring Boot microservices framework.
Java Business Process Management Specialist
• Architected and executed complex business processes using JBPM, improving workflow automation and reducing manual tasks by 25%.
• Integrated JBPM with existing microservices architecture, enhancing system scalability and facilitating streamlined process orchestration.
• Engineered comprehensive JBPM process models, collaborating with stakeholders to align workflows with business requirements and strategic objectives.
Full Stack Developer
Fidelity Investments Nov 2012 – Oct 2016 | Urbana, OH
• Spearheaded the design and development of a comprehensive platform for eSports tournaments, creating a sophisticated microservices architecture to handle player profiles, coach interactions, tournament scheduling, and challenge management. This framework facilitated seamless event organization and significantly enhanced user engagement.
• Developed a dynamic and user-friendly frontend using Angular, ensuring smooth integration with backend APIs to optimize data management and deliver a superior user experience.
• Engineered a suite of microservices dedicated to core operational functions such as player management, coach coordination, and event scheduling. This approach streamlined platform operations, enhanced scalability, and supported a wide range of functionalities.
• Collaborated closely with the client during each development phase to ensure that functionality, design, and performance met their expectations, culminating in a product that aligned with their vision and satisfied user needs.
