Professional Experience
A decade of building, shipping, and scaling software across diverse industries and technologies.
Owner and Operator
Herbener Online
Independent software development projects across various technologies and industries. Delivering custom solutions for clients ranging from startups to established businesses, with focus on scalability, maintainability, and user experience.
Examples
- • Migrating and re-architecting a large-scale research collection platform housing 30M+ records — building a Phoenix LiveView front end, comprehensive API, multi-role user system, and automated collection pipelines serving 200k unique monthly visitors
- • Full-stack Phoenix/Elixir application enabling groups to collaboratively negotiate and settle shared expenses through a consensus-based offer system with Stripe payment integration, real-time LiveView UI, and role-based access control
- • Document automation platform for generating personalized PDFs at scale with template management, bulk generation, custom validation rules, real-time preview, and drag-and-drop interface
- • Built a Rails property management system with a secure document center, automated SMS rent reminders via Nexmo, and printable receipt generation — initially deployed on Google Cloud with Kubernetes, later migrated to Heroku for cost optimization
- • Developed a Python desktop application using Tesseract OCR and Electron that automated manual data entry workflows — eliminating hours of repetitive transcription for client operations
- • Built the proof of concept for a patented medical search interface in React — an innovative approach to medical data discovery and visualization that led to a filed patent
- • Modernized a legacy inventory tracking system off a deprecated framework — rebuilding the front end with JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS3 while preserving existing business logic and data integrity
- • Led domain and email infrastructure migrations from Microsoft Office/GoDaddy to Google Workspace/Google Domains — coordinating DNS cutover, mailbox migration, and user onboarding with zero downtime
More examples upon request
Full Stack Engineer
Semsee
Building insurance technology solutions with modern web technologies, focusing on scalable applications for the insurance industry. Led development of real-time quoting systems processing thousands of daily transactions with complex rating algorithms and multi-carrier integrations.
Core Platform Features
- • Built a real-time dynamic form engine in Elixir/Phoenix LiveView that renders insurance applications with conditional logic, multi-step validation, and cross-form data sharing — used by agents to submit across dozens of insurance carriers from a single workflow
- • Designed and built RESTful APIs and data pipelines for document ingestion (PDF parsing, OCR, S3 storage), third-party carrier integrations, and partner webhooks — powering automated quoting and application processing for a multi-tenant SaaS platform
- • Architected background job infrastructure using Oban Pro with priority queues, scheduled workers, and event-driven processing — handling bulk submissions, async carrier API calls, and email notifications at scale across distributed services
- • Implemented access control and multi-tenant distribution systems — built role-based authorization, carrier credential management, and configurable distribution rules that determine which insurance products are available to each agency and partner
- • Led major framework and infrastructure upgrades across a large Elixir codebase — migrated Phoenix LiveView through 5 major versions, upgraded CSS frameworks, implemented WebAuthn passwordless authentication, and maintained PostgreSQL schema migrations across multiple databases
AI Development Features
- • Quote over Email — multi-step Gemini agent that parses emailed quote requests, categorizes PDF documents, and auto-fills application forms section-by-section
- • Real-time LiveView chatbot for agents to initiate quotes via conversation with file upload support (PDF, images, JSON, XML)
- • Vector embedding pipelines across Gemini, OpenAI, and Mistral for business class code mapping, question deduplication, and carrier line recommendations
- • Database-driven prompt management system with versioning, variable substitution, and an AI accuracy testing framework with confusion matrix metrics
- • Multi-provider AI infrastructure integrating Google Gemini, OpenAI Assistants, Anthropic Claude, and Mistral AI
More examples upon request
Software Development & IT Services
Lockson
Migrated legacy systems to modern web applications using Ruby on Rails and React. Established standard operating procedures (SOPs) for system usage and streamlined business operations.
Front End Engineer and Designer
Global Response Partners
Designed and developed landing pages using PHP Zend Framework, JavaScript, and jQuery that accounted for most of the company's revenue. Conducted extensive A/B testing to optimize conversion rates and user engagement. Created responsive web interfaces and designed user experiences that drove business growth. Collaborated with development teams to implement SQL-driven data solutions and optimize application performance.
Education & Training
Formal education combined with intensive practical training
Computer Science
Nassau Community College
2019 - 2020
Focused on algorithms, data structures, software engineering principles, and system design. Built a strong theoretical foundation for solving complex computational problems.
Dev Bootcamp
2017
19-week intensive coding bootcamp covering full-stack web development, agile methodologies, and industry best practices. Hands-on project-based learning with pair programming and code reviews.
Computer Science
Roger Williams University
2011 - 2013
Foundational studies in liberal arts and sciences, developing critical thinking, communication skills, and a broad understanding of diverse disciplines.
FAFO
Since 1993
A lifetime of finding out through hands-on experimentation, relentless curiosity, and learning by doing.