Creative technologist who combines artistic practice, deep
engineering experience, and AI-augmented workflows to take ideas from
concept to polished production — fast. As a photographer, painter, and
engineer, I bring a designer’s eye and an architect’s discipline to
every project. I direct AI tools (Claude, GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT Codex)
as creative collaborators, single-handedly shipping three production web
platforms while accelerating delivery 70-80% — with the organization,
documentation, and infrastructure-as-code rigor to keep everything
maintainable. Seeking roles at the intersection of creative vision,
technical depth, and AI-driven efficiency.
Core Competencies: AI-augmented delivery (Claude,
GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT Codex) accelerating development 70-80% •
Creative development & UX design • Solution architecture with Python
and AWS serverless systems • Process efficiency: infrastructure-as-code,
CI/CD automation, documentation & SOPs • End-to-end product delivery
with Next.js/React
Core Competencies:
AI-Augmented Delivery: Direct AI tools (Claude,
ChatGPT Codex, GitHub Copilot) as creative collaborators — tiering model
capability to task complexity (frontier models for architecture and
design decisions, lighter/faster models for high-volume implementation
and automation) — to prototype, build, test, and document 70-80% faster,
while verifying every generated artifact for correctness and
security
Creative Development & UX: Design and build
visually stunning, user-centered applications with focus on intuitive
interactions and responsive design; blend artistic vision with technical
execution
Solution Architecture: Design scalable,
maintainable systems — Python backends, AWS serverless, event-driven
architectures, and clean API design — from concept through
production
Organization & Process Efficiency: Turn chaotic
workflows into repeatable systems through infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD
automation, standard operating procedures, and documentation that teams
actually use
Artist & Problem Solver: Apply creative
problem-solving from art practice to technical challenges; user empathy
drives architecture decisions; storytelling through data visualization
and interface design
TECHNICAL SKILLS
AI-Augmented Workflows: Claude AI API, ChatGPT
Codex, GitHub Copilot, Prompt Engineering, AI Agent Direction &
Verification, Model Selection & Cost/Latency Tiering, AI-Assisted
Development, Rapid Prototyping, AI-Generated Documentation &
Diagrams
Design & Creative: Photography & Visual
Arts, User Interface Design, User Experience (UX) Principles, Visual
Storytelling, Content Creation
Creative & Frontend Development: Next.js, React,
TypeScript, JavaScript ES6+, Tailwind CSS, Responsive Design,
Progressive Web Apps, Static Site Generation, React Server Components,
Component-Based Architecture, User Experience Design
Data & Integration: DynamoDB (Streams, GSIs,
TTL), MySQL, NoSQL Schema Design, API Integration (PayPal, Salesforce,
3PL), Data Migration
Tools & Platforms: Git, GitHub, VS Code, Linux,
Windows Server, Shell Scripting (Bash, zsh), PowerShell
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
AssetWatch | Westerville, OH
Lead Backend Engineer | July 2023 – Present
Lead backend development for IoT monitoring platform, architecting
scalable Python-based systems and applying creative problem-solving to
build elegant solutions for complex technical challenges.
Architect and develop Python backend services for real-time IoT data
processing, building robust Lambda functions and ECS Fargate
microservices that handle high-throughput event streams from AWS IoT
Core and Kinesis
Re-architected data flow and system architecture to improve
application responsiveness by 60%, optimizing event processing pipelines
and implementing efficient caching strategies
Build RESTful APIs using Python and FastAPI with API Gateway,
enabling communication between IoT devices and client applications
Implemented zero-downtime canary deployments with rollback
capabilities, gradually migrating production traffic while monitoring
CloudWatch metrics for error rate and latency thresholds
Leverage AI coding agents (Claude, ChatGPT Codex, GitHub Copilot)
throughout the development lifecycle — from architectural design through
code generation, testing, and documentation — accelerating delivery by
70-80% while verifying all output for correctness and security
Brought 95% of the environment into infrastructure-as-code (IaC)
using Terraform and pipeline automation tools, implementing fully
functional non-prod environment that reduced production errors by
80%
Craft comprehensive technical documentation with visual diagrams and
clear narratives, transforming complex technical concepts into
accessible stories for diverse audiences
Tracy Elsinger
Development | Dublin, OH (Freelance)
Creative Technologist & Independent Developer |
April 2020 – Present
Design and develop production web applications that merge artistic
sensibility with modern technology, creating beautiful and functional
digital experiences for diverse audiences.
Photography & Art
Gallery E-Commerce Platform - Conceived, designed, and
built complete e-commerce experience showcasing original photography and
paintings. Crafted intuitive browsing interface with React components
emphasizing visual presentation, created seamless shopping experience
with real-time inventory management and PayPal integration. Every design
decision reflects artistic principles: composition, color theory, and
user journey storytelling.
Health & Wellness
Blog with Recipe Management - Created compassionate,
user-centered Next.js application to help people with food sensitivities
and digestive issues. Designed intuitive recipe discovery interface with
filtering and search, built personalized meal planning features, and
developed automated grocery list generation. Project demonstrates
empathy-driven development: solving real human problems through
thoughtful design and technology.
Memory Lab —
Language Learning Platform - Designed and built
spaced-repetition (SM-2) learning platform for Italian, Japanese,
German, and French featuring Claude AI-powered grammar explanations,
kanji writing practice with stroke-order validation, and cognitive
training games — architected, built, tested, and documented solo with
AI-augmented workflows.
Design responsive, accessible interfaces with Tailwind CSS that
adapt beautifully across all devices, ensuring visual consistency and
delightful interactions
Apply design thinking and component-based architecture to create
maintainable, scalable applications with artistic attention to detail in
every interaction
Optimize for performance and SEO using Next.js static site
generation, ensuring fast, discoverable, and engaging user
experiences
Manage end-to-end development lifecycle from concept and wireframing
through deployment and iteration, demonstrating both creative vision and
technical execution
Led site reliability engineering for 600+ AWS and GCP instances,
bringing systematic problem-solving and user-focused thinking to
infrastructure and compliance challenges.
Designed and developed centralized account management application
(Python/Flask) with intuitive interface for vendor access provisioning
and termination, reducing access review time by 70% and ensuring
consistency in execution across all external accounts
Standardized processes and security on Windows and Linux systems
using Chef and Ansible automation and reporting tools, maintaining
HITRUST and SOC2 compliance requirements across 600+ instances
Collaborated with project managers, application SMEs, and
infrastructure teams to develop standardized project designs.
Maintained project schedules and budgets through effective technical
planning and risk mitigation
Improved solution architecture processes, reducing project kickoff
time by 40%
Gap, Inc | Groveport, OH
Server Engineer | Dec 2013 – June 2015
Server engineer responsible for VMware, Windows, and Linux
infrastructure management and development.
Continuously improved Windows and VMware environments with automated
reporting, security hardening, monitoring, and alerting
Created efficiency reporting dashboards that allowed management to
make better hiring and purchasing decisions based on actual environment
utilization data
Technologies: VMware vSphere, Windows Server, Linux,
PowerShell, Bash
Cardinal Health | Dublin, OH
Server Engineer | July 2008 – Dec 2013
Managed virtual environment consisting of VMware vSphere (450 hosts
and 4300+ guests) and 10 vCenter servers across multiple remote
sites.
Managed the VMware environment with security patching, upgrades, and
large-scale migrations
Participated in projects for planning and deployments in the virtual
environments
Researched and tested new technologies to continually improve the
environment
Technologies: VMware vSphere 4.0-5.1, Windows
Server, PowerShell
Full-stack web application with Claude AI integration, deployed on
AWS with 100% Infrastructure-as-Code.
Architected production AI-powered ingredient parser using Claude
Haiku in AWS Lambda, processing 1000+ normalization requests with <2s
latency, reducing manual data entry by 95%
Developed AI-powered skin sensitivity tracker enabling users to
photograph cosmetic product labels for automatic ingredient extraction
via Claude vision API, with differential analysis comparing reaction vs
safe products to identify likely trigger ingredients, reducing product
selection trial-and-error by 80%
Built intelligent recipe modification system analyzing recipes
against dietary restrictions (FODMAP, allergens) and suggesting viable
substitutions with structured JSON responses from Claude AI
Developed modern Next.js application with 50+ responsive pages,
TypeScript strict mode, React Server Components, Tailwind CSS, achieving
<2s page load times via CloudFront CDN
Implemented AWS Cognito authentication with cross-device sync using
DynamoDB (7-table architecture with streams, GSIs, and TTL) for meal
plans, user preferences, and community recipes
Imported and normalized 10,000+ USDA FoodData Central nutrition
records using TypeScript data processing pipelines with fuzzy-matching
algorithms for ingredient catalog
Created comprehensive Playwright test suite covering authentication
flows, recipe submission, and meal planning across Chrome, Firefox, and
Safari with parallel CI/CD execution
Directed AI coding agents throughout development to accelerate
component creation, test writing, and API integration by 70-80%,
verifying all generated code for correctness and security
Technologies: Next.js, React, TypeScript | Claude AI
(Haiku), Anthropic SDK | AWS Lambda, DynamoDB, S3, CloudFront, Cognito |
Terraform, GitHub Actions, GitHub OIDC | Playwright | Python for Lambda
functions
Art E-Commerce Platform | Personal Project
(Production)
2022 – Present | https://tracyelsinger.net
Full-stack e-commerce platform for selling original artwork and
photography with integrated payment processing, digital downloads, and
interactive discovery features.
Built complete e-commerce solution with PayPal and Apple Pay
integration, shopping cart persistence across sessions, and
dimension-based shipping calculator with geolocation-based restrictions
using FedEx API
Implemented secure digital download system for purchased photography
using S3 pre-signed URLs with 48-hour expiry, automated email delivery
via AWS Lambda and SNS with custom HTML templates
Developed interactive UI features: before/after slider comparing
reference photos to finished paintings with drag/touch controls,
algorithmic color palette generator extracting dominant colors with hex
code copying, and Leaflet.js travel map displaying photography locations
across multiple countries
Architected multi-table DynamoDB schema for artwork catalog (500+
items), order management, user favorites, and purchase history with GSIs
for efficient email-based lookups and cross-device sync via Cognito
Created advanced search functionality using Fuse.js fuzzy-matching
across artwork metadata (title, genre, medium, description) with
responsive masonry grid layout and lazy-loading for optimal
performance
Built Python data loading scripts for batch importing artwork
metadata with coordinated S3 uploads for high-resolution images and
automated thumbnail generation
Technologies: Next.js, React, TypeScript | AWS
Lambda, DynamoDB, S3, CloudFront, Cognito, SNS | Terraform, GitHub
Actions | PayPal SDK, FedEx API | Leaflet.js, Fuse.js | Python for data
processing
Memory Lab - Language Learning Platform | Personal Project
(Production)
2026 – Present | https://memory.tracyelsinger.net
Advanced language learning platform with spaced-repetition scheduling
(SRS) and AI-powered explanations, supporting Italian, Japanese, German,
and French across multiple interactive exercise modules.
Architected comprehensive spaced-repetition system implementing SM-2
algorithm in Python Lambda functions, intelligently scheduling 7+
exercise types (vocabulary flashcards, kanji stroke-order writing,
sentence reconstruction, verb conjugation drills, cross-language pairs,
math formulas) across DynamoDB single-table design with GSI-based due
querying
Built Daily Mix feature that interleaves due items across all
languages and modules in single sessions, implementing round-robin
algorithm that prevents language backlog starvation and creates
cognitively beneficial difficulty through context switching
Integrated Claude AI for on-demand grammar explanations via separate
Lambda function with entitlement gating, daily quota enforcement
(DynamoDB counters), and 30-day response caching to optimize cost and
latency
Developed kanji writing module using Hanzi Writer canvas library
with stroke-order validation, built sentence reconstruction with
drag-drop tiles and type-from-memory progression, and verb conjugation
trainer with configurable form selection per language (Italian, French,
German, Japanese)
Implemented cultural notes system serving daily language-specific
content as static JSON from CloudFront with no-cost delivery, and
dictionary search with full conjugation table lookups for 200+ verbs
across four languages
Created five cognitive training games (N-Back, Corsi Blocks, Paired
Associates, Focus Stream, Mental Rotation) with score-based sessions
stored via shared game.save Lambda action, demonstrating modular
architecture extensibility
Built Anki import feature allowing users to bulk-import .apkg files
or CSV exports (500 cards/batch) with field validation, idempotent
writes, and SRS state preservation for mature cards to bypass new-card
throttle
Implemented multi-language romanization (Japanese romaji-to-kana
conversion), text-to-speech integration via Web Speech API, and
difficulty-based hint systems that scale support as items mature through
SRS intervals