James N.-Full Stack Engineer • AI Agent Developer • Staff Software Engineer
Check rate
Experience
Staff Software Engineer – AI Platform & Lending Infrastructure
Forward Slash IT
- Architected a SOC 2-compliant AI Agent in TypeScript / NestJS for automated mortgage document extraction and underwriting decision support, reducing manual loan processing time by 61% and cutting time-to-close by 3 weeks per application.
- Built RAG pipeline with Pinecone + OpenAI Embeddings + LangChain to power an intelligent compliance Q&A assistant for loan officers; handled 400K+ monthly queries with <200ms p95 latency and a full audit trail for CFPB regulatory review.
- Developed multi-step agentic workflows (tool-calling, memory, retry logic) in Python + LiteLLM for automated income verification and fraud signal aggregation, integrating with IRS TDS and bank data APIs.
- Re-architected borrower-facing application portal from a legacy monolith to Next.js 14 (App Router) + React with server components and role-based access; improved Lighthouse score from 51 to 93 and reduced drop-off rate by 38%.
- Implemented high-throughput Golang microservices for real-time loan event streaming via Apache Kafka, sustaining 80K events/sec with sub-10ms median latency across origination, processing, and servicing domains.
- Designed GraphQL + REST API contracts across 14 lending services; enforced OpenAPI schema-first standards, versioning strategy, and PII field-level encryption meeting GLBA and PCI-DSS requirements.
- Deployed containerized services on AWS EKS with Terraform + GitHub Actions CI/CD; integrated Datadog APM and Langfuse for AI pipeline observability and SOC 2 audit logging.
Senior Software Engineer – Platform & Mobile
SCL Digital Agency
- Built landlord and tenant-facing React + Next.js property management portal used by 17K+ property managers; implemented SSR, ISR caching, and strict TypeScript codebases supporting lease tracking, maintenance requests, and online rent collection.
- Developed React Native mobile app (iOS & Android) enabling tenants to submit maintenance tickets with photo attachments, track repair status in real time, and receive push notifications; app reached 4.8★ on the App Store with 250K+ downloads.
- Engineered PHP / Laravel backend for the rent payment and ACH disbursement domain, maintaining 99.97% uptime on systems processing $1.2B+ in annual transactions with PCI-DSS compliant data handling.
- Built Angular admin dashboard for property compliance and inspection scheduling; integrated Firebase real-time listeners and GCP Pub/Sub for instant violation alert propagation to field inspectors.
- Designed NextJS + PostgreSQL microservice for portfolio analytics and vacancy rate aggregation, replacing a legacy monolith and cutting query times by 73% through CQRS patterns and materialized views.
- Established GitHub Actions + Docker CI/CD pipelines with branch-protection rules, automated Jest/Playwright integration test suites, and staged rollouts across dev/staging/prod environments.
- Mentored 4 mid-level engineers through structured code review and design doc sessions; reduced production incident rate by 34% and improved sprint velocity by 22% over two quarters.
Senior Software Engineer – Backend & Mobile
Livex Software
- Built RESTful backend services in Node.js / Express and Golang for Canvas LMS features including gradebook synchronization, assignment submission pipelines, and LTI integrations serving 30M+ learners globally.
- Developed PHP / Laravel APIs and admin panels for institutional billing and course licensing, implementing FERPA-compliant data access controls with field-level audit logging and role-based permissions.
- Created React Native mobile app modules for iOS and Android including offline content sync, video playback with progress tracking, and biometric login; module adoption reached 78% of the active mobile user base.
- Implemented real-time WebSocket notification system using MongoDB change streams for live assignment feedback and discussion threads, reducing instructor response latency by 44%.
- Maintained Angular instructor dashboard for course analytics and student engagement visualization; resolved GraphQL N+1 issues with DataLoader, cutting average page load from 7.2s to 1.3s.
Software Engineer – Full Stack
Probey Services
- Migrated legacy recruiter portal from AngularJS to a modernized Angular 2 SPA, improving user satisfaction scores by 28%, reducing JS bundle size by 41%, and cutting candidate pipeline drop-off rate by 19%.
- Built Java Spring Boot REST APIs for job requisition management and offer letter generation, supporting 3K+ enterprise clients across APAC with role-based access control and multi-tenant schema isolation on MySQL.
- Developed ASP.NET Web API backend modules for compliance reporting and GDPR consent management, integrating with on-premise Active Directory for enterprise SSO via SAML 2.0.
- Built internal analytics dashboards in AngularJS + jQuery surfacing hiring funnel metrics; used MySQL stored procedures and reporting views adopted by 80% of the account management team.
- Deployed services on IIS and Apache Tomcat with Jenkins CI pipelines; participated in weekly release cycles with manual QA sign-off and environment-specific SQL Server migration scripts.
Junior Software Engineer – Backend & Clinical Data
Edgetec
- Built PHP + MySQL backend modules for Veeva Vault clinical document management, serving 200K+ life sciences users; implemented HIPAA-compliant data access controls with field-level encryption and audit logging.
- Developed Java Spring MVC services for HL7 2.x data ingestion pipelines integrating with hospital EMR systems via SOAP/XML interfaces; services processed 5M+ clinical records with 99.9% uptime SLA.
- Contributed jQuery + Bootstrap frontend features to the Veeva Vault document portal, improving search UX and reducing document retrieval time by 44% through server-side pagination and faceted filtering.
- Wrote SQL Server stored procedures and scheduled SSIS jobs for nightly ETL of clinical trial data from CRO partners into the central data warehouse; reduced data reconciliation errors by 37%.
- Supported deployment of ASP.NET web forms application for regulatory submission tracking; assisted in bug triage, wrote unit tests in NUnit, and maintained internal technical documentation for the APAC team.
Industry experience
See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time.
Experienced in Information Technology, Banking and Finance, Real Estate, Education, Biotechnology, and Healthcare.
Business area experience
See which departments and functions this freelancer has contributed to most.
Experienced in Information Technology, Product Development, Business Intelligence, Human Resources, and Research and Development.
Summary
Senior Full Stack Engineer with 11+ years delivering production-grade software across PropTech, MedTech, FinTech, and EduTech verticals. Expert in TypeScript, Golang, Python and frameworks including Next.js, NestJS, React, Angular, Laravel, React Native. Deep specialization in AI Agent development, LLM orchestration, and RAG pipelines. Proven track record architecting HIPAA/SOC 2-compliant systems, leading cross-functional teams, and shipping AI-powered products at scale.
Skills
- Ai & Agents: Llm Orchestration, Ai Agent Development, Rag Pipelines, Openai Api, Litellm, Langchain, Langgraph, Pinecone, Weaviate, Embeddings, Langfuse, Function Calling, Tool Use, Agentic Workflows
- Backend: Nestjs, Express, Fastapi, Flask, Laravel, Golang Net/Http, Asp.Net Core / Web Api, Java Spring Boot / Mvc, Graphql, Rest, Soap, Grpc, Websockets
- Frontend: Next.Js (App Router), React, Angular, React Native, Angularjs, Jquery, Bootstrap, Redux Toolkit, React Query, Tailwind Css
- Databases: Postgresql, Mysql, Ms Sql Server, Mongodb, Redis, Firebase, Supabase, Dynamodb, Amazon S3, Ssis / Etl
- Devops & Cloud: Docker, Kubernetes (Eks/Gke), Aws, Gcp, Azure, Terraform, Github Actions, Gitlab Ci, Circleci, Jenkins, Iis, Apache Tomcat
- Messaging: Apache Kafka, Rabbitmq, Nats, Mqtt, Redis Pub/Sub, Gcp Pub/Sub
- Domain Expertise: Hipaa, Ferpa, Pci-Dss, Soc 2, Hl7 Fhir, Ach Payments, Lti Integration, Ada Accessibility
- Tools: Git, Vs Code, Swagger/Openapi, Jira, Datadog, Xcode, Android Studio, Azure Devops
Languages
Education
Mangosuthu University of Technology
B.Sc. in Software Engineering · Software Engineering · South Africa · 3.7 / 4.0
- Specialised Software engineering and completed my Bachelor's degree while working as an intern at Edgetec.
- Contributed jQuery + Bootstrap frontend features to the Veeva Vault document portal, improving search UX and reducing document retrieval time by 44% through server-side pagination and faceted filtering.
- Supported deployment of ASP.NET web forms application for regulatory submission tracking; assisted in bug triage, wrote unit tests in NUnit, and maintained internal technical documentation for the APAC team.
- Wrote SQL Server stored procedures and scheduled SSIS jobs for nightly ETL of clinical trial data from CRO partners into the central data warehouse; reduced data reconciliation errors by 37%.
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
A.S. in Computer Science · Computer Science · South Africa · 3.8 / 4.0
Statistics
Experience
Expertise
Qualifications
Profile
Frequently asked questions
Have questions? Find more information here.
James is based in Pretoria, South Africa and prefers 100% remote projects.
James speaks the following languages: English (Native), South Ndebele (Advanced), Zulu (Advanced), Afrikaans (Elementary).
James has at least 13 years of experience. During this time, James has worked in at least 5 different roles and for 5 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 3 years and 7 months. Note that James may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.
Based on recent experience, James would be well-suited for roles such as: Staff Software Engineer – AI Platform & Lending Infrastructure, Senior Software Engineer – Platform & Mobile, Senior Software Engineer – Backend & Mobile.
James's most recent position is Staff Software Engineer – AI Platform & Lending Infrastructure at Forward Slash IT.
In recent years, James has worked for Forward Slash IT and SCL Digital Agency.
James is most experienced in industries like Information Technology, Banking and Finance, and Real Estate. James also has some experience in Education, Biotechnology, and Healthcare.
James is most experienced in business areas like Information Technology, Product Development, and Business Intelligence. James also has some experience in Human Resources and Research and Development.
James has recently worked in industries like Banking and Finance, Information Technology, and Real Estate.
James has recently worked in business areas like Information Technology, Product Development, and Business Intelligence.
James holds a Master in Computer Science from Cape Peninsula University of Technology and a Bachelor in Software Engineering from Mangosuthu University of Technology.
James is immediately available full-time for suitable projects.
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Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 4 Oct 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
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