About

My Work

I am a software engineer with seventeen years of experience in frontend, backend, and more recently DevOps. I’ve worked mainly in small development teams and mainly in contracting for the public sector. A large part of my work has been the modernization of legacy systems.

One such project handled change-data-capture from a large COBOL/Mainframe system and then present it through a Java / Spring Boot API. We created the new system with modern practices and infrastructure: continuous integration, automated testing, one-click deployments, metrics, traces, logs, monitoring dashboards, and automated alerts. By doing so, we were able to offer performance gains and new features that would have been difficult to implement in the legacy system.

Another involved creating a web-based upload application to replace about a dozen separate one-off solutions for uploading small but important files for archival purposes. Our solution now handles the same variety of sources, along with all of their quirks, in a more generic, reusable way. In doing so, we greatly reduced the required upkeep for the system as a whole.

It’s these sorts of upgrades that make for the more exciting stories: replacing whole systems with something new. But the majority of my work has been iterating on existing software, and I would say this is usually the far more effective route.

Me

I have an awesome partner who is so fun to be around that it’s way too easy to forget to go out and socialize! We have three cats, who are mostly good unless they want food. Or attention. Or access to the porch.

I’m a giant fan of Star Wars, but at any given moment I’m a TV series or two behind.

My partner and I watch a lot of sports, especially from the Central Florida area, so if they’re orange and blue or if they’re purple, then they’re probably my team.

I play two weekly game of Dungeons and Dragons: one as the DM and another as a far-too-literal robot that bears no resemblance whatsoever to my actual self. Nope, none.

The Blog

I know this is one of a kazillion software blogs, and I don’t care. I’m writing this for a very specific reason, and it’s not about getting views.

Most people, I would imagine, study by organizing their thoughts in short-hand notes meant only for themselves. That doesn’t work for me. Some days, I’ll look at my own scribble and try to decipher it like an archaeologist. And not a dashing, adventurous archaeologist like in the movies; more the squinty, puzzled type. What I’ve found is that when I put my thoughts into a presentable format — something literally meant for others to consume — I don’t leave them in that cryptic state, and they’re far more useful to me in the future.

I’ve always intended to actually make these notes available for others to use, but I’m hoping that by creating a space for me to share notes that I actually will. Also, this space can be something I control, without relying on a particular social media platform.

Feedback on the content is always welcome. Feel free to follow/message me on LinkedIn. I don’t tend to be on other social media sites, for a variety of reasons.

Andrew Kramer, February 2025