Jesse Peplinski

Software Engineer

Hi, I'm Jesse.

I turn problems into prototypes.

8+ years building and shipping customer-facing applications at Equitable. Partner at Hack Upstate, where I directed a coding bootcamp that graduated 74 students. Daily Claude Code user.

About

I'm a software engineer based in Syracuse, NY and I'm always building something. For the past 8+ years, I've been shipping customer-facing applications at Equitable, one of the largest financial services companies in the U.S. My day-to-day involves leading enterprise platform migrations, building production tools used by thousands of people daily, and turning complex business requirements into maintainable solutions.

I'm also a partner at Hack Upstate, where I directed Careers in Code — a coding bootcamp for underserved populations in Central New York. Over 6 cohorts, we admitted 102 students, graduated 74, placed 24 in tech roles, and managed ~$1.1M in grant contracts.

As a daily user of Claude Code, I'm deeply invested in the future of AI-assisted software development.

Experience

Software Engineer II

Equitable (formerly AXA US) · Syracuse, NY · July 2017 - Present

  • Led the Sitecore-to-Adobe AEM enterprise CMS migration, delivering resilient, reusable components while collaborating directly with vendor teams and committing extra hours to ensure on-time delivery
  • Redesigned the PCR Rates page end-to-end as lead developer, from requirements gathering through launch. The page generates thousands of daily views and has contributed to hundreds of thousands of dollars in generated business
  • Led the migration of an Angular to vanilla JavaScript Retirement Guide, architecting the separation of content and code
  • Drove the enterprise CMS through 3 major version upgrades (Sitecore 9.1 → 9.3 → 10.2 → 10.3), organizing data migration processes and issue tracking to ensure smooth cutovers
  • Shipped the OBP customer portal (React, Java) to help onboard new brokers from outside firms into the organization
  • Led chatbot development with Microsoft Bot Framework on Azure, serving as lead developer and managing the project backlog from prototype through MVP
  • Created extensive technical documentation and led knowledge transfer sessions to onboard teammates, reducing ramp-up time and improving team scalability
  • Consistently received strong performance ratings with commendation for initiative, reliability, and collaborative leadership

Partner

Hack Upstate LLC · Syracuse, NY · 2017 - Present

  • Directed Careers in Code, a 6-month intensive coding bootcamp for underserved populations, running all day-to-day operations across 6 cohorts (2019-2024)
  • Admitted 102 students, graduated 74 (72.5% graduation rate), placed 24 graduates in tech roles
  • Managed ~$1.1M in grant contracts across local government and economic development partners (CenterState CEO, Le Moyne College Erie 21)
  • Built operational systems automating the admissions pipeline end-to-end using Pipefy, Zapier, and Notion; implemented EOS for goal tracking
  • Organized weekend hackathons with 100+ attendees, raising tens of thousands of dollars in sponsorship per event, growing the developer community across Central New York

Rapidly Prototyped Projects

Gridiron Rumble

2D arcade style football game built in ~10 days with Godot. Designed the full system: game engine, Astro marketing site with devlogs, iOS and Steam integration. gridironrumble.com

House Positioner

MVP built in ~30 minutes with Claude Code. Utility tool for visualizing house dimensions on a plot. house-positioner.vercel.app

House Value Estimator

Mock prototype app built in ~30 minutes with Claude Code for estimating home value based on including or excluding different additions. house-value-estimator.vercel.app

Let's Connect

I'm always interested in hearing about new opportunities, interesting projects, or just connecting with other builders.