Jesse Peplinski

• Use Codex and Claude Code/Opus as part of my daily engineering workflow to accelerate planning, implementation, debugging, and legacy modernization while keeping enterprise security, SDLC, and compliance constraints in view.
• Rapidly prototyped the PCR Rates page in days when business stakeholders were stuck in abstract requirements discussions, then led the production redesign that now drives thousands of daily views and generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in business impact. Enabled faster product updates via JSON feed changes, eliminating the need for code deployments.
• Migrated 150 pages from Sitecore to Adobe AEM with zero downtime as lead engineer, shipping resilient reusable production components — most notably a widely adopted "Card" component — while coordinating directly with Northern (vendor) to compress an originally 9-month migration plan into roughly 3 months.
• Led the Competition App migration to the portal and later to AEM, ensuring full functionality throughout the transition.
• Improved maintainability of three public site maps (Market Manager, FMLA, Advisors) by replacing CSV-based updates with native AEM components, empowering business users to manage content directly.
• Led the migration of JSON feeds to GraphQL during the portal AEM transition.
• Developed a disclosure feed solution for interstitial domain pages to support redirects from equitable.com, enhancing navigation and compliance.
• Enhanced FMG website form intake, enabling PDF summaries of advisor responses.
• Successfully cross-trained a teammate to support the SCS Premier product launch, contributing to team scalability.

• Led the CompApp migration to the portal as lead engineer, migrating every page in a single sprint and positioning the team for UX updates.
• Supported the Sitecore 10.2 to 10.3 upgrade, organizing the team for data migration and identifying every change between items when syncing content from PROD to DEV to ensure 1-1 parity.
• Supported Navigation enhancements, PCR updates including the SCS 16 sunset, Retirement Guide enhancements for the Equivest SIO II product launch, the Employee Benefits map, and DEI tab launch on the portal.
• Contributed to accessibility stories to meet compliance goals.
• Helped establish a new pattern for building resilient, repeatable components in Sitecore (Navigation, Jump Links, Heroes).
• Supported the decommission of DocuSign by converting forms to Adobe Sign; created and maintained documentation for the team.

• Led the Retirement Guide replatform as lead engineer for the "How SIO Works" component — one of the most complex components on the site. Architected the separation of code from content so data updates can happen without deployments.
• Created a component rendering for the navigation redesign using Scriban for initial markup, integrating with JavaScript for interactivity. Delivered a significantly improved user experience on the public website.
• Supported the Sitecore 9.3 to 10.2 upgrade, organizing the data migration process through spreadsheets and issue tracking to ensure smooth cutover.
• Developed initial Disaster Recovery scripts to fetch page markup and media library items for the public website.
• Provided guidance and mentoring to teammates on implementation strategies.

• Led the PCR page redesign (equitable.com/cap-rates) as lead engineer. Created a robust solution requiring minimal IT changes for future product launches. Reduced codebase from ~3,000 lines to ~590 lines, dramatically improving maintainability.
• Considered one of the most successful product launches in 5 years at Equitable due to the process used: UX and functionality approved before implementation, reducing confusion from the business.
• Supported the Sitecore 9.1 to 9.3 cutover, implementing hotfixes and organizing page checkout and issue resolution.
• Created mobile menu views for retail, IR, GR, and Life on the portal website. Built a new CUR navigation view for desktop.
• Migrated the Associations website to CDN, reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Created technical documentation for CI/CD pipeline management.

• Helped define and facilitate user story creation during the transition to New Ways of Working (NWOW). Managed Kanban workflow and facilitated standups as part of the self-managing team.
• Created extensive Sitecore documentation and hosted training/KT sessions for the team on Sitecore features.
• Supported successful product launches of the Market Trend Indicator pages on the public website.
• Implemented dynamic product data for the Retirement Guide, supporting SCS PLUS 21 and SCS Income launches.
• Migrated HLP and Retirement Guide to CDN, reducing costs and increasing efficiency.
• Built the CompApp, creating features, user stories, JSON feeds in Sitecore, and extensive business documentation.

• Shipped OBP to production in May 2020 as lead front-end developer, scrum master, and technical point-person.
• Developed a modified eRTQ for the CRP (Retiree For Success) program, working closely with business stakeholders on requirements.
• Supported HLP vendor transition, fast-tracking the application and working with leadership to ensure success.
• Began leading Retirement Guide front-end efforts with minimal guidance, working directly with business stakeholders on scope and implementation.

• Led the AXA Chatbot project using Microsoft Bot Framework on Azure (Node.js). Built from prototype to MVP, serving as lead engineer. Planned for funded project in 2019.
• Contributed to PCR through React/Redux code, responsive styling, and client-side form validation.
• Set up monitoring and analytics with Application Insights for PCR, providing dashboards for Usage, Reliability, Availability, Responsiveness, and client-side browser data.
• Contributed to OBP through React/Redux code and responsive front-end styling.

• Wrote front-end code in JavaScript and back-end code in Java for the eRTQ project. Created responsive styles and delivered on time without errors.
• Created a detailed README to reduce developer and support team onboarding time.
• Introduced process improvements: environment indicators in story titles, VSTS documentation standards.

Directed all day-to-day operations for Careers in Code, a 6-month intensive coding bootcamp serving underserved populations in Central New York. Ran in partnership with Le Moyne College's Erie 21 program and CenterState CEO.

• 6 cohorts delivered (2019–2024)
• 102 students admitted, 74 graduated (72.5% graduation rate)
• 24 graduates placed in in-field employment (32% of graduates)
• Approximately $1.1M in grant-backed program funding managed across local government and economic development partners
• 14–20 students per cohort, hybrid/remote delivery model

• Built CRM and admissions automation using Notion, Pipefy, and Zapier
• Implemented Willo Talent for video-based admissions screening
• Managed stipend distribution via PEX Card system
• Created performance dashboards for student tracking
• Implemented EOS methodology for organizational goal tracking
• Created and maintained detailed operations handbooks
• Managed hardware procurement and laptop recovery processes

• Le Moyne College Erie 21 program
• CenterState CEO
• Local employers for job placement pipeline
• Marketing through Constant Contact campaigns

• Organized 100+ person hackathons that brought developers, students, sponsors, and local organizations together to advance Central New York’s tech community
• Facilitated a youth hackathon with 40 children
• Grew the developer community across the CNY region
• Raised tens of thousands of dollars in sponsorship per event

• Co-founded a college hackathon that grew from 49 attendees (Fall 2016) to 116 attendees (Spring 2017) — 137% growth
• Raised $10,000 in sponsorship from 14 sponsors
• Established partnership with Major League Hacking (official student hackathon league)
• Led meetings with 7 organizers and 20+ volunteers
• Spoke at HackCon V (August 2017): "Getting Your Alumni Involved" — presented to national audience of student hackathon organizers

• Hosted 15+ events for students throughout the school year
• Composed, pitched, and received approval of the $2,000 annual budget
• Established Slack community with 100+ students and alumni
• Supervised development of SUNY Potsdam club websites
• Created alumni foundation program for financial sustainability
• Delivered regular lightning talks on emerging technologies

• Developed JavaScript (ES6), JSP, and Bootstrap features on client portals
• Led the organization of AXA's first U.S. hackathon with 40+ attendees on a team of 6 interns

• HTML, CSS, and PHP development using WordPress CMS on Digital Marketing team
• Worked with multiple clients to define their statement of work
• Successfully pitched a website upgrade to a client who paid in full within days