Jesse-Peplinski-Resume

Summary

Founder/operator and applied AI engineer shipping AI-powered products fast. I build with Codex, Claude Code/Opus, OpenAI APIs, Next.js, Convex, Supabase/Postgres, and Vercel, with recent product work including Vibe Storefront, Gridiron Rumble, TryLaunchLoop, PortDeck, and TrySignalHire. I also bring 8+ years of production engineering in regulated environments and Hack Upstate operating experience across programs, grant operations, admissions systems, and developer education workflows built from scratch.

Experience

Senior Software Engineer July 2017 — Present

Equitable · Syracuse, NY

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 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
Migrated 150 pages from Sitecore to Adobe AEM with zero downtime, collaborating with vendor teams to compress an originally 9-month migration plan into roughly 3 months
Led the migration of an Angular to vanilla JavaScript Retirement Guide, architecting the separation of content and code
Used AI-assisted modernization to migrate RIG, a 10+ year-old Angular 1 retirement-planning app with outdated dependencies and security vulnerabilities, into a modern AEM component while preserving core calculator behavior
Enhanced FMG website intake forms by simplifying a feedback workflow spanning hundreds of questions and enabling PDF email summaries of advisor responses; improved usability and documentation for the intake process
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 engineer and managing the project backlog from prototype through MVP
Served as lead engineer across major customer-facing web initiatives, taking projects from requirements and stakeholder alignment through implementation, production launch, and post-launch reliability

Partner 2017 — Present

Hack Upstate LLC · Syracuse, NY

Directed and taught in Careers in Code, a 6-month intensive coding bootcamp for underserved populations, running day-to-day delivery across 6 cohorts (2019-2024)
Admitted 102 students, graduated 74 (72.5% graduation rate), placed 24 graduates in tech roles
Managed approximately $1.1M in grant-backed program funding across local government and economic development partners
Built admissions and operations systems from scratch, automating the pipeline end-to-end using Pipefy, Zapier, and Notion; implemented EOS for goal tracking
Organized 100+ person hackathons that brought developers, students, sponsors, and local organizations together to advance Central New York’s tech community

Selected AI/Product Work

Vibe Storefront (April 2026 · MVP live within 4h · Next.js, OpenAI, Supabase/Postgres, Clerk, Codex) — Solo-built AI product-validation app that turns plain-English ideas into positioning, copy, imagery, public share pages, and a live gallery.

Gridiron Rumble (March 2026 · ~1 month · Godot, Astro, Claude Code) — Solo-built 2D arcade football game with game engine, Astro marketing site, devlogs, playable web build, and iOS TestFlight release.

TryLaunchLoop (May 2026 · MVP in three weeks · Next.js, Convex, Vercel, Stripe, Resend, Codex) — Built in public on Twitch; turns commit logs and product progress into review-ready launch posts without pulling focus away from product work.

PortDeck (June 2026 · TypeScript, Swift, Astro, Docker, macOS, Codex) — AI-native local runtime dashboard for Mac: ports, services, Docker containers, Git repos, worktrees, health, and a status JSON contract for automation.

TrySignalHire (May 2026 · solo-built MVP in progress · Next.js, OpenAI, Supabase/Postgres, Clerk, Vercel, Codex) — AI-mediated hiring product where candidate work becomes sourced claims and company jobs become evidence signals for human review.

Education

B.S. Computer Science, Mathematics Minor 2015 — 2017

SUNY Potsdam

Benjamin F. Bradley Memorial Award — High achievement & outstanding department contribution
Founded Hack Potsdam (grew from 49 to 116 attendees, $10K raised, MLH partnership). President of ACM. GPA: 3.25
Speaker at HackCon V — "Getting Your Alumni Involved," presented to a national audience of student hackathon organizers

Technical Skills

Languages: JavaScript/TypeScript, Node.js, Python, Java, HTML/CSS
Frameworks: React, Next.js, Astro, Spring Boot, Tailwind CSS, Bootstrap, jQuery
CMS & Enterprise: Adobe AEM, HTL, Sitecore (6+ years), JSP, Scriban
AI & LLMs: Codex, Claude Code/Opus, OpenAI API, AI coding tools, MCP, RAG, embeddings, tool calling, structured outputs
Deployment: Post-sales deployment, adoption roadmaps, technical enablement, workshops, workflow mapping, KPIs, value realization
Platforms: Convex, Supabase/Postgres, Clerk, Vercel, Azure DevOps, Git/GitHub, CI/CD, containers, GraphQL, REST APIs, SDKs
Enterprise: SSO concepts, domain verification, encryption, compliance, stakeholder discovery, Agile/Scrum, Kanban
Automation: Zapier, Pipefy, Notion, n8n (familiar), workflow design, grant operations