david kalina

Full-Stack Software Engineer · Colorado / Remote

I build scalable
systems and solve real-world
problems—end to end.

I design and ship scalable, high-performing, non-blocking systems — quickly, and with care for the people that use them.

VIEW SELECTED WORKGET IN TOUCHRESUME ↓
Professional exp.
4+yrs
Pipeline cost cut
98%
Saved annually
$20k+
Domains shipped
3+

Recent
work.

Compact case studies on what I built, how I built it, and the impact it had.

01˝

AI Document Processing Pipeline

AI-powered pipeline for TMS software saving $2k+ a month. Extracts structured data from shipping documents in a non-blocking, asynchronous workflow.

1/50th
Token cost
$20k+
Saved annually
100s
Uses per day
vueexpresssqsaws-lambdavercel-ai-sdkterraform
Links
app.cudacartagetms.com
Vue
CLIENT
PDF upload form, job status polling, and the auto-fill flow that saves operators hours of manual entry.
Express
API
Plain REST — endpoints for upload, poll, and hydrate. Form fills the moment the worker finishes writing.
SQS
QUEUE
Upload writes a job row, drops a message, returns in milliseconds. Heavy work happens off the request path.
AWS Lambda
WORKER
Consumes the queue. Rasterizes the PDF with Ghostscript, calls the AI SDK, writes results back to the DB.
Vercel AI SDK
EXTRACTION
Structured outputs turn the page image into typed shipment JSON. No regex, no fragile templates.
Terraform
INFRA
Whole stack as code. Remote state in S3, apply gated behind a GitHub Actions runner — no one ships from a laptop.
USER JOURNEY · Upload → auto-filled form
01
Upload PDFOperator drops a shipping document into the web app.Vue
02
Job queuedRecord written, SQS message fired, response returns instantly.SQS · Express
03
Worker picks upLambda pulls the message and rasterizes the PDF via Ghostscript.AWS Lambda
04
AI extracts fieldsPage image in, structured shipment JSON out.Vercel AI SDK
05
Form auto-fillsFrontend poll resolves; extracted data populates the operator's form.Vue · Express
SHIPPED · 1/50TH TOKEN COST
role: full-stack · pipeline + infra + api
02

Side Quests

Mobile app that turns real-world venues and activities into digital 'side quests' that challenge people to step out of their comfort zone and help them build a life they respect.

react-nativetypescriptopenaimcpgoogle-placesredis
React Native
CLIENT
Quest card stack, check-in flow, streak calendar. Expo + Reanimated for low-friction micro-interactions.
TypeScript
LANGUAGE
Language of the entire monorepo — app, agent, tools, shared types. One toolchain top to bottom.
OpenAI
PLANNER
Onboarding interviewer + quest generator tuned to energy level. MCP exposes places.search, calendar.book, profile.recall — clean boundary between reasoning and side-effects.
Google Places
REALITY
Grounds every suggestion in a real venue — hours, crowd level, photos. No hallucinated spots.
Redis
CACHE
Caches Places responses per venue and query. Hot lookups skip the API entirely — trimming spend on repeat suggestions.
USER JOURNEY · 7 min first session
01
Guided onboardingAgent asks about interests, comfort zone, energy.OpenAI · React Native
02
Quest proposed'Walk past the Sunday market. Stay 10 min. No need to buy.'OpenAI · MCP
03
Grounded in real venueHours, photos, and walking time from Places — hot venues served from Redis.Google Places · Redis
04
Low-pressure check-inOne tap. How'd it feel? 1–5.React Native
05
Next quest adaptsAgent tunes difficulty based on feedback + streak.OpenAI · TypeScript
BUILDING · TESTFLIGHT BETA APR 2026
role: solo · design + eng + ai

Full-stack engineer building thoughtful systems across SaaS, logistics, and marketplaces.

Four-plus years of professional experience, with a focus on TypeScript, React, and Node.js — and a growing pull toward cloud infrastructure (AWS, Terraform) and AI-powered tooling. Recently, I've taken an interest in cutting down on unnecessary frameworks, packages, libraries, and abstractions while shipping lean, performant software that's easy to reason about.

  • TYPESCRIPT
  • REACT
  • NEXT.JS
  • VUE
  • NODE
  • BUN
  • GRAPHQL
  • POSTGRES
  • REDIS
  • AWS
  • TERRAFORM
  • DOCKER
  • TAILWIND
  • REACT NATIVE
Core skills

TypeScript, React, Vue Node.js, GraphQL, Postgres

Cloud & AI

AWS, Terraform, Docker Vercel AI SDK, MCP

Based in

Colorado Working Hybrid (MT)

Currently

Open to senior roles & select freelance

Featured — 2025

“Designed an AI-powered document pipeline that reduced shipping-PDF processing costs by 98% — saving $20k+ annually.”

EEL DATA SYSTEMSSEE CASE →
Current focus
  • 01AI-powered tooling that amplifies — rather than replaces — human judgment.
  • 02Developing 'anti-doomscroll' mobile software to help people become well-adjusted and more intentional
  • 03Event-driven, non-blocking infrastructure on AWS + Terraform.
  • 04Cross-platform mobile experiences with React Native.

Let's build
something
worth using.

Email — preferred
davidkalina@proton.me
WRITE →
GitHub
github.com/DavidKalina
VISIT →
Location
Colorado · UTC−7
Or — send a note

Prefer email? davidkalina@proton.me