I'm James Malarkey — a full-stack engineer with a product-focused mindset and a deep obsession with precision, system correctness, and well-architected software.
I’m currently the CTO of a fast-growing platform where I lead technical strategy, architect infrastructure, and write production-grade code across the stack.
I’d describe myself as pedantic in the best possible way: I’m rigorous about code quality, test coverage, edge cases, error handling, naming conventions — even commit history. Every line of code should justify its existence.
- Architect and maintain scalable backend systems using Python, Django, and Go
- Build high-performance frontend interfaces with React, Next.js, TypeScript, and TailwindCSS
- Automate infrastructure and deployments using CI/CD, Docker, GitHub Actions, and Bash
- Develop internal tools, video processing pipelines, AI integrations, and monitoring systems
- Plan product and engineering sprints with GitHub Projects and Kanban workflows
- Mentor devs, review PRs (extensively), and document everything like it’s a standard
| 🧠 Learning/Research | ⚙️ Tooling/Systems |
|---|---|
| AI model inference & fine-tuning | Celery, Redis, RabbitMQ |
| Distributed system design | Nginx, FFmpeg, Docker |
| Machine learning pipelines | PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch |
| Backend performance and profiling | GitHub Actions, CI/CD pipelines |
| Multi-tenant architectures | Vite, Zustand, SWR |
"If you’re going to do it, do it right — or not at all."
I believe in designing for scale from day one, minimizing future rewrites, and documenting decisions — not just code. I take systems thinking seriously, and I’m not afraid to challenge weak assumptions.Good software is boring, predictable, debuggable, and well-tested.
- 💬 I’m open to meaningful collaborations, smart side-projects, and anything challenging.
- 🧪 Always happy to nerd out over architecture, dev workflows, code quality, and technical decision-making.
“Pedantry builds stability.”