Senior software engineer with 25+ years building backend systems, platform infrastructure, and automation pipelines. I use AI coding tools — Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI — as a core part of how I design and ship software, not as a novelty.

I own the full delivery cycle: system architecture → backend development → CI/CD automation → containerization → production observability.

A Go-based SRE observability agent built with Claude Code. Collects metrics from multiple providers via OpenTelemetry, exposes a Prometheus endpoint, and provisions a live Grafana dashboard automatically. Includes CI/CD, linting, 80%+ test coverage gate, and a full containerized stack.

Go OpenTelemetry Prometheus Grafana Docker GitHub Actions MCP

An AI-assisted crypto arbitrage agent built in Python. Uses a LangGraph workflow (monitor → AI auditor → executor) to evaluate cross-exchange spreads, get an LLM GO/WAIT decision before any trade execution, and log all decisions to a live Streamlit dashboard.

Python LangGraph CCXT Streamlit SQLite Docker Anthropic API

A full-stack personal investment tracker engineered to eliminate emotional decision-making at the point of entry. Forces structured buy thesis documentation and explicit sell conditions before any position is opened — creating an auditable decision trail. Integrates Claude API to perform real-time gap analysis on investment theses and surface missed exit criteria. Backed by a fully async FastAPI + SQLAlchemy 2 data layer, server-side TTL caching for Alpha Vantage market data, and a 272-test suite (127 backend + 180 frontend + Playwright E2E) with ~80% line coverage.

Python FastAPI SQLAlchemy Vue 3 Pinia Vite SQLite Alpha Vantage API Anthropic API Playwright pytest-asyncio GitHub Actions

A PHP encryption client library built for enterprise key management integration. Implements a high-availability key manager client (primary/secondary failover via TLS) against an external Alliance Key Manager, keeping cryptographic keys fully out of application code and off-disk. Enforces key instance tracking alongside ciphertext to support proper key rotation without data loss. OpenSSL-backed encryption/decryption layer with a clean interface that decouples key lifecycle from business logic — the same pattern used in regulated environments handling PII and payment data.

PHP OpenSSL TLS PHPUnit Codeception

• 💼 linkedin.com/in/mhightower
• 📧 marcus.hightower@gmail.com