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Michael Barquero
Senior Technology Leader | Python Developer
Email: [email protected]
Professional Summary
Engineer at heart, leader by experience. Over 20 years building secure, data-intensive systems across health tech, clinical research, and nonprofits — I write code daily, lead when teams need direction, and care deeply about the craft. Fluent in Python, cloud-native architectures, and the kind of honest collaboration that makes complex projects actually ship.
Experience
Judi Health (Cap Dev CR) | Senior Staff Software Developer | Oct 2024 – Present | Remote
- Design and build scalable features for JUDI, integrating Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial PBM operations into a unified enterprise health platform
- Develop backend services with Python, FastAPI, AWS Lambda, and Alembic; build responsive frontend applications with React.js, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS
- Daily use of pytest for unit and functional test design — advanced fixtures, parametrization strategies, scoped lifecycles, and timeout management
- Design and maintain deterministic Docker environments for reproducible builds and CI execution across Linux-based systems
- Leverage uv and pyproject.toml for dependency management, packaging workflows, and environment reproducibility
- AI-assisted development is woven into daily workflow: GitHub Copilot and Claude models accelerate iteration, test-case generation, refactoring, and cross-language debugging — not as a shortcut, but as a force multiplier for engineering quality
- Maintain CI/CD pipelines through GitHub Actions with coverage enforcement (coverage.py, pytest-cov), peer reviews, and static analysis (flake8, ruff, mypy)
Growth Acceleration Partners (GAP) | Staff Python Engineer | Jul 2023 – Jul 2024 | Remote
- Led design and implementation of 5+ FastAPI microservices APIs for distributed systems; architected Python-based data pipelines processing 10M+ records daily
- Incorporated Docker containerization reducing deployment time by 75%; automated infrastructure with Terraform and Kubernetes
- Implemented automated testing strategies using pytest and CI-driven coverage validation across microservices
- Built on earlier AI-assisted practices to integrate Copilot and LLM tools more deliberately into refactoring, cross-language comprehension, and debugging workflows — moving from occasional use to a structured part of the development cycle
- Leveraged GitHub Actions for CI/CD pipelines, enhancing development efficiency and code quality
ProofPilot | Director of Technology | Jul 2020 – Jul 2023 | Remote
- Oversaw IT services delivery for clinical research platform, managing team of 8 engineers through agile development cycles with 95% on-time delivery rate
- Designed highly encrypted GCP environments ensuring compliance with FISMA, HIPAA, ISO 27001, SOC 2, and GDPR for healthcare data processing
- Delivered 99.9% system availability while mentoring junior developers and establishing coding standards for the Python development team
- Early adopter of AI-assisted development: began integrating LLM tools to support engineering productivity, code quality improvements, and team onboarding — laying the foundation for the more systematic practices that followed
- Led establishment of automated testing standards using pytest and coverage enforcement across services
FHI 360 | Web Development Team Lead | Apr 2015 – Jun 2020 | Washington, DC
- Led agile development team of 5 developers for ReactJS-PHP applications using Symfony framework, supporting seven U.S. State Department projects
- Supervised full development lifecycle using scrum methodologies; configured and maintained AWS server architecture optimizing system performance
- Revamped CRM system architecture and implemented across 90+ U.S. Embassies worldwide, resulting in annual cost savings of $500K
Broadcast Management Group | Director Enterprise Technology | Jan 2014 – Feb 2015 | Washington, DC
- Led development team of 4 engineers creating SugarCRM customizations, e-commerce platforms, RESTful APIs, and mobile applications
- Implemented agile development processes improving team productivity by 40%
Cyclogram | Web Developer Team Lead | Jan 2012 – Dec 2016 | San José, Costa Rica
- Led 3 geographically dispersed teams (12 developers) creating high-performance PHP systems for Emory University clinical trial studies
- Developed 2 CDC-sponsored study websites ensuring HIPAA compliance; implemented encrypted environments with 99.8% system availability
Earlier Experience (2003–2012) | Senior PHP Developer | Arcus, Silver Arrow Marketing, Bodybuilding, Prime Staffing
- Primary language during this period: PHP (Symfony/Laravel ecosystems), building REST APIs and scalable backend systems
- Developed 2 REST API applications for Android: New York Post app (500K+ users) and Panera Bread app (5M+ installations)
- Built scalable web applications and APIs for marketing, e-commerce, and financial services reducing client costs by 30%
Education
Master's in Data Management and Technological Innovation. University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. University of Science and Technology, San José, Costa Rica.
Technical Skills
- Languages & Frameworks: Python (FastAPI, Flask, Django), JavaScript/TypeScript (React, React Native, Node.js), PHP (Symfony, Laravel), HTML5, CSS3, Bash
- Modern Python Tooling: uv, pyproject.toml, packaging mechanics, dependency isolation, reproducible builds
- Testing & Quality: Pytest (advanced fixtures, parametrization, scoped lifecycles), Playwright (E2E testing), coverage.py, pytest-cov, flake8, ruff, mypy, TDD
- Cloud & DevOps: AWS (Lambda, EC2, S3, SES, CloudWatch), GCP, Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, CI/CD pipelines
- Data & Storage: PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, MongoDB, DynamoDB, AWS S3, Pandas, SQLAlchemy, Prefect, Apache Spark, Hadoop, HBase
- Security & Compliance: HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, FISMA, secure system design, encryption, audit readiness
- AI-Accelerated Development: GitHub Copilot (GPT Codex, Claude models), LLM-assisted refactoring, automated test generation, cross-language code analysis
- Leadership & Process: Agile/Scrum, sprint planning, team mentoring, Jira, Confluence, cross-functional collaboration, bilingual (English & Spanish)