Comment by monksy

Location: Chicago, IL or Remote (US)

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: Scala, ZIO, Akka, Kafka Streams, Kubernetes, AWS, Go, GraphQL, PostgreSQL, and more

Résumé/CV: https://mrmonksy.com/files/SHicks-Resume.pdf

Email: hackernews - a - mrmonksy.com

GitHub: github.com/monksy

Hi, I'm a Principal Software Engineer with 15+ years of professional experience.

I'm currently looking for new opportunities where I can help build, scale, or optimize data systems with an emphasis on functional programming (Scala, ZIO, Kafka Streams, etc.). I also have a strong interest in learning Rust and Elixir.

Highlights:

    * Led a full redesign of a critical health rewards pipeline, cutting infra costs from $50k+/year to just $8/year using Go, AWS Lambda, and SNS.

    * Architected and delivered a GraphQL service in 2 months using ZIO and Caliban, reducing client integration time from 3 months to 3 days.

    * Mentored engineers across teams in FP, system design, and event-driven architecture.

    * Deep experience with Scala, ZIO, Akka, Kafka, Kubernetes, and AWS.

    * Strong background in designing fault-tolerant, scalable, and maintainable systems from monolith refactors to greenfield services.

I'm looking to join an engineering-focused culture that values clean design, thoughtful collaboration, and developer empowerment. I love solving hard problems, improving delivery pipelines, and mentoring teams.