John Villafania

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Docker deployments managed in Portainer.", "Debugged production applications: resolved rate limiting and account security issues, and cut latency with proper table indexes and background jobs." ] }, { "heading": "College of the Marshall Islands", "subheading": "Web and Database Administrator", "start": "2017-04", "end": "2023-08", "bullets": [ "Engineered full-stack administrative platforms using PHP, Laravel, Vue, and React, automating institutional data collection and reporting for over 1,000 active students and staff.", "Spearheaded database modernization, executing an end-to-end migration from legacy MySQL databases to improve query performance, data integrity, and system reliability.", "Architected automated data integration pipelines to extract and synthesize metrics from third-party SaaS platforms, fulfilling audit requirements and enabling data-driven leadership decisions.", "Managed Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), orchestrating the migration of legacy on-premises servers to cloud environments to improve uptime and reduce operational overhead.", "Drove enterprise software adoption across campus operations by establishing technical documentation, leading system training sessions, and collaborating with administrative stakeholders." ] }, { "heading": "Governance Commission for GOCCs", "subheading": "Information Technology Officer I", "start": "2015-09", "end": "2017-02", "bullets": [ "Developed modular, maintainable PHP backends and responsive user interfaces, delivering core features for government portal applications.", "Collaborated on technical scoping, testing, and deployments, delivering software updates across multi-stakeholder systems while ensuring feature stability.", "Participated in code reviews and QA processes, enforcing coding standards and drafting documentation to streamline platform onboarding for end-users." ] }, { "heading": "Amadeus Marketing Philippines", "subheading": "Software Development Support", "start": "2014-04", "end": "2015-09", "bullets": [ "Built core features for enterprise C# applications, collaborating with development teams to implement client requirements and maintain application stability.", "Designed and deployed a digital visitor logging tool in C#, automating manual front-office workflows and replacing paper-based record keeping." ] }, { "heading": "Entertainment Gateway Group", "subheading": "Junior Software Engineer", "start": "2013-06", "end": "2013-12", "bullets": ["Engineered backend services for an enterprise web application using Java, Spring Boot, and Hibernate ORM, implementing relational data access and core business logic."] } ] }, { "kind": "education", "title": "Education", "entries": [ { "heading": "Jose Rizal University", "subheading": "Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering", "start": "2008-06", "end": "2013-12", "bullets": [] } ] }, { "kind": "project", "title": "Projects", "entries": [ { "heading": "TACO", "subheading": "Open-source Claude Code screenshot companion, v1.0.0", "url": "https://github.com/jadvillafania/taco", "bullets": [ "Delivered a local-first Windows tray app (Tauri v2, Rust, Vue 3 + TypeScript) that injects screenshots into running Claude Code sessions in WSL or native Windows - built fully AI-assisted with Claude Code as a hands-on study of agentic development workflows.", "Owned the product spec, technical design and milestone plans; 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Profile

Senior Full-Stack Engineer with 10+ years of experience delivering scalable web applications and financial platforms for international clients. Deep expertise in PHP (Laravel), JavaScript/TypeScript (React, Vue) and relational databases, with a track record in multi-tenant SaaS, RBAC security, real-time event-driven systems and third-party API integrations. Currently leading full-stack technical direction on a fintech platform launched in Australia, and experienced in mentoring engineers and setting code review standards.

Projects

TACO

Open-source Claude Code screenshot companion, v1.0.0

Delivered a local-first Windows tray app (Tauri v2, Rust, Vue 3 + TypeScript) that injects screenshots into running Claude Code sessions in WSL or native Windows - built fully AI-assisted with Claude Code as a hands-on study of agentic development workflows.
Owned the product spec, technical design and milestone plans; tested on real WSL and Windows setups, diagnosed issues and guided implementation through structured prompts (examples, XML-tagged inputs and code) and multi-agent development to keep each agent's context focused.
Steered the design through cross-environment edge cases: tiered delivery with a guaranteed clipboard fallback, session discovery across WSL, PowerShell and Command Prompt, path translation and multi-monitor capture; shipped v1.0.0 with unit tests and NSIS/MSI installers.

Education

Jose Rizal University

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering

Jun 2008 — Dec 2013

Core Competencies

BackendPHP, Laravel, microservices, REST API design and third-party API integrations, event-driven architecture, WebSockets.

FrontendJavaScript, TypeScript, React, Vue, HTML, CSS, Sass; data-visualization dashboards and state management standards.

DatabasesSQL, MySQL, MSSQL, database design, migration and administration.

SaaS & SecurityMulti-tenant architecture, RBAC, enterprise compliance, financial data pipelines.

Cloud & DevOpsAWS, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), Docker, Jenkins, Linux, Redis.

Leadership & PracticeTechnical direction, code review workflows, mentoring, business analysis, UI/UX; agentic coding with Claude Code.

Languages English (fluent), Filipino (native).

Professional Experience

Vokke

Senior Software Engineer

Aug 2023 — Present

Architected an event-driven notification pipeline across 3 Laravel microservices and a React frontend client, leveraging WebSocket channels to deliver low-latency real-time alerts.
Engineered multi-tenant isolation and RBAC security across backend APIs and frontend route guards, enabling seamless workspace switching and enterprise compliance.
Built end-to-end financial data pipelines, integrating third-party REST APIs with React visualization dashboards to automate monthly transaction validations.
Spearheaded full-stack technical direction (Laravel/React) for a roadmap-critical fintech platform, executing architecture decisions that drove market launch in Australia.
Established full-stack design patterns and code review workflows, mentoring 3 frontend engineers to elevate code quality, enforce state management standards, and increase release velocity.

Direct client

Freelance Backend Engineer

Apr 2024 — Present

Designed and built a white-label backend integration platform in Laravel for a high-traffic, transaction-critical platform, reused across multiple client deployments with per-deployment configuration and tuning.
Processed millions of wallet transactions (around 8 million records in a single 3-month run) with 1,000+ concurrent users at peak.
Implemented idempotent transaction handling to meet the third-party vendor’s integration requirements, and prevented race conditions with queued jobs and SQL row locking (lockForUpdate).
Deployed a self-hosted Laravel Reverb WebSocket server for real-time Pub/Sub messaging via Laravel Broadcasting, with Redis-backed queues; Docker deployments managed in Portainer.
Debugged production applications: resolved rate limiting and account security issues, and cut latency with proper table indexes and background jobs.

College of the Marshall Islands

Web and Database Administrator

Apr 2017 — Aug 2023

Engineered full-stack administrative platforms using PHP, Laravel, Vue, and React, automating institutional data collection and reporting for over 1,000 active students and staff.
Spearheaded database modernization, executing an end-to-end migration from legacy MySQL databases to improve query performance, data integrity, and system reliability.
Architected automated data integration pipelines to extract and synthesize metrics from third-party SaaS platforms, fulfilling audit requirements and enabling data-driven leadership decisions.
Managed Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), orchestrating the migration of legacy on-premises servers to cloud environments to improve uptime and reduce operational overhead.
Drove enterprise software adoption across campus operations by establishing technical documentation, leading system training sessions, and collaborating with administrative stakeholders.

Governance Commission for GOCCs

Information Technology Officer I

Sep 2015 — Feb 2017

Developed modular, maintainable PHP backends and responsive user interfaces, delivering core features for government portal applications.
Collaborated on technical scoping, testing, and deployments, delivering software updates across multi-stakeholder systems while ensuring feature stability.
Participated in code reviews and QA processes, enforcing coding standards and drafting documentation to streamline platform onboarding for end-users.

Amadeus Marketing Philippines

Software Development Support

Apr 2014 — Sep 2015

Built core features for enterprise C# applications, collaborating with development teams to implement client requirements and maintain application stability.
Designed and deployed a digital visitor logging tool in C#, automating manual front-office workflows and replacing paper-based record keeping.

Entertainment Gateway Group

Junior Software Engineer

Jun 2013 — Dec 2013

Engineered backend services for an enterprise web application using Java, Spring Boot, and Hibernate ORM, implementing relational data access and core business logic.