macnod

Location: Manteca, CA, USA

Remote: Yes (required)

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: Python, Java, SQL, AWS, Azure, Kubernetes, Terraform, PostgreSQL, GitHub Actions, Common Lisp

Résumé/CV: https://sinistercode.com/public/donnie/resume

Email: macnod [at] gmail [dot] com

Senior software engineer, 20+ years. Available immediately; US Pacific hours. Looking for a full-time remote role designing backend or platform systems.

I write programs that write programs. Data UI is a compiler I'm building in Common Lisp. It already compiles a 57-line model into PostgreSQL, REST, a minimal React UI, row-level RBAC, and Kubernetes+TLS, and deploys it. The same application is roughly 20,000 lines written by hand. In my tests an agent can generate large parts of it, but not the application. It needs a senior directing it the whole way. The 57-line model is what gets reviewed instead. Live demos: https://data-ui.com

Recently, Azure Government (FedRAMP IL5): commercial Elasticsearch was not allowed, so I replaced it with self-hosted Elasticsearch inside the VNet. Subnet and AKS in Terraform; Elasticsearch from Terraform-managed Helm charts.

I run several models from different providers, including local ones, in one Emacs instance. Any of them can enlist another against the same live state. One shape: a model drafts a plan, enlists a second to draft its own, then reconciles the two. They implement against the live Lisp image, and they can patch the Emacs instance they are running in, so a fix to the harness takes effect on the next prompt. In the usual setup the model can't reach the program running it. Only I commit.

Portfolio: https://sinistercode.com/public/donnie

GitHub: https://github.com/macnod

Location: Manteca, CA, USA Remote: Yes (required) Willing to relocate: No Technologies: Common Lisp, Emacs Lisp, Java, Python, SQL, AWS, Azure, Kubernetes, Terraform, PostgreSQL, GitHub Actions Résumé/CV: https://sinistercode.com/public/donnie/resume Email: macnod [at] gmail [dot] com

Looking for a remote senior software engineering role or DevOps that is still engineering.

Remote senior software engineer, 20+ years. Last year was DevOps (Azure, AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform); I still write as much code as ever.

I write programs that write programs. Data UI is a compiler: a 57-line model becomes PostgreSQL, REST, React, row-level RBAC, and a Kubernetes+TLS deploy, versus roughly 20,000 lines of hand-built Java. https://data-ui.com

Common Lisp is the working language, not a hobby. The environment is Emacs with several AIs from different services in one instance: they see each other's buffers, cooperate with each other, especially when it comes to planning, and can edit the live Lisp they run in. The harness sits on gptel-agent. The rest is mine: define-gptel-agent, paren-balance checks, bash timeouts. Agents never stage or commit; I review unstaged diffs and commit myself.

https://sinistercode.com/public/donnie https://github.com/macnod

I haven't used Windows in years. But I used it for a long, long time at work. And I became more proficient with Windows after I learned Linux.

You don't need Linux for anything, but learning it can make you a better programmer.

According to this person, KWrite is better than Emacs and Emacs is a bug. In my opinion, this makes his post a little less credible. The rules that he suggests we all learn for how to use tabs and spaces in a file are helpful, but only when you're forced to use tabs. Otherwise, using spaces is always easier when you have to share your code with people that are not required to use KWrite.

Out of curiosity, I wrote a simple non-optimized quicksort function in Common Lisp (SBCL) and timed a 180,000-element sort at 567ms, about half as much as the Java version. I'm sure that could be improved greatly with better coding and type hints.

Here's the code http://donnieknows.com/blog/sbcl-fast

I think in extremes:

If you're a computer and software user, OSX is the way to go.

If you're a hacker, you can code in more than 10 programming languages, and you've been writing code for more than 10 years, then you'll be way better off with Ubuntu.

If you're somewhere in between, stick with OSX.

Forget about Windows for now. But don't be surprised if they come out with something truly wonderful some day.

No degree. I've been programming professionally for 20+ years. Usually better off than my peers salary-wise (since the beginning). Generally regarded as the best amongst the programmers I know personally (which is a bad thing, in my view). Started several companies. Most failed. One sold. Have had a 9-5 job for the last 3 years (telecommuting from home). Title: Senior Programmer Analyst. Actual Work: developing new products (programming).