I'm James Wolensky. I build scalable systems and lead high-performing engineering teams in San Diego.

I've spent over a decade solving complex technical challenges and growing into leadership roles where I can make an impact beyond code. My journey began as a software engineer building features and fixing bugs, but I quickly discovered my passion for system design, DevOps automation, and mentoring others to become better engineers.

Today, I operate at a staff+ level, where my focus extends beyond individual contributions to shaping technical strategy, leading cross-functional initiatives, and scaling teams. I've led migrations involving 10+ repositories, architected cloud infrastructure serving millions of users, and reduced deployment times by 80% through automation. But what drives me most is empowering engineers to do their best work—whether that's through mentorship, creating better development workflows, or building systems that are a joy to maintain.

I specialize in full-stack development with expertise in TypeScript, React, Node.js, and cloud-native architectures on AWS. I'm AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, with hands-on experience designing highly available, resilient systems using services like Lambda, ECS, RDS, and CloudFront. I believe in Infrastructure as Code, immutable deployments, and treating operations as a first-class engineering discipline.

I thrive in environments where technical excellence meets business impact. Whether it's consolidating legacy platforms into unified SaaS products, optimizing performance to boost conversion rates, or building dynamic preview environments that slash QA cycles, I approach every challenge with a bias toward scalability, maintainability, and developer experience.

Outside of work, I'm based in San Diego, where I enjoy exploring the city's incredible food scene, staying active outdoors, and continuously learning about the latest developments in distributed systems, cloud architecture, and engineering leadership.