>kachami.dev
Developer,
Fin-tech Engineer
and Life-long Learner
Nicholas Kachami
Hi! 👋🏼 Thanks for stopping by! I'm Nicholas Kachami, a UC Irvine Computer Science graduate now working as a software engineer at American Express. My expertise spans both backend and frontend development with languages such as Java, Python, JavaScript, and SQL, along with experience in database management. I focus on developing enterprise applications with cutting-edge technologies like Elasticsearch, Kafka, and Docker to build high-performance, resilient, and secure solutions that can withstand millions of requests daily.
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Work Experience
American Express
Software Engineer
June 2021 - Present
- Architected and maintained mission-critical applications using Java Spring and Vert.x within a SAFe Agile Scrum framework, delivering high-quality code on schedule.
- Engineered robust CI/CD pipelines leveraging GitHub Actions, optimizing deployment efficiency for both monolithic and microservice architectures.
- Spearheaded enterprise search optimization initiative, implementing high-performance solutions utilizing relational databases, Kafka Connect, and Elasticsearch, resulting in significantly improved system responsiveness under high load conditions.
South West College, LACCD
Computer Science Instructor
April 2020 - January 2025
- Redesigned and modernized curriculum for Python programming, block coding, and robotics, enhancing student engagement and learning outcomes.
- Delivered comprehensive hardware/software instruction across synchronous and asynchronous learning environments, adapting teaching methodologies to diverse student needs.
Projects
Cross Enterprise Search Engine
Elasticsearch, ELK Stack, Java, Vert.x, Couchbase, Kafka
February 2024
- Refactored enterprise-wide intranet Search GraphQL API to leverage Elasticsearch as primary data source, replacing high-latency NoSQL implementation.
- Architected sophisticated Elasticsearch schema supporting diverse query patterns including key-value, conjunction/disjunction, full-text, typeahead, and fuzzy search capabilities.
- Achieved >100ms average latency reduction under load while increasing result accuracy by up to 10x for an API serving millions of weekly requests.
- Implemented secure, high-throughput Kafka data pipeline for reliable migration of hundreds of millions of customer accounts from Couchbase to Elasticsearch.
Full Stack Web Application - Movie Marketplace
Java, Spring, JavaScript, React, React Native
May 2022
- Developed end-to-end web application utilizing React.js frontend, Java Spring backend, and MySQL database, enabling seamless user experience from browsing to checkout.
- Implemented comprehensive JWT-based identity management with access/refresh token architecture, ensuring secure user authentication.
- Integrated with TMDB API to provide searchable catalog of 15,000+ films with robust filtering capabilities.
- Engineered an API Gateway leveraging Java Spring's reactive programming model (Mono/Flux) for efficient request routing and concurrency management.
- Extended platform reach through React Native mobile applications for both Android and iOS ecosystems.
Customer Activity Onboarding Page
JavaScript, React, Redux
August 2021
- Designed and implemented modular, visually appealing onboarding portal consolidating team descriptions, division structures, frameworks, and API documentation for enterprise-wide consumption.
- Accelerated cross-divisional code integration timelines by approximately one quarter, generating substantial cost savings throughout the American Express technology division.