Open for select projects
I build software
that ships and scales.
I'm Matt Downey, a full-stack software engineer who partners with teams and founders to design, build, and ship reliable web applications — senior-level engineering without the overhead of a big agency.
Building with tools trusted across the industry
What I do
Services built around shipped software
Not just advice — working software, delivered by one senior engineer who owns the outcome end to end.
Full-Stack Web Applications
End-to-end product builds — from data model to deployed UI — using modern, maintainable stacks like Next.js, React, and Node.js.
- Production-ready React/Next.js frontends
- Typed APIs and backend services
- Database design & data modeling
API & Systems Architecture
Backend systems and integrations built to scale, with clean boundaries, sensible auth, and infrastructure that doesn't fall over.
- RESTful API design
- Cloud infrastructure on AWS
- Authentication & authorization
Modernization & Consulting
Audits and upgrades for existing codebases — performance, developer experience, and reliability improvements grounded in real metrics.
- Performance & architecture audits
- CI/CD and automated testing
- Legacy migration planning
Ongoing Support & Partnership
A long-term technical partner for teams who need senior-level engineering on call, without the overhead of a full-time hire.
- Post-launch maintenance
- Iterative feature delivery
- Technical advisory & code review
How it works
A process built to remove surprises
Five stages, tight feedback loops, and no black boxes.
Discover & Scope
We define the problem, constraints, and success criteria before a line of code is written.
Design & Architect
Data models, API contracts, and system architecture get sketched out and stress-tested on paper first.
Build & Iterate
Working software ships early and often, with tight feedback loops instead of a single big reveal.
Test & Launch
Automated tests, CI/CD, and a deliberate rollout plan keep launch day boring — in the best way.
Support & Scale
Post-launch monitoring, iteration, and architecture reviews as real usage and requirements grow.
Selected work
Featured Work
Current production work that reflects how I build today: modern React architecture, secure integrations, and deployment-aware engineering.
IN DEVELOPMENT
DialecTrek
Multilingual language-learning platform with a server-rendered Next.js frontend and FastAPI backend, starting with a verb conjugation drill tool built to expand into vocabulary, grammar, and more.
Under active development, with new languages and features shipping regularly.
62 Moons Band Website
Production-ready band website with a protected admin workflow for managing upcoming shows, GitHub-backed content publishing, typed domain logic, and Vercel analytics/observability.
Ships new content safely through a protected admin workflow and GitHub-backed publishing pipeline.
Grandma's Card Box
Full-stack recipe-sharing app with real account auth (JWT, bcrypt, email verification), direct-to-S3 photo uploads, a searchable recipe API, and a serverless Express backend on AWS Lambda behind API Gateway.
Runs a full production auth and storage pipeline on serverless AWS infrastructure.
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Faster data retrieval after re-architecting a production ETL & API layer
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Fewer regression bugs after building out CI/CD and automated testing
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Full-stack projects shipped end to end
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Languages, frameworks & tools across the stack
About me
The engineer behind the work
I'm a results-driven software engineer with a background in engineering, focused on building high-impact web applications that solve real problems. I enjoy breaking complex challenges into maintainable systems and delivering consistent value through clean, thoughtful code.
Today, I lead full-stack development for enterprise applications and collaborate closely with product, analytics, and engineering teams to deliver reliable, scalable solutions.
I'm also an avid, early adopter of AI-assisted development — I build it into planning, scaffolding, code review, and testing to move faster on every engagement without cutting corners on quality.
AI-accelerated, not AI-replaced
I use modern AI tooling daily to speed up delivery — the judgment, architecture, and quality bar are still all mine.
Experience
Oct 2022 — Dec 2025
Senior Associate Software Engineer
Amgen
- Led full-stack development for a proprietary business analytics platform used in executive decision making.
- Re-architected ETL and API layers to improve data retrieval speed by 63%.
- Implemented automated testing and CI/CD pipelines, reducing regression bugs by 92%.
- Collaborated with data engineering, analytics, and DevOps teams to improve performance, scalability, and reliability.
Certifications
- SAFe 5 Practitioner
- SAFe 5 Agile Software Engineer
- Advanced React by Meta
- AWS Solutions Architect (in progress)
Have a project in mind?
Let's talk about what you're building — I'll tell you honestly whether I'm the right fit.