MICHAEL VANDERWERKER

Senior Full Stack Engineer

ABOUT ME

Hi, I’m Michael VanDerwerker.

I’ve been building software professionally for over a decade, working on everything from custom APIs and business platforms to mobile apps and developer tools.

I got my start working with small businesses and startups, where being a developer usually meant doing a little bit of everything. I might be designing a database one day, integrating an API the next, and tracking down a production issue after that. That experience shaped the way I work today.

Most of my career has been spent taking real business problems and figuring out how to solve them with software. I’ve worked on applications from the ground up, inherited plenty of existing codebases, integrated more third-party services than I can count, and helped keep long-running applications growing without turning them into a mess.

My approach is pretty simple: understand the problem, choose the right tools, and build something that works well and can actually be maintained.

One line at a time.

Outside of coding, I’m an avid woodworker. I enjoy taking an idea and turning it into something tangible that will last. Software is obviously a little different, but I approach it in much the same way: think about who’s going to use it, pay attention to the details, and don’t be afraid to change the plan when something isn’t working.

Programming Languages
PHP, JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, SQL
Hobbies
Woodworking and Cooking
Website
You're on it...

I’m always learning something new, whether that’s digging into a new technology, figuring out a better way to solve a problem, or improving my woodworking skills. I enjoy understanding how things work and finding ways to build them better. Whether I’m working with a team or building something on my own, that curiosity is a big part of how I approach both software and woodworking.

Hire Me Download Resume

WHAT CAN I DO

Web Applications

Build complete, scalable web applications from an idea or existing product.

API Development

Design and build REST APIs and backend services.

Mobile Applications

Build cross-platform mobile apps with React Native.

System Integrations

Connect applications with payment platforms, business tools, SDKs, and third-party APIs.

Database Optimization

Design databases, improve slow queries, and solve performance problems.

Legacy Modernization

Jump into older codebases, clean them up, upgrade them, and add new functionality.

Application Architecture

Plan how applications, databases, services, and integrations fit together.

Debugging & Optimization

Track down difficult bugs, production issues, and performance bottlenecks.

TESTIMONIALS

Michael is a true professional. He’s diligent, sharp, and a pleasure to work with. I’d suggest using him for your next project. You will be pleasantly surprised!
Jeffrey J.

Michael was great! I had a really complicated project and my schedule was tough to work with. Michael was great about completing tasks and sending over for feedback as soon as I provided him with it. He was very flexible and did an excellent job with the coding of the site, following the artworking guidelines, and making everything work. Definitely recommend working with him.

Ambika S.

Michael is an excellent programmer! He is able to complete work on time and accurately, and has been a pleasure to work with. Will hire again.

John K.

Michael is an absolute expert! His patience and collaborative approach made working on this project a breeze! Michael and I will definitely be working together on an ongoing basis!

Luigi R.

Michael is a pleasure to work with. He is especially skilled at listening to my requirements (I am someone with no coding experience), and then delivering exactly on my brief. He was very open to feedback and always made himself available to my team. I would highly recommend his services, especially if you are someone looking for a partner who can meet you where you are from a technical perspective, and take on the heavy lifting of helping you articulate your goals, and identify the most efficient way to build your app.

Jack J.

Michael is a top notch developer. We’ve been so happy to have him working with us implementing new features, digging into and resolving issues. He’s proactive as he approaches projects and he’s always thinking how to make the system work better with the customer in mind. He also takes criticism well, not taking things personally which goes a long way toward efficiently resolving an issue.

Ben L.

Michael is an excellent dev and great communicator. Our problem is that we just didn’t have enough work for him. He’s a very independent dev and I think he would be best on a from-scratch app build that you need quickly. If he’s available snatch him up.

Ian S.

RESUME

Senior Full-Stack Software Engineer

Mandina's Inspection Services - 2021 to present

At Mandina’s, I designed and built a multi-tenant SaaS platform used to manage employee certifications, training, testing, inspections, timesheets, reporting, invoicing, and day-to-day operations. I took the application from an aging legacy system to a modern Laravel and Vue platform, rebuilding core functionality while continuing to support an active user base.

I developed secure document management, role-based permissions, custom reporting, offline-capable inspections, white-labeling, and automated certification workflows. I also built integrations with services such as QuickBooks and AWS, optimized database performance, and continue to handle architecture, deployments, security, infrastructure, and new feature development as the platform grows.

Senior Software Engineer

Michael VanDerwerker LLC - 2015 to present

As the owner and by far the best employee, I’ve spent more than a decade helping businesses turn ideas, existing products, and occasionally questionable legacy code into software that works.

My work has ranged from rapid MVP development and custom SaaS platforms to mobile applications, REST APIs, payment systems, authentication, third-party integrations, database architecture, and performance optimization. I’ve worked both independently and alongside existing development teams, taking projects from initial architecture through production while also stepping into established codebases to troubleshoot problems, modernize older systems, and build new features.

I’ve worked primarily with PHP and Laravel throughout my career, along with JavaScript, TypeScript, Vue, React, React Native, Node.js, SQL, AWS, and a long list of third-party platforms and APIs.

Lead Software Engineer

BuyItLive - 2019 to 2021

At BuyItLive, I worked on a live-commerce platform that connected social media, e-commerce, inventory, payments, and order management into a single system. I joined as a developer and later led a small development team while helping rebuild major portions of the application using Laravel and React.

I redesigned the cart and inventory systems, built integrations with Shopify, Stripe, Square, PayPal, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, ShipStation, and SendGrid, and developed tools for managing orders and inventory across multiple sales channels. I also implemented analytics and reporting that gave businesses better insight into customer behavior, sales activity, and conversion.

Senior Software Engineer

Delta Five Systems - 2015 to 2019

At Delta Five Systems, I helped build an IoT platform used to monitor thousands of connected devices deployed across hotels and other properties. These devices communicated with our servers throughout the day, producing millions of images and records that were processed to detect and alert staff to potential bed bug activity.

I designed backend services, APIs, device communication workflows, health monitoring, firmware management, image-processing pipelines, and internal management tools. As the amount of device data grew, I redesigned several database queries and indexes, reducing response times from more than 10 seconds to under a second.

I also built internal applications that connected operations across sales, accounting, inventory, device management, and customer support, and eventually moved into a lead role as the platform and development team grew.

EDUCATION

The University of Virginia's College at Wise

2010-2015

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

Focused on programming, data structures, algorithms, databases, computer architecture, networking, and software design. The program provided the technical foundation for understanding how software works beyond the framework level, including algorithm design, data organization, computational problem solving, and the fundamentals behind modern application development.

That foundation continues to influence how I approach performance problems, database design, application architecture, and learning new languages and technologies.

Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering

Focused on applying computer science principles to the design and development of real-world software systems. Coursework covered the full software development lifecycle, including requirements analysis, system architecture, implementation, testing, deployment, maintenance, project planning, and software development methodologies.

The program placed a strong emphasis on designing software that can evolve over time, working within development teams, documenting technical decisions, and balancing technical requirements with the needs of the people actually using the software.

PORTFOLIO

From Airplane Panels to Bed Bugs. Let’s Talk Projects.

Over the years, I’ve worked on a pretty wide range of projects. I’ve built an interactive airplane panel designer for aviation enthusiasts, worked with connected devices and image processing to detect bed bug infestations in hotels (yes, it’s just as gross as it sounds), and built everything from business management platforms to mobile apps.

A lot of my client work can’t be shared publicly, but I’ve included several projects and packages below that show the types of problems I like working on and how I approach building software.

If you’d like to see something specific, send me a message! I’m happy to share more about my experience and provide examples where I can.

You can also check out my GitHub for more of what I’ve been working on.

The base dashboard and portal package the rest of these plug into. It gives a customizable starting structure for a multi-tenant admin dashboard, with organization scoping built in from the start rather than retrofitted later. The goal is scaffolding, not a finished dashboard someone has to fight to customize. Take a look!

A caching package for Laravel that keeps cache key generation swappable instead of hardcoded. Implement an interface, point the config at your own class, done, no hunting through the codebase for where a key format got baked in. It’s also the package the structure of the others gets measured against. Check it out!

A full webhook manager for Laravel, covering outbound delivery and inbound events. Outbound handles retries, backoff, HMAC signing, and per-subscriber rate limiting, with every delivery attempt tracked and a subscriber auto-disabled after enough failures. Inbound handles receiving and processing events sent to the application. Take a look!

A hash-chain, Merkle tree, and signing/anchoring package for Laravel, built to make document revision history provably tamper-evident instead of just logged. Revisions chain together, batch into a Merkle tree, and anchor to Bitcoin through OpenTimestamps, so tampering isn’t just something you might notice later, it’s something you can prove. Documents are the built-in use case, but the core has no idea documents even exist. Give it a look!

GET IN TOUCH

Email
michaelvanderwerker@gmail.com
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-vanderwerker
GitHub
https://github.com/VanDmade
Upwork
https://upwork.com/freelancers/~01356328248924e444

Have an idea, an existing project that needs some attention, or a problem you’re not quite sure how to solve? I’d love to hear about it.

I’ve spent more than a decade building software for businesses of all sizes, from new ideas and MVPs to established applications with years of code behind them. Whether you need someone to build something from scratch, jump into an existing codebase, integrate a new service, solve a performance problem, or simply help figure out the best way forward, I’m always interested in a new challenge.

If you’d like to talk about a project, see something specific from my past work, or just find out if I’d be a good fit, send me a message. No need to have everything figured out first.

Let’s build something, one line at a time.