Terrance Kelley
Principal Software Engineer
Product software · APIs · cloud platforms
Longs, South Carolina · Remote
I design and ship production systems—TypeScript, Python, Java/Spring—and the AWS/GCP path they take to users.
Technologies & Skills
Languages and product stack first, then the cloud and delivery systems I use to ship and run them.
Languages & frameworks
Product & data
Cloud & delivery
Operate
About
I am a principal software engineer. I write the product code and I own how it gets to production. That means TypeScript, Python, and Java/Spring services, plus the APIs, data stores, CI/CD, and AWS/GCP platforms those services depend on.
Years as a developer (Java/Spring, SQL, Linux) sit under later platform and team-lead work—so I can design a service, review the PR, and still debug the deploy. Recent IC work includes full-stack Nuxt/Python delivery, LLM features in real workflows, consolidating a multi-cloud app onto AWS, and standing up production orchestration on EKS.
Open to Principal Software Engineer roles (backend, full-stack, or platform-leaning IC). Full experience and recommendations on LinkedIn.
Experience
Senior Cloud/DevOps Engineer (Contract)
Jun 2026 – PresentWorld Wide Express / ShipStation Global · Remote
Contract IC on an acquired product: moved application delivery, identity, and data onto a single AWS baseline so the software is simpler to run and safer at the edge.
- Moved application delivery from GCP Cloud Run + AWS to an AWS-only runtime
- Updated authentication flows and app config for the new baseline
- Hardened the product edge with CDN + WAF
- Cut over MongoDB Atlas to Amazon DocumentDB with production validation
Senior Cloud/DevOps Engineer
Jun 2025 – Jun 2026Bear Cognition, Inc. · Charleston, SC · Hybrid
Full-stack software and platform work across GCP and AWS: product features, APIs, data, and the pipelines that ship them.
- Shipped full-stack features in Nuxt, TypeScript, and Python
- Built APIs and serverless backends (Cloud Run, Lambda, API Gateway)
- Integrated LLM/AI services (Bedrock, Textract, Whisper, ElevenLabs) into product workflows
- Owned data paths across Firestore, MongoDB, and Snowflake, plus CI/CD with GitHub Actions, Doppler, and Prefect
DevOps Manager
Oct 2023 – Sep 2024 · 1 yrOneNeck IT Solutions · Full-time
Developed and executed strategies to streamline operations, enhance dev/ops collaboration, and drive automation. Led and mentored DevOps teams with a focus on CI/CD pipelines, cloud provisioning, and performance monitoring. Worked cross-functionally with development, QA, and operations; prioritized security compliance, disaster recovery, cost optimization, and continuous feedback loops.
- Reduced customer-managed server delivery from 2 weeks to 1 hour or less through automation
- Led cloud hypervisor automation, cutting deployment times by 50%
- Managed migration from VMware to Nutanix AHV, two months ahead of schedule
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to deliver projects faster and more efficiently
DevOps Team Lead
Jul 2017 – Oct 2023 · 6 yrs 4 mosOneNeck IT Solutions · Remote
Guided the team in automation strategies for infrastructure, deployment, and operational efficiency. Fostered collaboration between development and operations; oversaw cloud infrastructure, deployment pipelines, and process improvements. Mentored junior team members.
- Automated infrastructure processes, reducing server delivery from 2 weeks to 1 hour or less
- Implemented cloud hypervisor automation, reducing deployment times by 50%
- Spearheaded migration from VMware to Nutanix AHV, completed two months ahead of schedule
- Improved deployment efficiency via CI/CD and Python-based automation
- Mentored and developed junior engineers
Service Engineer II - DevOps
May 2017 – Jul 2017 · 3 mosOneNeck IT Solutions · Remote
Senior Developer
Apr 2012 – May 2017 · 5 yrs 2 mosOneNeck IT Solutions · Hybrid
Built and maintained Java/Spring services and internal web applications, integrating SQL/MySQL-backed systems and supporting production workloads on Linux (Ubuntu/RHEL).
Solutions Developer
Oct 2009 – Apr 2012 · 2 yrs 7 mosOneNeck IT Solutions · On-site
Delivered Java/Spring and JavaScript features across customer-facing and internal systems, owning end-to-end implementation from application code through SQL changes and Linux operations.
Network Engineer - VoIP / Developer
Jun 2005 – Oct 2009 · 4 yrs 5 mosOneNeck IT Solutions · On-site
Combined network/VoIP engineering with software development to improve service reliability and operational tooling.
Network Engineer / Developer
Apr 2001 – Jun 2005 · 4 yrs 3 mosOneNeck IT Solutions · On-site
Early career role spanning network engineering and software development, building a strong foundation for modern platform work.
Projects
Selected work—what I built, why, and with what.
Breakitdown
Product app: turn a rough idea into structured work. Nuxt 3 + TypeScript, LLM-backed planning. Public demo.
Self-hosted Prefect on AWS (EKS)
Self-managed workflow platform on AWS: EKS, Aurora, Redis, TLS, and Prometheus/Grafana—the kind of runtime a principal engineer stands up so product jobs actually run.
AWS platform consolidation + security hardening
Took a product from multi-cloud to AWS-only: auth, edge (CDN + WAF), and data (Atlas → DocumentDB) so the application has one runtime and clearer operations.
Get in touch
Hiring for Principal Software Engineer? I respond quickly.