James Duffy

About

Table of Contents

Hi there! I’m a dedicated Infrastructure Engineer with a love for building and scaling things for the web. Living and working in San Francisco, I have built high-traffic websites and the robust infrastructure they require.

My journey into Infrastructure Engineering began after graduating college and landing my first job as a Backend Engineer. I quickly discovered that I enjoyed working on tasks typically associated with DevOps/Infrastructure roles and decided to make it my primary focus. My philosophy revolves around simplifying infrastructure to empower teams, driven by continuous learning and knowledge sharing.

Throughout my career, I’ve gained extensive experience working with technologies like Kubernetes and Istio. I’m constantly learning and enjoy sharing my knowledge with others who seek guidance.

I’ve played a pivotal role in scaling a telehealth company during the pandemic. I also worked on scaling their infrastructure beyond a single AWS region, enabling the company to operate in multiple regions seamlessly.

When I’m not working, I’m an avid cyclist. I’m also passionate about photography. I have been known to bring lightboxes and a bunch of equipment to work, providing free headshots for my colleagues.

# Things I Use

# Technology

My work has helped me become proficient in the following languages and tools in no particular order:

  • AWS
  • Kubernetes
  • Terraform
  • Istio
  • ArgoCD
  • Consul
  • Vault
  • MongoDB
  • MySQL
  • Python
  • Django
  • Flask
  • Docker

# Hardware

  • 💻 MacBookPro 16" (2019)
  • 📞 Google Pixel 8 Pro (128GB)

# Software

# Camera Gear

  • Ricoh GR IIIx
  • Fujifilm XT-4
  • Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R
  • Fujifilm XF 35mm f/2 R WR
  • Fujifilm XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 R LM OIS
  • Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS

# Previously

  • Fujifilm XT-3
  • Sony Alpha a6300
  • Sigma 30mm F/1.4

# Projects

# Bluesky Feed Builder

Python Django application used to build custom feeds for the Bluesky Social Network using the At Protocol. It consumes the firehose of posts and events and can filter based on post content, author or other metadata. It also has two built in feed types for most recent and custom “top posts” based on custom weights given to likes/reposts/quotes and age.

# Archived

# Analytics-App.net

PHP website that connected to the AppDotNet Social Network fire hose and ingested all posts, likes, reposts and replies. It would find soon to be popular posts and share them as well as have daily top posts and users. It also had historical views so you could go back and see what was popular on what day. After AppDotNet shut down it’s developer incentive program I was no longer able to afford to keep it running.

# Turlock City Booze

A website that was dedicated to showing you where there was a current Happy Hour in Turlock, California and some reviews of different restaurants. I shut down the site after graduating college and moving away from Turlock.