Jacob Candelaria

Backend Software Engineer

Experience

Alpine Tech Solutions LLC

Founding Software Engineer

Oct 2024 – Present
Colorado • Remote
  • Designing and building a multi-tenant photography portfolio SaaS using Java 17, Spring Boot 3, PostgreSQL, and jOOQ.
  • Rebuilt the persistence layer via a JPA/Hibernate to jOOQ migration, enabling composite keys, CTEs, keyset pagination, and advanced SQL patterns.
  • Implemented a concurrent media upload pipeline with SHA-256 deduplication, EXIF/IPTC extraction, and isolated per-file transactions.
  • Refactored schema and APIs to support multiple user roles while reducing query complexity through JSONB consolidation of read-only metadata.
  • Achieved 90%+ test coverage with JUnit 5 and PostgreSQL-backed integration tests.
  • Planned deployment on AWS using ECS Fargate, RDS, S3, and CloudFront.

Career Break

Career Break

Nov 2023 – Sep 2024
  • Took a planned career break to transition into software engineering and data-focused roles through formal training and self-directed projects.
  • Completed the IBM Data Science Professional Certificate, covering Python, SQL, data analysis, visualization, and machine learning fundamentals.
  • Completed an intensive Java backend engineering bootcamp focused on Spring Boot, REST APIs, databases, testing, and production-oriented development practices.
  • Built and iterated on multiple independent projects to apply new skills in realistic, end-to-end systems.

Worldpay

Merchant Activations Specialist

Sep 2021 – Nov 2023
Colorado • Remote
  • Automated reporting workflows using Python, improving report generation efficiency by 90%.
  • Built Tableau and Excel dashboards used by 36+ partner banks to streamline financial insights.
  • Maintained internal Python tools using Git and improved codebase maintainability.

Redi Services LLC & Mulholland Energy Services

Industrial Painter & Hydrovac Tech

Nov 2018 – Feb 2021
Midland, Texas
  • Led field projects, coordinated logistics, and maintained strict safety and documentation standards.

Worldpay

Technical Support Specialist II – Terminals/Translator

Jul 2017 – Oct 2018
Durango, Colorado
  • Diagnosed and resolved complex point-of-sale (POS) terminal issues for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
  • Expanded Spanish support operations, improving customer response capacity.
  • Used analytics to resolve funding discrepancies and streamline issue resolution.

Customer Service Representative II/Translator

Apr 2016 – Jul 2017
Durango, Colorado
  • Provided high-quality customer support by resolving product and service inquiries across Worldpay offerings.
  • Routed complex issues to billing and technical teams to ensure fast and accurate resolution.
  • Maintained accurate records and documentation while using internal systems to respond efficiently to customer needs.
  • Handled order inquiries, shipment tracking, and returns to ensure smooth customer transactions.