Mickey W. Zheng
Full-Stack Software Engineer
Full-stack software engineer with 4+ years of experience building scalable web applications using React, Next.js, Node.js, and AWS. Proven track record of owning end-to-end product development, improving data workflows through automation, and delivering production systems. Experienced in leading small initiatives, mentoring engineers, and designing maintainable, user-focused solutions.
Skills
I focus on modern JavaScript and TypeScript application development, from polished React interfaces to AWS-backed APIs and deployment workflows.
Frontend
Backend
Cloud & DevOps
Tools
Experience
Software Engineer I / II
J. Craig Venter InstituteDec 2021 – Present
Rockville, Maryland
- Owned development and maintenance of public website and multiple internal applications, delivering 20+ features that enhanced user workflows and user experience for stakeholders.
- Designed and developed an automated data curation workflow using PubMed E-utilities API, reducing manual processing time and improving data accuracy across multiple projects.
- Designed and implemented multiple RESTful APIs using Node.js and Express, integrating AWS services (Lambda, S3, DynamoDB, OpenSearch) to support scalable data processing workflows for project applications.
- Integrated Strapi CMS on public website to enable editor-driven content publishing freeing up valuable developer resources.
- Improved deployment reliability by implementing CI/CD pipelines using Azure Pipelines, reducing manual deployment errors and streamlining release process.
- Co-developed a customizable reusable React component library to standardize application for cross-project use, improving development efficiency and consistency.
- Collaborated with researchers, designers, and QA; led a small agile team (~5) as primary developer on focused initiatives.
Journey
A quick overview of my education and career milestones so far...
University of Maryland, College Park
B.S. Computer Science
Graduated from UMD
Completed a B.S. in Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Joined JCVI
Started at the J. Craig Venter Institute as a Software Engineer I working on public-facing research platforms.
Promoted to Software Engineer II
Promoted after delivering across multiple production applications, supporting scientific users, and mentoring interns.
Projects
A mix of production delivery, full-stack ownership, and product work across scientific platforms and personal software projects.
CEIRR Network
Team Developer
Public research network supporting collaboration, scientific communication, and content publishing for research partners and stakeholders.
- Built and maintained public-facing research platform used by cross-institution collaborators.
- Collaborated within a 15+ member cross-functional team (researchers, communicators, designers, QA) to deliver research-facing web experiences.
- Owned development of most public-facing pages and delivered 20+ features across the public site and internal portal (content publishing, search, user workflows).
- Built reusable tools and npm packages for OpenSearch query generation and integrated CI/CD with Azure Pipelines for automated deployments.
- Worked across multiple codebases and collaborated with team members to ensure seamless integration and functionality across project applications.
Flu Hub
Team Developer
Flu Hub is a centralized website dedicated to cross-NIAID networks, programs, and resources supporting the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Universal Influenza Vaccine Strategic Plan.
- Collaborated with the team to develop and update pages to support NIAID influenza vaccine resources.
- Implemented Strapi templates and editor workflows to empower non-technical content editors and reduce engineering support for content updates.
- Co-developed a search page to allow the scientific community to easily sift through biospecimen data and request samples for research purposes.
Human Salivary Proteome
Primary Developer
Community-focused portal for exploring 1,000+ human salivary proteins, associated metadata, and scientific literature.
- Led full-stack development of a scientific data platform indexing 1,000+ protein records
- Designed search and visualization features to improve data discoverability using D3.js and AWS OpenSearch.
- Implemented data analysis pipeline, integrating AWS services and external EBI services to allow users to run automated analysis.
- Led a group of interns in development efforts and collaborated with scientific team members to design features and ensure data accuracy.
Porridge Budget
Solo Creator
Manual-first budgeting app for tracking transactions, planning monthly budgets, and reviewing spending without hiding the data.
- Built and deployed a full-stack budgeting application with transaction tracking and reporting.
- Visualize your highest spending categories and compare your month to month spending.
- Plan out your budget and visualize your spending using a sankey diagram.
- End-to-end product development starting from concept to deployment.
- Built while learning GitHub Copilot for AI-assisted development.
Job Application Tracker v2
Solo Creator
Web app to track job applications, store company information, and review interview notes. Built with a focus on simplicity and ease of use. This is a remake of one of the very first projects I built during my first job search, with a focus on improving the user experience and design and adding a real backend for data storage and management.
- Full-stack job application tracker with company information management and interview notes.
- Save a copy of the original job listing for future reference.
- Create multiple application lists, to keep a history of your current and past job searches.
- Integrated external Job Rise API for users to search for job listings based on search criteria.
