Skip to main content

About me

Personal Statement
#

I’m a software engineer based in Seoul with a background across full-stack development, DevOps, and engineering management. Over the years I’ve worked on customer support platforms, content creator apps, on-premise LLM infrastructure, and a React Native estimating app with on-device AI. The scope has been pretty varied.

I care most about software that actually holds up. Solid infrastructure, good test coverage, and shipping things that work in production. Right now I’m doing freelance DevOps/MLOps work alongside building out a trades estimating app.

Outside of tech, I chair the Kiwi Alumni in South Korea, a community for New Zealanders living here. It keeps me grounded in the people side of things, which matters just as much as the technical.

Work Experience
#

RoleOrganizationPeriod
DevOps / MLOps EngineerFreelanceOct 2025 – Present
Full Stack Developer (Mobile)Curtain EstimatorOct 2025 – Present
ChairpersonKiwi AlumniJan 2020 – Present
Engineering ManagerDNKFeb 2024 – Oct 2025
Full Stack DeveloperPickySep 2022 – Feb 2024
Full Stack DeveloperOqupie KRJun 2020 – Sep 2022
Research Assistant ManagerXiiLab KRJun 2019 – Jun 2020
Network Operations EngineerSpark NZFeb 2016 – Feb 2017
Associate Business AnalystMethanex NZNov 2015 – Feb 2016

Academic History
#

DegreeInstitutionPeriod
MSc Computer ScienceKyung Hee UniversityMar 2017 – Feb 2019
BSc Computer ScienceThe University of WaikatoFeb 2013 – Nov 2016

Published SCI(E) Journal “Lynskey, J.; Thar, K.; Oo, T.Z.; Hong, C.S. Facility Location Problem Approach for Distributed Drones. Symmetry 2019, 11, 118.”


DevOps / MLOps Engineer — Freelance
  • Implemented Patroni, etcd, and PostgreSQL high-availability cluster on-premise.
  • Designed and deployed high-availability infrastructure for LLM serving.
  • Monitored LLM traces and multi-turn conversation flows to ensure quality output.
  • Maintained consistent model output quality across deployments.
Full Stack Developer (Mobile) — Curtain Estimator
  • Built a React Native mobile app for curtain and blind estimation, from site visit to signed quote.
  • Window measurement recording with support for inside fit, outside fit, and custom configurations.
  • Generate professional PDF quotes on-site and share them directly with the customer.
  • Automated cost calculations from fabric library, labour rates, and installation templates.
  • YOLO-based on-device image detection for site photos per window.
  • Integrated on-device Qwen 3.5 1.7B AI assistant.
  • Fabric and template library per organisation, covering fabrics, coverings and installation templates.
  • Multi-tenant team management with shared customers, templates and jobs.
  • Full support for curtains, roman blinds, and roller blinds with pleat, lining, and bracket calculations.
  • End-to-end testing with Detox (mobile) and Playwright (web).
  • Automated deployments using Fastlane.
  • Managed fly.io multi-machine infrastructure with managed PostgreSQL service.
Chairperson — Kiwi Alumni
  • Refreshed the Kiwi Alumni logo with a modern design.
  • Launched a new website to improve member access and engagement.
  • Grew social media following.
  • Organised events bringing the community together.
  • Built relationships with the NZ Embassy and NZ education institutions.
  • Implemented SEO for Google and Naver.
Engineering Manager — DNK
  • Ran a team of engineers, focused on mentoring and keeping projects on track.
  • Managed projects from scoping to delivery, handling timelines, resourcing and risk.
  • Provided technical guidance and pushed for good engineering practices.
  • Acted as the main point of contact between engineering and the rest of the business.
Full Stack Developer — Picky
  • Acting Project Lead Developer
  • Developing a content creator platform
  • Developing a cosmetic and skin-care community platform
  • Dev Operations, Serverless Framework, CI/CD
  • Fast API, Rust Axum, Next.js, Quarkas
  • Amazon Web Services
Full Stack Developer — Oqupie KR
  • Developing a customer support platform based on Django
  • Dev Operations, Kubernetes, CI/CD
  • Amazon Web Services
Research Assistant Manager — XiiLab KR
  • Data generation using game engines
  • Renewable Energy UI interface
Network Operations Engineer — Spark NZ
  • Kept the company informed on network incidents across New Zealand.
  • Part of a 100+ person team keeping services running for millions of customers.
  • Handled service outages and escalations.
  • Supported deployments of cell towers and mobile base stations during events.
  • Assisted with international roaming activities.
Associate Business Analyst — Methanex NZ
  • Built a data quality framework.
  • Investigated data quality issues.
  • Made recommendations to improve data quality.