Steven Silvestri · Principal Software Engineer
I design the systems other teams build on.
gRPC microservices, event-driven pipelines, and the shared NestJS libraries that product teams build on.
latest post · A Clean AI Review Is Weak Evidence →About
I build the libraries and services that let other teams ship without thinking about the plumbing.
Most of my work is backend platform engineering: gRPC microservices in Node.js, event-driven pipelines, and the developer experience around them. That means shared abstractions, conventions, and review guidance that keep a fleet of services consistent as more teams build on it.
Lately that includes AI agents in the review and authoring loop, and being honest about what they catch and what they miss.
- focus
- distributed systems, developer experience
- stack
- TypeScript, Node.js, NestJS, gRPC
- writes about
- ai, bdd, redis, kafka
Experience
Where I've worked
Principal Software Engineer
Principal Software Engineer developing highly scalable gRPC microservices and managing developer experience for Node.js and NestJS ecosystems
key achievements
- Develop highly scalable gRPC microservices in Node.js
- Manage Developer Experience around Node and NestJS by creating libraries and abstractions
- Provide best practices and guidance for TypeScript and RxJS implementation
- Tailor AI agents and tools to dramatically increase team productivity and code quality
- Built Risk Asset Management system tracking real-time PNL and trading metrics
technologies
Software Engineer
Lead FrontEnd Developer for application redesign of core product using React and Redux
key achievements
- Lead FrontEnd Developer for core product redesign
- Drove technology decisions and code quality standards
- Implemented React and Redux architecture
technologies
Professional Services Engineer
Professional Services Engineer working with machine learning and data analytics, processing unstructured data at scale
key achievements
- Worked with clients to process unstructured data and meet their goals
- Wrote ETL code in Groovy and Python for large-scale data processing
- Optimized code performance for efficient data processing
- Educated clients on software usage and best practices
technologies
Systems
Architecture & systems thinking
As AI writes more of the code itself, what matters is understanding the systems it runs in.
01 / 05 · how systems are shaped
Distributed Systems & Service Architecture
Designing how independent services find each other, communicate, and keep working when one of them goes down — decomposition, gateways, and failover, not just the RPC framework underneath.
02 / 05 · how services talk
Event-Driven & Asynchronous Systems
Decoupling producers from consumers so each can fail, scale, and deploy independently — message buses and pub-sub over direct, synchronous calls.
03 / 05 · how they ship
Deployment & Delivery Architecture
Getting code from commit to running safely, repeatedly, without hand-holding — pipelines and gates that actually gate, not just green checkmarks.
04 / 05 · how they keep data
Data Architecture & Storage
Choosing what's fast, what's durable, and how they stay consistent with each other — schema, caching, and read/write tradeoffs, not just which database.
05 / 05 · where AI fits in
AI-Augmented Systems Engineering
Directing multiple AI agents inside real architectural constraints, and reviewing what they produce for runtime correctness — not syntax. As AI writes more of the code itself, this is the skill that decides whether what it writes actually holds up in production.
Projects
Things I've built
spotlight · open source
Claude Code Doggos
A pixel-art golden retriever that keeps you company in Claude Code. It sniffs the files Claude reads, digs when it edits, tilts its head when Claude asks permission, and falls asleep when you wander off.
typescript · python · claude code plugins
view on GitHub →
- NestJS Buf ConnectNestJS Buf Connect Transport Strategytypescript · nestjs · bufopen source
- Orbit SnapA rhythm-style browser game where rings shrink toward a central orb and a single tap — click or Space — earns a Perfect, Good, or Miss based on timing precisiontypescript · web apisopen source
- Ulti Project - Discord BotFull-featured Final Fantasy XIV Discord bot built with NestJS and GraphQLtypescript · nestjs · graphqlopen source
- AI-Enhanced Development WorkflowCustom AI agent implementations and tooling integrations that dramatically increase development productivityai tools · typescript · node.jsprivate
- Better XIVPFEnhanced interface and tools for Final Fantasy XIV Party Finder interactionstypescript · web apis · final fantasy xivlive site
- Developer Experience ToolkitComprehensive library ecosystem and tooling to accelerate team productivity and code qualitytypescript · nestjs · node.jsprivate
- Dino Match PartyA browser-based dinosaur-themed card matching game built with vanilla TypeScript and native Web APIstypescript · web apislive site
- Neon SwarmA neon particle swarm game — absorb as many particles as you can before time runs out, with multiple game modestypescript · canvas · pixijslive site
- Real-Time Risk Management PlatformHigh-performance microservices platform for real-time financial risk assessment and monitoringtypescript · node.js · grpcprivate
Contact
Find me on GitHub or LinkedIn.
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