AF / Adam Freemer
Lead Engineer · Philadelphia, PA

Adam
Freemer.

I am a thoughtful and empathetic software engineer, team leader and technologist.

Adam Freemer

Stack.

Languages
RubyJavaScriptPython
Frameworks
Ruby on RailsDjangoReactHotwire / StimulusJSTailwindCSS
Platforms & Infra
AWSHerokuVercelSupabaseDocker
Approach
AI-augmented development

Experience.

Jul 2025 –
Present
Lead Engineer
Zen Strategies · U.S.C.I.S. (DHS)

Lead engineer on Asset Manager, the internal USCIS application managing vulnerabilities and availability of every asset on the DHS network.

  • Driving modernization and optimization by planning and executing critical system updates and new feature delivery.
  • Leveraging years of DHS / USCIS infrastructure depth to guide architecture decisions.
RubyRuby on RailsJavaScriptDockerAmazon EKSAI-augmented development
Oct 2024 –
Jun 2025
Lead Engineer
Synergy · U.S. Dept. of Labor

Lead engineer on the Department of Labor Open Data Portal and agency-wide public API.

  • Re-architected an over-complex distributed AWS ETL pipeline into the core Rails app for major performance and reliability gains.
  • Refactored back-end code and database queries for significant API speedups.
  • Shipped the re-architecture before agency-wide DOGE cuts dissolved the project group.
Ruby on RailsRubyREST APIsODBCETLSnowflakeJavaScriptReactAWS LambdaPythonAI-augmented development
Oct 2022 –
Oct 2024
Senior Consultant
Excella · U.S.C.I.S. (DHS)

Lead developer on a USCIS contract supporting a portfolio of 30+ applications.

  • Architected full-stack Rails apps with Turbo/Stimulus and React front-ends.
  • Led a team of 6, mentored junior developers, and roadmapped architecture.
  • Helped modernize the Rails/JS portfolio onto Dockerized Amazon EKS / Kubernetes.
Ruby on RailsJavaScriptAmazon EKSDockerRubyReactJenkinsHelmViewComponents
Sep 2021 –
Oct 2022
Senior Software Engineer
Accenture Federal · U.S. Veterans Affairs

Senior engineer on the va.gov GI Bill modernization program, building React front-ends and Rails APIs, mentoring junior developers, and leading troubleshooting.

Ruby on RailsRubyReactJavaScriptPostgreSQLUnixJenkins
Sep 2016 –
Sep 2021
Lead Software Engineer
Obsidian Global · U.S.C.I.S. (DHS)

Lead developer across a USCIS / DHS program, covering full-stack delivery, mentoring, and architecture roadmapping.

  • Led Databricks API integration to process large national citizenship datasets.
  • Project lead on QADB (naturalization document auditing) and eSTAT (G-22/G-23 field-ops data); senior dev on ROSS, a global RAIO scheduler.
StimulusJSRuby on RailsJavaScriptPostgreSQLUnixRubyjQueryReactJenkinsTeam leadership
Feb 2015 –
Sep 2016
Senior Ruby Developer
Datapipe (now Rackspace)

Built features on the enterprise operations & financials Rails core, plus a monthly Ruby job ingesting terabyte-scale AWS usage files.

Ruby on RailsJavaScriptPostgreSQLCapistranoHadoopRubyjQuery
Jan 2014 –
Feb 2015
Operational Intelligence Developer
Comcast · Xfinity

Built Rails dashboards monitoring national system status and outages during the Xfinity X1 rollout.

Ruby on RailsJavaScriptCapistranoUnixRubyjQuery

Education.

General Assembly, NYC
Front-End & Back-End Web Development
2013
Pennsylvania State University
B.S. Electrical Engineering · 1995–2000
Analog & digital circuit design, semiconductor wafer manufacturing; research with the Boeing & Penn State Rotorcraft Center of Excellence.

Projects.

2026 – Current

AI Intake Bot

A production-grade conversational WhatsApp intake bot. Claude conducts a natural intake, the engine parses each thread into a structured lead, and a real-time admin dashboard surfaces it instantly. Currently extracting the engine into a standalone Ruby gem for multi-platform use (WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS).

Ruby Gem · WIPRails 8HotwireAnthropic ClaudeTwilio
github.com/AdamFreemer →
2026 – Current

Flip Watch

A split-flap display dashboard for your desktop, with live weather, NPR headlines, Hacker News, quotes, and generative pixel art on a retro mechanical board. Installable PWA.

Next.jsTailwindCSSPWAVercel
flip.watch →
2026 – Current

Hacker Hirings

Aggregates and analyzes Hacker News' monthly “Who is Hiring?” threads across 180+ months, surfacing which languages, frameworks, and tools employers are hiring for and how that demand trends over time.

Next.jsTypeScriptPostgreSQLVercel
hacker-hirings.com →
2022 – 2025

Court Ninja

A sports-training app that algorithmically ranks the strongest athlete across dynamically generated tournament brackets, with real-time match data and analytics.

RailsStimulusJSStripeHeroku
court.ninja →
2021

VaxxMax

A bare-bones Rails app that went viral (4M daily page views and 10K req/min within a week), helping thousands book COVID vaccine appointments at the pandemic peak.

RailsjQueryHeroku
vaxxmax.com →
2016

RMC-1 MIDI Controller

A custom hardware MIDI controller emulating classic analog rotary DJ mixers with vintage feel and modern digital control. Designed, prototyped and fabricated end to end.

HardwareMIDIArduinoCAD
afxmidi.com →

Music.

Progressive House and Techno
Adam Freemer's home music studio

An electronic musician and globally touring DJ since the late 1990s, with sets played across five of the seven continents and chart-topping releases on Beatport and Billboard.

Pottery.

Wheel-thrown · Hand-built
Finished glazed pottery
Pottery piece
Pottery piece
Pottery piece
Pottery piece
Pottery piece
Pottery in progress
Pottery in progress
Pottery in progress
Pottery piece