man john_mendez

NAME

john_mendez, software engineer and builder.

SYNOPSIS

john_mendez [--layer-below] [--validate-first] [--sparring]

DESCRIPTION

I've been building software since 2019. I spent three years at a startup working on everything from dashboards to the AI scheduling algorithms that kept the platform running. I touched every layer there and learned that I owned the success or failure of the entire system.

Now at a large fintech, I build AI tooling and platforms, looking for primitives that help teams ship experiments faster.

Self-taught, so I work backwards from the goal. It keeps me honest about solving the problem rather than chasing clever implementations. When things break, I reach for profilers, stack traces, or just enough console logs to find where the data stops making sense.

Currently deep in LLMs, learning them from the floor up. Understanding the layer below usually clarifies what's actually possible.

OPTIONS

--layer-below Understanding one layer deeper than strictly necessary. It strips away the magic and makes the work feel predictable.
--validate-first I spend a lot of time head-compiling code and tracing the flow before hitting save. It's a useful instinct, but checking the data first is what keeps the mental model honest.
--sparring Using LLMs to poke holes in a solution. The back-and-forth usually finds the gaps in my reasoning before they become bugs. Trust but verify.