Senior Software Engineer & AI Specialist
Andrew Riefenstahl — Senior Software Engineer & AI Specialist — Forging the Future of Digital Intelligence
I'm Andrew Riefenstahl, senior software engineer and AI specialist. I build resilient systems and write about where AI and humanity meet.
- role
- Senior Software Engineer & AI Specialist
- focus
- AI agents · full-stack
- status
- Systems online
- stack
- TypeScript · Python · Rust · Go
Selected Work
-
01 Fetch.ai / Flockx AI Agent Workflow Platform LangGraph LangChain Next.js +8 Since 2022
Senior backend engineer and full-stack developer for Flockx.io's AI agent workflow platform built with Next.js. Architected LangGraph-based agent orchestration with RAG-powered chat over WebSocket, plus API routes, authentication systems, and data transformation pipelines while managing AWS S3, Cloudinary, and Redis. Implemented performance optimizations, database migrations, ElasticSearch integration, and third-party services like Intercom and Slack.
LangGraph LangChain Next.js FastAPI Django ORM Redis Streams ElasticSearch AWS S3 Cloudinary Auth0 SREVisit project -
02 Whole Earth Curriculum Open-Source K–12 Curriculum Astro DeepSeek Agent Loop +2 2026
A single, coherent, drop-in K–12 curriculum built by an agent loop across nearly two billion tokens, made affordable by DeepSeek. Free and open source — develops people who are emotionally, physically, and intellectually aware of themselves, their context, and the Earth they live on.
Astro DeepSeek Agent Loop Open Source EducationVisit project -
03 ISCPO.org Membership Platform & Editorial System WordPress Sage 11 Acorn 5 +5 Since 2025
Architected and delivered ISCPO.org as a WordPress membership platform that preserved native editorial workflows, reduced config drift, and made key site structure reproducible across environments. Built with Sage 11, Acorn 5, Blade, and a disciplined plugin/theme boundary so the organization kept the WordPress ecosystem it relied on while the codebase gained Laravel-style structure and a faster developer workflow.
WordPress Sage 11 Acorn 5 Blade Tailwind CSS 4 Alpine.js Memberful GitHub ActionsVisit project -
04 ABowlofRed.com Non-Profit Charity Astro Strapi CMS AWS EC2 +3 Since 2021
Orchestrated the development of ABowlofRed.com, originally a Gatsby-based front-end that migrated to Astro for improved performance and developer experience. Utilized Strapi CMS on AWS EC2 with Node.js for content management, and integrated Stripe for secure ticket transactions that have surpassed $130,000 in annual ticket sales.
Astro Strapi CMS AWS EC2 Node.js Stripe SEOVisit project -
05 The Concert on Lake Grapevine Non-Profit Community Event Stripe Ticketing Community +2 2026
Co-developed and produced the site for a family-friendly charity concert benefiting Grapevine charities, presented by Tolbert's Restaurant & Chili Parlor and The Charity Grapevine. Covers lineup, FAQ, sponsors, and Stripe-powered ticketing for a full day of live music on the lake.
Stripe Ticketing Community Non-Profit Event ProductionVisit project -
06 Pulse COOP Worker-Owned Tech Cooperative Cooperative Management Web Development Community Tools +2 2025
Co-founded a worker-owned technology cooperative dedicated to empowering local businesses and grassroots movements. As a founding member, I helped establish democratic workplace practices based on the seven cooperative principles while delivering tech solutions that strengthen community economic foundations.
Cooperative Management Web Development Community Tools Democratic Workplace Local Business SupportVisit project -
07 MCP Server Suite Open-Source AI Tooling MCP Python TypeScript +4 Since 2025
A family of safety-first MCP servers that give AI assistants governed, read-only access to real systems: PostgreSQL (mcp-pg-db-reader), MySQL (mysql-db-reader), and Mezmo log retrieval (mezmo-logs-mcp), plus work on godot-mcp for AI-assisted game development. Built around the idea that AI tooling should be auditable, quota-conscious, and hard to misuse.
MCP Python TypeScript PostgreSQL MySQL Docker GodotVisit project -
08 Propane.com Enterprise Website WordPress React OAuth +3 2021
Spearheaded the development of Propane.com, an enterprise-level WordPress site featuring advanced customizations and integrations. Implemented a robust CI pipeline, 2FA authentication via OAuth Okta, and developed stateful web applications. Integrated Algolia for advanced search and HubSpot for CRM, and optimized React-based components for performance.
WordPress React OAuth CI/CD Algolia HubSpotVisit project -
09 Tolbert's Restaurant Modern Restaurant Website Astro Headless WordPress Custom API Routes +3 2024
Architected a high-performance restaurant website using Astro with a headless WordPress CMS backend. Integrated third-party menu systems and food ordering platforms through custom API routes, with dynamic calendar integration, contact forms, and seamless third-party connections — all while maintaining accessibility and performance standards.
Astro Headless WordPress Custom API Routes Third-party Integrations Food Ordering Systems Performance OptimizationVisit project -
10 Chisos AI Note-Taking & Speech Platform Vite TanStack Router AI Integration +3 2025
Developed, deployed, and provisioned a full-stack note-taking application that transcribes speech to text and uses AI to organize notes for later analysis. Handled all infrastructure provisioning on Railway, secure authentication with Clerk, and AI services for core functionality. Built with Vite and TanStack Router for a modern, type-safe experience.
Vite TanStack Router AI Integration Clerk Auth Railway OpenAIVisit project -
11 Steel Calculator Microservice Web Application Vite JavaScript CSS +1 2022
A specialized steel calculator built for a steel-industry professional to make daily work easier. Simple, focused, and actually used — proof that the most valuable tool is often the least flashy one.
Vite JavaScript CSS HTMLVisit project
Capabilities
Deep Technical Range
From high-performance frontends to event-driven backends — the right tool, not the flashiest one.
- React & Astro
- TypeScript
- Workers & Cron
- Event Buses
- Automation
Pragmatic by Default
Solve the real problem first. Avoid over-engineering and keep a clear path forward.
- System Design
- Right-Sized Scale
- Performance
- Tech Debt
- Sustainability
Human-Centered
Leading with empathy and clarity so technology serves people and communities.
- Strategy
- Mentorship
- Cross-Functional
- Ethical Leadership
- Staff Execution
Daily drivers
- TypeScript
- Python
- React
- Next.js
- Astro
- Node.js
- PostgreSQL
- Redis
- AWS
- Docker
- LangGraph
- MCP
Tools change; fundamentals don't. Beyond the daily drivers, I've shipped across a broad surface area — enough to reach for the right tool instead of the familiar one.
Also shipped with
- Languages
- JavaScript · PHP · SQL · Go · Rust · GDScript · HTML · CSS · SCSS
- Frontend
- Vue · Vuetify · Tailwind CSS · Vite · Redux · Zustand · TanStack Router · Alpine.js · Gatsby
- Backend & Data
- FastAPI · Django · Express · Celery · MySQL · Elasticsearch · MongoDB · Deno · Cloudflare D1 · Redis Streams
- AI & Agents
- RAG · LangChain · Agent Loops · OpenAI · DeepSeek · Claude Code / Codex · OpenCode · Fine-tuning
- Infrastructure
- Terraform · AWS CDK · EC2 · S3 · RDS · VPC · ECS · Lambda · SQS · Cloudflare Workers
- Deploy & CI/CD
- GitHub Actions · CI/CD · Netlify · Vercel · Railway · Heroku
- CMS & Integrations
- WordPress · Headless WordPress · Sage · Acorn · Blade · Strapi · Memberful · Cloudinary · Stripe · Auth0 · Clerk · Algolia · HubSpot
Let's start a conversation
Projects, consulting, or a good conversation about technology, music, or philosophy.