Senior Backend / Data Infrastructure Engineer — Python, distributed systems, APIs, and real-time data integration (CDC).

Currently building connectors + CDK (connector development kit) capabilities at Estuary.

Remote (Starkville, MS) • contact@justinsmith.sh • LinkedIn • Resume

I build data-infrastructure systems that move data reliably at scale: connectors, async pipelines, checkpointing/state, APIs, and streaming.

Recent impact (selected):

• Enabled data capture for 6,500 Stripe Connected Accounts with 500,000+ concurrent streams (zero data loss). PR #2467 • follow-up: PR #2812
• Led zero-downtime migration for 20+ enterprise customers by re-architecting a legacy Airbyte wrapper into a native async Python connector (preserved 100% historical data). PR #3409
• Cut recovery log storage costs by 80% with JSON merge-patch checkpointing. PR #3068
• Previously at Camgian: helped secure $8M in follow-on contracts via edge-based data microservices; improved Kafka throughput by 300%.
• Previously at Camgian: built/operated high-throughput streaming systems (Kafka, async ingestion) handling GBs/minute.

• Connector correctness: state, pagination edge cases, rate limits, retries, backfills, data quality
• Async + performance: asyncio/concurrency tuning, throughput optimization, reliability under load
• Production ownership: incident response, investigations, operational improvements, customer impact delivery

Most of my open-source work lives inside Estuary’s connectors repo.

• Merged PRs: https://github.com/estuary/connectors/pulls?q=is%3Apr++is%3Aclosed+is%3Amerged+author%3AJustinASmith

Beyond work

First-gen engineer, disc golfer (MA1), husband, and builder of side projects.

Expand for the full story

• First-generation college graduate; non-linear path into engineering (dropped out and returned two years later)
• Disc golf competitor (MA1) and builder of software projects around the sport (including form/video analysis).
• I run a small LLC helping local businesses with websites + HIPAA-compliant email setups (small scale; quality-first).
• Husband + dog owner (English Springer Spaniel named Scout).
• I enjoy practical/DIY projects away from the screen too (home gym buildout, lawn care, drainage work, etc.).

Tech stack (expand) - languages • data • infra • delivery

Category	Technologies
Languages	Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, SQL, Go
Backend	Asyncio, FastAPI, Pydantic, REST, GraphQL
Frontend	React, Tailwind, Shadcn, Radix UI, Zustand
Data	Kafka (Connect/Streams, Avro), PostgreSQL, TimescaleDB, InfluxDB
Cloud/Infra	AWS (EC2/ECR/S3), Docker, Terraform, Linux, Lima/Mise
CI/CD	GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins

If you’re hiring, collaborating, or want to talk data infrastructure + connectors:

• Email: contact@justinsmith.sh
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-a-smith662