Remote · Eastern Time (US)

Erick Shepherd

Full-Stack Software Engineer · Python · Oracle APEX & PL/SQL · AI Integrations

Full-stack software engineer: Python and SQL on the back end, Oracle APEX and JavaScript on the front, with production AI/LLM integrations. NASA Goddard alum.

Experience

Recent work

Roughly eight years across full-stack and Oracle development, defense systems engineering, and NASA Earth-science research.

Aug 2021 – May 2026

Full-Stack Software Engineer

Cigna Supplemental Health Services (via Magnit Global) · Remote

Sole developer of the field-quoting application and lead on the contract-generation app behind a national supplemental-health-insurance underwriting pipeline — Oracle APEX and JavaScript on the front, PL/SQL and Python on the back.

  • Sole developer, frontend and backend, of the field-quoting application in the underwriting pipeline — used daily by sales, pricing, and underwriting teams — turning a customer quote into a signed contract (Oracle APEX, JavaScript, jQuery, HTML, CSS, PL/SQL).
  • Introduced Git and GitHub to a team with no source control, establishing the branching, code-review, and commit standards adopted across the group, with admin over 29 repositories.
  • Co-designed the team's first CI/CD pipeline and led the Oracle APEX deployment-workflow integration.
  • Designed and built a custom domain-specific language and Python package that compiles PL/SQL objects in correct dependency order across environments — replacing an error-prone manual process — plus a companion VS Code syntax-highlighting extension.
  • Built a Python abstraction layer over the OracleDB environments that let Claude, via Cursor Composer, query enterprise databases through a locally-running credentialed utility — one of the team's first production AI integrations.
  • Authored an OCR-backed ETL pipeline using pandas and pytesseract that migrated inconsistently structured Excel pricing data — including rate tables embedded as images — into Oracle on upload.
  • Mapped dependencies across 15+ applications and hundreds of database objects with graphviz and networkx into architectural reference graphs delivered to leadership.
  • Led development of the downstream contract-generation app, setting technical direction for a four-developer squad, running code reviews, and coordinating across the sales, pricing, and underwriting teams.
  • Oracle APEX
  • PL/SQL
  • Oracle Database
  • JavaScript
  • Python
  • Jenkins
  • GitHub
  • Liquibase
  • pandas

Dec 2020 – Apr 2024

Embedded Systems Engineer

Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) · Remote

Independent contract engineering spanning embedded/IoT devices, data-analysis pipelines, and web systems.

  • Designed and prototyped IoT security devices: embedded firmware in C, C++, and Python (Arduino), custom PCB design, serial/UART debugging, and sensor integration.
  • Co-built a Dockerized FastAPI and PostgreSQL backend that served device telemetry over TCP/IP through a REST API.
  • Built data-analysis and automation deliverables over real-world and scientific datasets — including geospatial work (Python/pandas, netCDF, cartopy mapping, statistical analysis) — alongside web development and systems integration.
  • C
  • C++
  • Python
  • Embedded firmware
  • Arduino
  • PCB design
  • FastAPI
  • PostgreSQL
  • Docker
  • pandas
  • cartopy
  • Geospatial

Jun 2020 – May 2021

Systems Engineering Intern

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems · Remote

Defense systems engineering on a cleared program (DoD Secret), performed fully remotely.

  • Previously held a DoD Secret security clearance (2020–2021) on a cleared defense systems-engineering role performed fully remotely; U.S. citizen, clearable.
  • Worked within large-scale defense systems-engineering processes, documentation standards, and cross-functional team workflows.
  • Systems engineering
  • MATLAB

View full experience

Projects

Selected projects

A few of the things I've built — AI-assisted tooling, enterprise data, geospatial systems, and scientific computing.

All projects

Contact

Let's work together

Open to remote engineering roles and freelance work — AI-assisted tooling, automation, and backend and data engineering.

dm@erickshepherd.com