Shawn Osborne
Software Developer

About Me

Hi, I'm Shawn

My Portrait

I build full-stack applications from design to deployment

Through years of learning and building full-stack applications, I've gained experience across front-end, back-end, database, and deployment, and have used the full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) throughout. I've built JSON and Hypertext APIs in Java with Spring Boot and in JavaScript with Node and Express. On the front-end, I've built lightweight, accessible interfaces with HTMX, Vue.js, JavaScript, and HTML/CSS.

I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Software Engineering, and certifications in AWS Cloud, project management, and full-stack development. I use this experience to build scalable and maintainable software, architectures, and workflows.

About This Site

When I started learning software development, I only knew the front-end. My first portfolio was a static site hosted on GitHub Pages and was a pain to update and make additions to, so I rarely did. I wanted to ease that process so I could host and own a simple way to create, share, and update my project write-ups without relying on another platform. As my front-end web development knowledge grew into the back-end, database, and infrastructure layers, I became confident enough to build my own Content Management System (CMS).

The result is this site. Here, I write about and share my projects and the technologies behind them, what I've learned (and am still figuring out), my hobbies, and whatever else feels worth putting out there. I use it for self-reflection, personal project retrospectives, to help others avoid issues I've come across, and to carve out a quiet corner of the web for myself amid all the noise. Everything here is written in my own words and opinions, and there will never be any AI-generated content, ads, or tracking.

Welcome to my corner of the web!

Updated: June 2026

Contact Info

Feel free to get in contact with me through one of these.

Education

School

  • Bachelor of Science, Software Engineering - Western Governors University -- Sept 2023 - Sept 2025
  • Associate of Applied Science, Web Programming - Rasmussen University -- Oct 2020 - Aug 2022

Certification

  • WGU Back End Developer -- November 2024
  • CompTIA Project+ -- July 2024
  • AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner -- October 2023
  • Udacity Front End Developer -- February 2023

What I'm Doing

Learning

  • Software development projects
  • Typescript & Angular
  • Linear algebra
  • Experimenting with local AI
  • Supplementing my son's learning in social studies, math, & science
  • Practicing Tae Kwon Do

Leisure

  • Writing and tinkering with this website
  • Tending to my garden and aquarium
  • Being a good cook 😅
  • Playing Magic The Gathering and a few different video games

Tools & Skills

Tech Stack(s)

  • Infrastructure: AWS + EC2 & S3 Behind Cloudfront
  • Backend: Java + Spring Boot or Node + Express.js
  • Database: MariaDB or PostgreSQL
  • Frontend: (HTMX or Vue.js) & JavaScript + CSS

Current Software Tools

  • IDE: IntelliJ IDEA
  • Database Management: DBeaver, Command Line Client
  • Shell & Scripting: Bash or Python
  • Design: Figma, Draw.io, Web Browser

Other Familiar Tech

  • OS: Linux, Windows
  • Containerization: Docker
  • Programming: Java, Python, SQL, JavaScript, CSS, HTML
  • Frameworks: Spring Boot, Hibernate, Vue.js
  • Testing: JUnit, Mockito, Testcontainers, Jest
  • Methodology: Waterfall & Agile (XP, Kanban, Scrum)
  • Architecture: MVC, REST, SPA
  • UI/UX: Web Content Accessibility, Wireframing & Prototyping, Mobile-First & Responsive Web Design

Hardware

Main System

  • Linux Mint
  • AMD Ryzen 5 3600
  • AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT 12GB
  • 4x 8GB Corsair LPX DDR4 3200 RAM
  • 2TB Crucial PCI Express NVME drive
  • 256GB Western Digital Blue SATA SSD
  • 1TB Western Digital Blue 7200 RPM HDD
  • 36" ViewSonic 1440p monitor
  • 32" ASUS 1080p monitor
  • Standup desk

Other Systems

Headless Local Server
  • 2GB Raspberry Pi 4, Linux Raspberry Pi OS lite, 32GB MicroSD, 32GB USB 3 Flash Drive for backup
Web Server
  • 2GB t4g.small EC2 + Amazon Linux + JDK 25 Headless + Apache Tomcat
  • S3 buckets for static file & database backups
  • DNS, reverse proxy, TLS, CDN edge caching, and WAF + ddos protections with Route 53 and Cloudfront distributions
Laptop
  • 16" ASUS ZenBook, 8th Gen Intel I7, 16GB RAM, 256MB SSD, 1TB HDD, Windows 11 / Linux Mint Dual Boot