About Me

I'm a self-taught full-stack developer and Junior Fullstack Engineer at SerpApi (https://serpapi.com).

My coding journey began with The Odin Project’s Ruby on Rails curriculum (https://www.theodinproject.com/paths/full-stack-ruby-on-rails), but real growth came from building things from the ground up.

I love building useful, meaningful, and delightful web applications—especially with Ruby on Rails. I built my first major project solo while raising a newborn, supporting my wife through nursing school, and working part-time. That experience taught me a lot of technical skills, but also perseverance, time management, and the value of listening to users.

What I've Built

PaceMaker (https://github.com/bradenr402/pace-maker) is a full-featured Rails app for cross-country coaches and athletes, inspired by challenges my dad faced over 25 years of coaching. Every feature—from real-time team messaging to Strava integration—was shaped by real user needs and continuous feedback. Launching it and seeing teams use it to track progress, set goals, and stay connected has been one of my proudest milestones.

JobJournal (https://job-journal.fly.dev)is a privacy-first Rails web app designed to help job-seekers organize every part of their search: leads, applications, interviews, and offers. Its purpose is to bring order and calm to an often stressful process by giving users a secure, private space to manage everything. No messy spreadsheets, no recruiter dashboards.

Both projects were built end-to-end by yours truly, including backend integrations with external APIs, front-end interactivity using Turbo, Stimulus, and Tailwind CSS, and iterative improvements based on real feedback.

What Drives Me

I’m motivated by building tools that make a real difference for real people. I love the craft of writing clean, thoughtful code, but I care just as much about the impact of what I build.

Whether pair programming, walking through a PR, or writing documentation, I aim to make complex ideas accessible and collaboration easy. I’m at my best in lean, hands-on teams where I can take ownership, solve meaningful problems, and keep learning.