J. Campbell

Profile

Principal software engineer with 15+ years shipping production software across Apple platforms, Web3, and AI-assisted systems. Deep Swift/Objective-C background from Fortune 100 financial services work (Citi, American Express, Capital One), complemented by full-stack TypeScript, Solidity, Python, and Dart. Co-founded three companies (one exited, one active, one research). Technical educator — taught iOS to engineers at Facebook, LinkedIn, and Library of Congress. Known for migrating hard parts of systems (language migrations, device integrations, architectural overhauls) and handing off clean implementations.

Professional Experience

Principal Engineer — Fork Development Corp.

Jan 2025 – Present · Remote · Self (LLC)

SmolNerd Farm (Feb 2026): Designed and built a multi-tenant SaaS platform orchestrating 9 production crops across a single ARM Mac host. Custom bash service manager with phased dependency-ordered boot, Docker health-waits, poll-based readiness detection, launchd auto-start. 20 ngrok tunnels across 5 custom domains. Host ARM PostgreSQL + per-tenant containerized Postgres/Redis.
farm-chat canonical library (Apr 2026): Tenant-agnostic chat backend powering every SmolNerd crop. 3-tier LLM routing, MCP tools, Redis-backed streaming with late-join replay. Pluggable adapters (DbAdapter / ToolProvider / ContextProvider). Node/TypeScript.
fork-accounts (Mar 2026): OAuth 2.1 identity provider with Google/Facebook/GitHub/Apple social login, email/password with verification funnel, admin approval workflow, admin dashboard. Express + Prisma on host PostgreSQL.
taxr / taxr-mccracken (Mar 2026): Property tax research assistant for McCracken County, KY. Real county records (parcels, owners, assessments, tax bills) with PostGIS spatial queries. LLM chat with 10+ MCP tools (parcel search, neighbor lookup, ownership portfolio tracing, valuation analysis, geocoding). Stripe payment integration, sheriff reconciliation exports, ingestion pipeline with field mapping. Next.js, Prisma, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, Qwen 3.5 35B via LM Studio.
preventscripts (Feb 2026): Medication interaction / deprescribing tool. Dual MCP servers (core + patient engagement). Docker-compose stack (app + Postgres + Redis), separate native dev server, BullMQ worker tier. First tenant slated for farm-chat integration.
proofr (Feb 2026): Document OCR + analysis service. Docker stack with dedicated worker (OCR + LLM analysis), Postgres, Redis. WebSocket streaming for real-time OCR results. Prod and dev tiers side-by-side on custom domains.
cbs — Community Broadcasting (Feb 2026): Four-tier deployment (gateway, prod, dev, WebSocket worker), each on its own subdomain. Gateway architecture for routing/auth. Voice streaming via Tailscale Funnel.
coachr / lawyr / surveyr (Feb–Mar 2026): Education, legal, and land-surveying tenant platforms. Docker-packaged Next.js with isolated Postgres (coachr), native Node services on dedicated custom domains (lawyr, surveyr).
Local LLM stack: exo + LM Studio with 3-tier model routing and warmup service; Discord-native agent orchestration with per-tenant sandboxed agents (saas hub pattern).
Legacy data liberation (2025, financial services client): Led AI-assisted reverse engineering of legacy Windows system (c. 1980s) — built custom DLL introspection tooling to extract terabytes of previously inaccessible production data.
Taxr Web3 (2025): Civic finance protocol — 5 iOS apps, macOS tooling, Solidity contracts (ERC-20/721/1155), Next.js dashboard across Ethereum, Base L2, and custom Reth nodes. MCP federation layer linking local LLM inference with EVM automation.
zk research: privacy proofs, Circom, Swift-to-WASM experiments.

Mobile Engineer — FIS (via Kforce)

Jun 2024 – Dec 2024 · Remote · Contract

React Native modernization of banking application with Gluestack design system.
Implemented release pipeline improvements and component library integration.

Senior iOS Engineer — Capital One (via Computer Futures)

Jul 2022 – Dec 2023 · Remote · Contract

Built Swift features for Travel & Benefits module in flagship retail-banking app.
Implemented VoiceOver accessibility, analytics integration, and comprehensive unit test coverage.
Collaborated with product managers and backend engineers on feature delivery and CI/CD improvements.

Technical Project Manager — Kaiser Permanente (via Deloitte)

Oct 2021 – Jul 2022 · Remote · W2

Coordinated Agile delivery of member-facing mobile enrollment portal (web-wrapper) across distributed teams.
Replaced previous TPM mid-project; stabilized delivery timelines.

Senior iOS Engineer — Walmart Global Tech (via Caspex)

Mar 2021 – Sep 2021 · Remote · Contract

Integrated SwiftUI and UIKit components in Walmart's flagship retail app.
Advanced localization, accessibility, and automated testing coverage.

Senior iOS Engineer — American Express

Feb 2019 – Feb 2021 · Phoenix, AZ / Remote · Direct

Built Send & Split peer-to-peer payments feature in the AmEx iOS app.
Test-driven Swift development with reactive patterns in compliance-focused financial services environment.
Supported QA automation and security validation.

Senior iOS Engineer — Directorpoint

Oct 2018 – Feb 2019 · Huntsville, AL · Direct

Board compliance software. Onboarded and worked feature tickets prior to company acquisition.

Senior iOS Engineer — Universal Studios (via TEKpartners)

Mar 2018 – Sep 2018 · Orlando, FL · Contract (1099)

Refactored consumer-app UI for improved map readability and live-park performance.
Collaborated with QA and product design on tight release timelines.

iOS Tech Lead / Architect — IBM iX (Citibank engagement)

Feb 2015 – Jan 2018 · New York, NY / Remote · W2

Led delivery of Citibank's first all-Swift retail-banking iOS app; architected data, navigation, and security layers adopted across teams.
Built Apple Watch companion app — icon featured on stage at Apple's launch event.
CitiGold Expansion: full-stack investment/trading features. Java/Spring backend interfacing to external trading house, Swift frontend. Presented to Citi CEO.
Led Coca-Cola geofenced rewards app with background-aware location.
Mentored junior developers, managed code reviews, managed global delivery teams.
Known internally as “the tech lead from Kentucky” under Partner David Gilvin.

Senior iOS Engineer — Lonely Planet

Mar 2014 – Feb 2015 · Nashville, TN / Remote · Direct

Built in-app purchase pipelines for digital guidebook delivery.
Shipped iOS MVPs for experimental business unit.

iOS Engineer & Instructor — Big Nerd Ranch

Nov 2011 – Feb 2014 · Atlanta, GA · Direct

Shipped production iOS apps for AT&T (U-verse Remote, Party Jukebox, Streaming) and Brown-Forman.
AT&T Party Jukebox: MP4-over-HTTP streaming to set-top boxes.
Taught iOS/Objective-C to engineers at Facebook, LinkedIn, and Library of Congress.
Technical reviewer for Objective-C Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide.

Independent iOS Developer — Self

2008 – 2011 · Kentucky

CoachCal (John Calipari partnership): #1 App Store ranking, Sports category, 2009. Rich media, 7 data sources, signature animation loading UX.
Kentucky Sports Radio (KSR): WordPress backend, iAds, geolocation fan check-in map.
zRecord / zRecord Pro: voice dictation with novel insert-record mode.
Murray State University App: first campus app. Videos, maps, student portal.

Entrepreneurial

Technical Co-Founder — PreventScripts (fka Personal Medicine Plus)

2014 – Present · Remote patient monitoring · Bootstrapped + raised

Co-founded B2B remote patient monitoring platform for clinics with Brandi Harless.
Built original Objective-C iOS app (2014); led migration to React Native (2016) and Flutter (2020).
Rewrote BTLE scale integration in Dart during Flutter migration.
Re-engaged 2025 (unpaid advisor): built Swift-based MCP server enabling ops team data exploration.
Pattern: architect → migrate hard parts → hand off to contractors while maintaining W2 career.

Co-Founder — Apex Internet Services

Jul 1995 – May 2000 · Western KY · Profitable exit

Built ISP and Local Exchange Carrier to 20K customers, ~24 employees.
SS7 signaling network, switch programming, Unix/Cisco infrastructure.
Won interconnection dispute vs BellSouth (regulatory).
Exit via acquisition, 2000.

Education

Murray State University — Computer Science, 1991–1995 (attended; left to co-found ISP)

Big Nerd Ranch — Cocoa/Objective-C Training, 2002 (student; later returned as instructor)

Technical Skills

Languages: Swift (expert), Objective-C (expert), TypeScript, JavaScript, Solidity, Python, Dart, Java, Bash

Mobile: UIKit, SwiftUI, Combine, async/await, Actors, HealthKit, Bluetooth LE, CoreLocation, React Native, Flutter, TestFlight

Web3: Solidity, Hardhat, Foundry, Ethers v6, OpenZeppelin v5, ERC-20/721/1155, DAO patterns, governance, staking, multi-chain (Ethereum, Base L2, Reth), zk-SNARKs/STARKs (research)

AI/ML: Model Context Protocol (MCP), LLM context engineering, agent orchestration, Claude, Copilot, Ollama, MLX, AI-assisted development workflows

Backend/Cloud: AWS (CDK, DynamoDB, S3, CloudFront, Route 53), PostgreSQL, Docker, REST APIs, WebSockets

Tools: Xcode, Instruments, LLDB, Git, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Fastlane, JIRA

Practices: CI/CD, TDD, Agile/Scrum, Accessibility (WCAG), Localization, HIPAA, financial compliance

Domains: Financial services, Healthcare, Retail, Entertainment, Civic/Government

Notable Achievements

Citi Mobile Apple Watch icon featured on stage at Apple's launch event
Presented mobile investment architecture to Citibank CEO
#1 App Store ranking, Sports category (CoachCal, 2009)
Technical reviewer, Objective-C Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide
Taught iOS development to engineers at Facebook, LinkedIn, Library of Congress
Attended 11+ Apple WWDCs
Successful ISP/LEC exit via acquisition (2000)
Won regulatory interconnection dispute vs BellSouth