Manuel Bolaños
A decade shipping the web stack — now wiring LLMs and microcontrollers into the loop.
A hybrid engineer, on purpose.
Full-stack web developer with over a decade of experience and 200+ delivered projects, with a growing side interest in embedded systems and IoT. My core is the web stack — PHP, Laravel, WordPress, React and JavaScript — with deep experience in CRM-driven enterprise development: custom solutions on SugarCRM, custom-endpoint integrations connecting the CRM to e-commerce platforms and third-party systems, and marketing automation on ActiveCampaign. I have delivered large-scale billing, ticketing, scheduling and queue-management systems for the automotive, security and healthcare sectors, and I currently work on WordPress platforms for U.S. law firms in the legal marketing space. Along the way I have led teams as Scrum Master and Technical Lead under agile methodologies, and I actively integrate AI agents and LLMs into real products.
Equally comfortable architecting a Laravel application, shipping a professional website, or wiring an LLM into an existing workflow.
Beyond the keyboard
The habits and side quests that keep the engineering sharp.
Tinkering with hardware
3D design & printing
Continuous learning
Building in public
Tools I reach for.
From production web apps to LLMs in the loop to firmware on bare metal — organized by where they live in the stack.
Backend
Front-end
E-commerce
AI
Embedded & IoT
Tooling & DevOps
Methodologies
Where I've built.
Full Stack Developer
- Build custom WordPress and headless websites end-to-end — including bespoke themes and plugins tailored to client-specific requirements — owning front-end development with React and JS frameworks alongside back-end and database design.
- Develop custom property listing experiences with search, filtering and detail views, plus end-to-end viewing scheduling and booking flows that keep availability, appointments and confirmations in sync with third-party reservation systems.
- Design custom API integration layers on top of WordPress — REST endpoints, GraphQL queries, response normalization and caching — connecting external platforms to both traditional and headless front ends while keeping listing-heavy pages fast on large datasets.
- Conduct website performance audits and optimizations, improving load times on content-heavy, image and data-rich sites.
- Collaborate in Scrum ceremonies with developers, tech leads and PMs to scope and deliver features.
- Provide ongoing support and troubleshooting for live websites, documenting solutions and tracking ticket resolution.
Technical & Operations Leader
- Led IT operations and a team of developers, acting as Technical Lead and Scrum Master: defined processes, work schedules and performance goals while coordinating delivery across web and UX teams under agile methodologies.
- Owned the company's CRM practice, delivering custom development on SugarCRM — modules, workflows and business logic — and designing integrations with third-party platforms through custom REST endpoints that connected the CRM to e-commerce stores and internal business systems.
- Directed marketing automation projects on ActiveCampaign, including custom integrations between the platform and client CRMs to keep contacts, events and sales pipelines in sync.
- Delivered enterprise software for clients in the automotive, security and healthcare sectors: large-scale billing platforms, ticketing systems and appointment/queue-management systems.
- Reported progress and metrics to the COO and key stakeholders, managed vendor and client relationships, and contributed to business expansion initiatives (partnerships, acquisitions and corporate alliances).
Project Manager / Technical Leader
- Managed web projects and a 5-person development team from requirements through delivery.
- Coordinated Scrum ceremonies and ensured projects met scope, quality and deadlines.
- Built and maintained solutions across PHP/WordPress, React, Angular and e-commerce platforms.
- Delivered progress reports and presentations to stakeholders and the COO.
Web Developer / UX Developer
- Designed and built responsive websites and user interfaces (HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery, WordPress).
- Integrated multimedia content and conducted website performance and UX testing.
- Collaborated with designers, developers and stakeholders to deliver client projects.
Web Developer
- Developed and maintained websites using HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, PHP and WordPress.
- Built user interfaces, integrated multimedia content and tested site performance.
Client work, AI & embedded.
Production client work shipped end-to-end — alongside personal builds that span the model in the loop, firmware and mechanics.
10+ production websites built for Content Pilot (last 3 years).
As Full-Stack Web Developer for Content Pilot, over the last 3 years I have developed 10+ production websites end-to-end — owning 100% of the development — and provide ongoing support for 40+ live projects for the same client.
These sites are not listed publicly for confidentiality reasons; I am happy to walk through them in a closer conversation.
AIAI-Assisted Development & LLM Integration
Integrating LLMs and agent-style workflows into applications, and using AI-assisted tooling to accelerate delivery.
- LLM and agent workflows wired into real product loops.
- Claude Code with MCP servers — GitHub, MySQL, filesystem, Playwright, Figma.
- Prompt engineering and AI-assisted development as part of the everyday toolkit.
IoTEmbedded & IoT Experiments
WiFi-connected applications on ESP32 boards, including a live news ticker with category rotation on a TFT display.
- NewsAPI + ArduinoJson pipeline feeding a rotating, categorized ticker.
- TFT LCD (ST7735) driven over SPI with the TFT_eSPI library.
- Hands-on sensor integration and display-driver troubleshooting.
Embedded / Robotics4WD Exploration Rover
A four-wheel-drive exploration rover built around ESP32, with a custom suspension system and a self-designed hexagonal PETG chassis.
- Skid-steer motor control via BTS7960 drivers and a phased, modular firmware architecture.
- FPV video streaming; work spans mechanics, electronics and embedded firmware (C/C++).
- One project touching mechanical design, electronics and low-level firmware end-to-end.
Let's build something.
Full-stack, an LLM in the loop or embedded — happy to talk. Reach me directly: