Manuel Bolaños
Fifteen years building web platforms end to end. I'm at my best where systems have to talk to each other, and lately that includes putting LLMs into the loop.
About me.
I build web platforms end to end, and I'm strongest where systems have to talk to each other: CRMs, storefronts, payment providers, third-party APIs. Fifteen years in, that has taken me from enterprise billing, ticketing and scheduling software to WordPress and headless platforms for US law firms, leading teams as Technical Lead and Scrum Master along the way. More recently I've been building LLM and agent-driven features into products that are live.
Outside work: hardware and 3D printing, and usually something new I'm learning.
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 — search, integrations and WordPress at scale — alongside a personal build that spans firmware and mechanics.
AISemantic search for a client platform
Designed a vector-based search capability using OpenAI embeddings and a vector store, decoupled from the platform's existing search provider. Evaluated Pinecone, Qdrant and pgvector against what the client could realistically run and pay for.
CRM and e-commerce integrations
Custom SugarCRM development and REST endpoints connecting the CRM to Shopify, VTEX and WooCommerce stores, payment gateways and internal business systems, plus ActiveCampaign automations keeping contacts, events and sales pipelines in sync.
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.
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 talk.
Full-stack, integrations, or an LLM in the loop — happy to hear what you're building.