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Hello World,I'm Simon Juma,
Founder · AI Architect · Cloud Engineer
Founder of R&J Interiors, a studio whose VR previews let clients see a finished space before production starts. I build the systems behind work like that — agentic AI, RAG pipelines, and the cloud infrastructure they run on.
0Company Founded
0Systems Shipped
0Hackathon Podiums
0Eng Internships
Who I Am
The Engineer Behind The Code
Four chapters. One standard: ship systems that hold up when it matters most.
01
The Journey
I'm Simon Juma — a software engineer from Kenya who believes the best engineers are forged by solving problems that actually matter. My path started at Dedan Kimathi University, where I stopped asking "how do I learn to code?" and started asking something harder: how do you build systems that hold up under real-world pressure, at scale, for people who can't afford for them to fail? That question sharpened my engineering — and it's the standard I bring to every team I work with, anywhere in the world.
"Build systems that hold up for people who can't afford for them to fail."
02
The Craft
I build intelligent systems — not just apps. My focus is agentic AI powered by RAG pipelines: autonomous agents that retrieve, reason, and respond without hand-holding. Underneath, I architect the infrastructure that keeps it all standing — Terraform, AWS, microservices, CI/CD. I'm drawn to complexity other engineers avoid, and I leave systems more resilient than I found them.
I don't just write code — I engineer systems that think.
NestJSAWSTerraformRAGPostgreSQLDocker
03
The Mission
I'm drawn to problems with real stakes — healthcare platforms where downtime costs lives, logistics systems where bugs lose money, AI pipelines where hallucinations have consequences. I've shipped across health, fintech, agriculture, and education verticals. The domain changes; the standard doesn't. Impact that outlasts the sprint.
🌍 Social Impact💳 FinTech🤝 Civic Tech📚 EdTech♿ Digital Inclusion🤖 AI Systems
04
The Vision
I'm not looking for just a job — I'm looking for a team building something worth the effort. Remote, on-site, or hybrid — timezone isn't the constraint, ambition is. Bring me a hard problem and I'll bring the engineering depth, the AI intuition, and the relentless drive to ship it right. The best work I'll ever do hasn't happened yet.
Let's build something worth talking about. →
Core Expertise
Agentic AI & RAG Systems ·Terraform & IaC ·AWS Cloud Architecture ·Node.js & NestJS ·React & Next.js ·PostgreSQL & MongoDB ·Docker & Kubernetes ·CI/CD Pipelines ·Microservices ·Python & FastAPI ·LLM Integration ·REST & GraphQL APIs ·TypeScript ·Redis ·Agentic AI & RAG Systems ·Terraform & IaC ·AWS Cloud Architecture ·Node.js & NestJS ·React & Next.js ·PostgreSQL & MongoDB ·Docker & Kubernetes ·CI/CD Pipelines ·Microservices ·Python & FastAPI ·LLM Integration ·REST & GraphQL APIs ·TypeScript ·Redis ·
Experience & Education
My professional journey and academic background
Founder
Founder & Technical Lead
R&J Interiors
- Founded a luxury interior-textile studio and built the entire digital product end-to-end — an immersive VR experience that lets clients preview their curtains, fabrics, and finished space before production begins.
- Architected and shipped the VR visualization engine, live product catalog, and consultation-booking flow, taking the venture from concept to a live, revenue-ready business.
- Own the product vision, engineering, and go-to-market — combining full-stack development, 3D/WebXR, and cloud deployment into a single cohesive platform.
Next.jsReactThree.js / WebXRTypeScriptNode.js
Work
Software Engineer Intern
Britam Insurance PLC
- Built and maintained RESTful APIs with NestJS to power the Tree App, a digital platform for community-based tree planting initiatives.
- Designed backend modules for group management, event scheduling, and member activity tracking with a scalable, maintainable architecture.
- Integrated PostgreSQL for structured data storage and efficient query performance across large datasets.
- Collaborated with frontend developers to integrate APIs and optimize request handling for faster response times.
NestJSPostgreSQLPostmanDocker
Education
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT)
- Studied core disciplines including software engineering, database systems, cloud computing, and AI fundamentals.
- Graduated with hands-on experience in full-stack development, cloud infrastructure, and machine learning applications.
Work
Software Engineer Intern
Datani Insurance Agency
- Built a full-stack insurance management application enabling agents to onboard clients, compare policies, and track renewals in real time.
- Developed the frontend with React.js and Tailwind CSS, and the backend with Node.js, Express, and MongoDB.
- Integrated authentication, notifications, and dynamic dashboards for better data visualization.
- Deployed the application and provided continuous feature updates based on user feedback.
React.jsNode.jsExpressMongoDBTailwind CSS
Hackathon Achievements
WinnerOrigin Fest Hackathon 2024AI for Community
FinalistBushHack Hackathon 2024AI for Agriculture
2nd PlaceCommunications Authority Hackathon 2023CAK
Tech Stack & Skills
Technologies I use to bring ideas to life
Frontend
ReactNext.jsTypeScriptTailwind CSSFramer Motion
Backend
Node.jsNest.jsExpressREST APIsGraphQL
Database
PostgreSQLMongoDBRedisPrisma
Cloud & DevOps
AWSOracle CloudDockerCI/CDNginx
Full Stack
MERN StackJAMstackMicroservicesWebSockets
AI & Data
AI AgentsRAG PipelinesLLM IntegrationOpenAI API
Mobile
React NativeExpoMobile-First Design
Version Control
GitGitHubGitLabCollaborative Workflows
What I Bring
The value I add to any engineering team
Full-Stack Engineering
End-to-end web and mobile applications built to scale — from PostgreSQL schema design to production-grade React and Next.js UIs.
Cloud & Infrastructure
AWS-native architecture and Terraform IaC designed for reliability, observability, and cost efficiency from day one.
AI Systems
Agentic pipelines and RAG systems that make applications genuinely intelligent — not just AI-flavored wrappers.
Team Collaboration
Clean code, strong documentation, and code reviews that raise the engineering bar — I make the team around me better.
Featured Projects
A selection of my recent work
Flagship Venture
Live in Production
Founder & Technical Lead
Founder & Technical LeadR&J Interiors
Luxury interior-textile studio · See it before you build it.
A company I founded and engineered end-to-end — reimagining how people design their homes. Clients step into an immersive VR preview and experience their curtains, fabrics, and finished space before a single thread is cut. No guessing. No regrets. Just certainty. I own the vision, the platform, and the product: the VR visualization engine, the catalog, and the booking flow that turns a bold idea into a live, revenue-ready business.
LiveIn production
2025Founded
VRPowered previews
Immersive VR room previewLive product catalogConsultation booking systemFounder & technical lead
Next.jsReactThree.js / WebXRTypeScriptNode.js
Studio palette
Visit the Live StudioMore Projects
Marketplace
E-Commerce Marketplace
A cloud-based multi-vendor marketplace platform where sellers can list products, manage inventory, and handle orders.
Real-Time System
Confirmed
An inventory management system that helps small and medium enterprises track their stock in real-time as sales occur.
One read, five hops
The request path through the multi-vendor marketplace — read the full case study.
- 01StorefrontReact
A buyer opens a vendor's catalogue
The storefront is a React client. It knows nothing about which vendor owns which product — that resolution happens server-side, so a vendor can be onboarded without shipping a new build.
- 02API LayerNestJS
One gateway fronts every vendor operation
NestJS terminates the request, authenticates it, and routes it. Keeping a single entry point is what makes per-vendor rate limits and auditing possible later without touching each service.
- 03Vendor ServiceNestJS
The service I built
Vendor management — onboarding, inventory ownership, and order routing — lives in its own module so that a change to how vendors are modelled never risks the checkout path.
- 04CacheRedis
Hot catalogue reads stop here
Catalogue reads dominate traffic and change rarely. Serving them from Redis means the database only sees the requests that genuinely need it.
- 05DatabasePostgreSQL
Indexed queries carry the rest
What reaches PostgreSQL is served by queries tuned for high-traffic loads. Multi-vendor data is relational by nature — vendors own products, products belong to orders — so a relational store was the honest choice.
In the Community
Events, hackathons, and technical talks
SpeakerMountKenya Devfeast 2025
Delivered a technical talk on AI systems and cloud architecture to the Kenyan developer community.
1st PlaceOrigin Fest Hackathon 2024
Won the AI for Community challenge — built a solution expanding digital access for underserved communities.
2nd PlaceCommunications Authority Hackathon 2023
National competition — built a telecoms solution that earned recognition from the Communications Authority of Kenya.
FinalistBushHack Hackathon 2024
Reached the finals with an AI-powered agriculture platform — presented to industry judges across East Africa.
What People Say
"Simon is a brilliant engineer who consistently delivers high-quality code. His ability to solve complex problems is impressive."
Dr. Jane KuriaSenior Lecturer
"Working with Simon was a pleasure. He brings great energy to the team and his technical skills are top-notch."
Benson MuneneTech Lead
"Simon turned our vision for R&J Interiors into a living product — he built the entire VR preview experience from the ground up, so clients can now walk through their space before a single cut. His engineering is what made the business possible."
R&J InteriorsFounding Team · rjinteriors.studio
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers about Simon Juma and his work
Let's Work Together
Have a project in mind? Let's discuss how I can help bring your ideas to life.
Get In Touch
I'm always open to discussing new projects, creative ideas, or opportunities to be part of your visions.