Hey there! I'm Nick McCarthy, a passionate Full-Stack Software Developer based in Austin, Texas, with a mission to create innovative and impactful digital solutions. My journey in tech is driven by a love for solving complex challenges and transforming ideas into robust, user-friendly applications. With a solid foundation in both front-end and back-end technologies, I specialize in crafting dynamic web experiences using JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, and front-end frameworks like React. My technical toolkit spans from developing comprehensive REST APIs to designing responsive user interfaces that not only look great but also deliver seamless functionality. As a certified AWS Solutions Architect and Cloud Practitioner, and with additional certifications from the Python Institute and HashiCorp, I bring a strategic approach to software development. My background in web development from the University of Texas Austin Bootcamp, combined with my journalism degree from Western Illinois University, allows me to blend technical precision with clear, effective communication. When I'm not coding, you'll find me contributing to Open Austin, a non-profit community of developers creating open-source software for public use. I'm always eager to learn, collaborate, and push the boundaries of what's possible in web development. Let's build something amazing together!
Below are a few sample projects to showcase my skill set.
I developed a cutting-edge Next.js application featuring an advanced Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) chatbot that demonstrates sophisticated AI integration and full-stack development skills. By implementing a powerful semantic search and intelligent response generation system, the project leverages state-of-the-art natural language processing techniques to create a context-aware conversational interface. The application combines document embedding, vector database querying, and large language model interactions to enable precise, context-rich responses drawn from a custom knowledge base. I implemented robust backend infrastructure for document ingestion, indexing, and retrieval, while creating an intuitive and responsive front-end that showcases seamless user interaction with AI-powered conversational capabilities. The project highlights my expertise in AI technologies, Next.js development, and my ability to build complex, intelligent web applications that bridge advanced machine learning concepts with user-friendly design.
In this React-powered food ordering application, I demonstrated my proficiency in modern web development by creating an interactive and dynamic user experience. The project leverages various React hooks such as useState, useEffect, and useContext to manage complex state interactions, particularly in implementing a fully functional shopping cart system. By carefully structuring the application's components and state management, I built a responsive interface that allows users to browse menu items, add or remove products from the cart, and experience smooth, real-time updates. The application showcases my ability to handle complex front-end logic, create intuitive user interactions, and apply React's state and effect hooks to create a seamless, interactive web application that provides an engaging user experience for online food ordering.
In this comprehensive Next.js 13 car search application, I developed an advanced web platform that demonstrates my expertise in modern web development practices. By leveraging Next.js App Router and server-side rendering, I created a performant and SEO-optimized application with sophisticated search and filtering capabilities. The project showcases my ability to design custom UI components like advanced filters, combo boxes, and modals, while maintaining a clean, well-organized codebase that emphasizes modular and readable code principles. Through this project, I implemented dynamic metadata management, refined search functionality, and utilized cutting-edge React and Next.js technologies to deliver an intuitive and responsive user experience that allows users to seamlessly explore and filter various car options.
I developed a feature-rich social media application clone of Threads, demonstrating advanced web development skills using Next.js 14 and a comprehensive modern tech stack. The project showcases my expertise in server-side rendering, leveraging Next.js 14's innovative routing and layout capabilities while implementing robust authentication through Clerk and seamless file uploads with UploadThing. By integrating MongoDB with complex data schemas and population techniques, I created a dynamic platform with real-time interactions facilitated by webhooks. The application features a sophisticated UI built with Tailwind CSS and Shadcn components, enhanced by advanced form handling using React Hook Form and data validation with Zod. I implemented rigorous middleware and authorization mechanisms, created reusable components, and followed best practices in application architecture, ultimately delivering a scalable and performant social media platform that highlights my full-stack development capabilities.
Below are a list of my currently held certifications and links to verify their authenticity.
Those who earn the HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate certification know the basic concepts, skills, and use cases associated with open source HashiCorp Terraform. They understand and can utilize Terraform according to the certification objectives. Additionally, they understand why enterprises choose to extend Terraform Open Source with Terraform Enterprise to solve business critical objectives.
Those who earn the PCAP – Certified Associate in Python Programming badge demonstrate the ability to accomplish coding tasks related to the basics of programming in the Python language and the fundamental notions and techniques used in object-oriented programming. Becoming PCAP certified ensures that the individual is fully acquainted with all the primary means provided by Python 3 to enable her/him to start her/his own studies, and to open a path to the developer’s career.
Those who earn this certification have a comprehensive understanding of AWS services and technologies. They demonstrated the ability to build secure and robust solutions using architectural design principles based on customer requirements. Badge owners are able to strategically design well-architected distributed systems that are scalable, resilient, efficient, and fault-tolerant.
Those who earn this certification have a fundamental understanding of IT services and their uses in the AWS Cloud. They demonstrated cloud fluency and foundational AWS knowledge. Badge owners are able to identify essential AWS services necessary to set up AWS-focused projects.