MoneyQuest
An interactive 12-month financial life simulation that makes everyday money decisions visible before they become expensive.
Ideas
shouldn't
stay ideas.
Eleazar Nhamuave — Software Engineer
I turn messy, manual workflows into focused software. My work spans Python and Java backends, practical APIs, and the frontend experiences that make those systems useful.
PythonFastAPINext.jsTypeScriptREST APIs
Featured Projects
What I've built
Real software. Real problems. Real architecture decisions, trade-offs, and lessons.
ChessDesk
A lightweight operations and business-management app for independent chess coaches in South Africa.
Taskmate
A chess-inspired personal Kanban board that turns progress into a journey from Pawn to King.
Engineering Workflow
How ideas become software
The loop from problem definition to tested software stays visible. Each project is a working record of the decisions made along the way.
Ideate
Define the workflow worth improving. Start with the people, records, and decisions involved.
Specify
Turn rough ideas into requirements, data models, and edge cases before implementation gets expensive.
Prototype
Explore the smallest useful experience and validate assumptions against the actual workflow.
Contract
Keep the OpenAPI contract close to the code so the frontend and backend share a clear boundary.
Build
Build the FastAPI service and Next.js interface around the domain instead of a generic CRUD shape.
Persist
Model persistence with SQLAlchemy, using SQLite locally and PostgreSQL where the deployment needs it.
Test
Use pytest, frontend tests, and end-to-end checks to expose wrong assumptions and contract mismatches.
Automate
Keep setup, tests, containers, and CI instructions close to the repository so the path is repeatable.
Release
Document the run and deployment path clearly. The current portfolio links to source repositories rather than claiming a public demo.
Iterate
Observe. Fix. Improve. Every shipped version reveals what the spec missed and what users actually need.
Tools provide leverage · Engineering judgment stays mine
Interactive Terminal
Explore from the command line
Navigate projects, view details, and find contact info — the way developers like to explore.
eleazar@portfolio — terminalbash
Try:
Technical Focus
What I work with
A focused stack built around backend engineering. Each tool earns its place through real use in projects — not because it's on a trend list.
Backend
Where I spend most of my time. Building APIs that are reliable, testable, and designed for the domain.
- PythonCurrent project work
- FastAPIWeb layer
- SQLAlchemyPersistence
- REST APIsService boundary
- AuthenticationCookie + bearer
- SQLiteLocal default
- PostgreSQLSupported database
- JavaCore language
Frontend
Interfaces that make the underlying workflow easy to understand and use.
- Next.jsApplication framework
- ReactUI components
- TypeScriptTyped frontend
- Tailwind CSSInterface styling
- Service modulesAPI integration
- Responsive UIAccessible flows
- VitestFrontend tests
- PlaywrightE2E coverage
Engineering Practice
The habits that keep a small product understandable, runnable, and safe to change.
- OpenAPIChecked-in contracts
- PytestBackend behavior
- GitVersion control
- DockerRepeatable runs
- CI/CDAutomated checks
- Domain modellingWorkflow first
- DocumentationSetup + decisions
- DebuggingEvidence driven
Stack grows through projects, tests, and the problems they expose.
About
How I think about
software engineering
I’m a software engineer from Gauteng, South Africa. I’m interested in the part of product work where a vague, manual process becomes a clear system that people can actually use.
My recent projects pair Python and FastAPI backends with Next.js and TypeScript frontends. I care about the connective tissue: API contracts, authentication, persistence, tests, and small domain decisions that keep a product understandable as it grows.
ChessDesk explores operations software for chess coaches. Taskmate explores a more tactile personal Kanban workflow. Both are small, honest products built to learn from real constraints rather than decorate a portfolio.
Foundation
Python, Java & Automation
A practical base in programming, backend systems, and turning repetitive work into code.
Current focus
End-to-End Product Building
FastAPI, SQLAlchemy, Next.js, TypeScript, authentication, contracts, and tested workflows.
Working principle
Make the workflow clearer
Start with the domain, keep boundaries explicit, and make the behavior easy to run and verify.
Working principle
Good software makes the next action clearer — for the user and for the person maintaining it.
Contact
Let's Talk
Open to software engineering opportunities and thoughtful product work. If you're building something interesting, I want to hear about it.
Send me an email