About
I’m Rafael Quijada, a Software Engineer who enjoys building accessible, performance-focused web experiences with React and modern JavaScript—especially on teams shipping CMS-driven sites at scale.
Who I am
I'm currently based in Houston, TX and actively planning to relocate to San Juan, PR. Outside of work, I enjoy board games with friends, visiting new places, and exploring the outdoors.
I rode motorcycles for a few years and loved weekend rides and short trips. These days, my biggest interest outside of work is off-roading—I have a Jeep Wrangler I've modified for trail adventures.
When I was 20, I attended S.A.M. to learn engine building and machining. That experience shaped how I think about systems: sometimes you have to get your hands dirty to really understand how something works—whether it's an engine or a complex codebase.
What I do
Most recently, I worked at The Home Depot building and maintaining large-scale front-end features used by millions of customers. I’ve delivered reusable components in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), integrated REST/GraphQL APIs, improved performance, and helped teams ship reliably with strong testing practices and CI/CD workflows.
How I like to work
- Product-minded engineering: I like understanding the “why,” collaborating with design and product, and balancing quality with shipping.
- Performance & accessibility: I care about fast experiences, resilient UI architecture, and inclusive UX.
- Ownership: I’m comfortable taking a feature from planning through release and iteration—writing docs, working with Product and Design teams to break down tasks, and keeping stakeholders in the loop.
- Mentorship & teamwork: I like pairing, code reviews that teach, and leaving systems clearer than I found them.
Core stack
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