Zac Fermanis

Solutions Engineer, Architect & AI Leader

Experienced software engineer and technology leader with over 20 years of expertise in enterprise systems, full-stack development, and AI-driven solutions. Currently serving as Solutions Engineer at Liberty Mutual, leading AI initiatives and enterprise architecture for a Fortune 100 company. Named Corporate Functions AI Champion, advising senior leadership on AI strategy and implementation.

About Me

Get to know me better

Professional Background

I'm a seasoned software engineer and technology leader with over 20 years of experience building enterprise systems and leading technical teams. My expertise spans full-stack development, cloud architecture, and AI-driven solutions.

Key Achievements

Named Corporate Functions AI Champion at Liberty Mutual, advising senior leadership on AI strategy and implementation

Led implementation of award-winning 'Concierge' portal resulting in $5M+ in annual savings

Co-founded and serve as CTO of Elegant Elephant Travel since 2016, achieving $1M+ annual revenue

Developed 40+ enterprise systems across various FinTech and insurance industries

Specialized in AI/ML integration, cloud-native architectures, and high-performance engineering

Engineered systems processing 1M+ transactions per minute supporting $5B+ in daily assets

20+

Years of Experience

40+

Enterprise Systems

$1M+

Annual Revenue Generated

Education

Boston University

MS in Computer Science with Concentrations in Security and AI

Boston, MA2017

University of Southern Maine

BS in Computer Science, Minors: Mathematics, Economics

Portland, ME2007

Work History

Present

Solutions Engineer

Liberty Mutual

📍 Remote

• Corporate Functions - Talent and Enterprise Services

• Named Corporate Functions AI Champion, advising Senior Leadership and Enterprise Architecture on AI strategy and implementation

• Established best practices and security guidelines for Agentic Coding, including creation of multiple MCP servers to accelerate application development

• Provided architectural support for Talent and Enterprise Services, a department of 150+ engineers

• Architected, designed, and led implementation of 'Concierge,' an award-winning intranet portal centralizing feedback management, performance evaluations, and merit/pay administration - resulting in $5M+ in annual savings

• Authored high-profile architectural strategies including Fine-Grained Authorization using OPA, Micro-Frontend Architectures, Microservices Architectures, and SuperGraphQL Data-flow

• Produced department-wide North Star Architecture diagrams and Reference Architectures; Certified LeanIX practitioner

• Mentored junior developers and contributed to High-Performance Engineering culture

• Led design and development of DEI portal to improve accessibility and reduce IT support call center volume by 36% in first year

• Led architecture and implementation of company-wide Performance Ecosystem overhaul, leveraging Micro-Frontends and SuperGraphQL architecture

• Orchestrated cross-functional 'Game-Day' exercises to enhance performance engineering and site reliability practices

• Enabled distribution of 37,000+ annual bonus statements in a single day with error rate under 0.5% - the largest volume in company history

• Finalist (2nd Place) in 2022 company-wide Hackathon (3,000+ participants)

AI/MLMCPEnterprise ArchitectureSecurityLeadershipMicro-FrontendsSuperGraphQLOPALeanIXPerformance Engineering

2017

Present

Chief Technology Officer - CoFounder

Elegant Elephant Travel

📍 Remote

• Oversaw all technical operations and strategy, enabling $1M+ in annual revenue with lean infrastructure footprint of less than $5K in annual operating costs

• Designed and developed high-performance, SEO-optimized eCommerce website with full social media integration: elegantelephanttravel.com

• Built and integrated automated workflows using TravelJoy.com APIs and additional travel CRM/portal tools to streamline client and itinerary management

• Created and deployed multiple AI-driven automation tools including:

• • Automated Daily Email Summarizer

• • Follow-Up Detection System

• • 'Ask My Inbox' natural language inbox assistant

• • Itinerary Validator for catching typographical, logistical, and geographical errors in 3rd-party vendor documents

ReactNode.jsPostgreSQLAWSAI/MLStripe APIOpenAI APISEOeCommerceAutomation

2016

2017

Principal Software Engineer

Liberty Mutual

📍 Dover, NH

• Enterprise Technology Services - Security Delivery

• Led architecture, design, development, system administration, and release engineering for a portfolio of 5 enterprise-wide systems and 35+ supporting applications

• Supported high-scale J2EE n-tier applications serving 5M+ customer accounts and 50K+ employee identities across the organization

• Reduced release cycle overhead by over 60% by scripting and automating previously manual deployment and maintenance tasks

• Refactored legacy systems to support hot-swappable configuration changes, eliminating downtime and enabling more agile deployments

• Provided architectural guidance and technical leadership to multiple development squads; mentored junior developers to build internal engineering capabilities

Java/J2EEEnterprise SystemsArchitectureMentoringAutomationSystem AdministrationRelease Engineering

2012

Software Developer

Liberty Mutual

📍 Dover, NH

• Products & Distribution Applications Development

• Contributed to successful release of refactored Auto Insurance sales platform (GEARS), serving as jQuery Subject Matter Expert (SME) for front-end team

• Served as lead developer and UI/UX designer for Personal Liability Protection (PLP) sales application, a high-visibility initiative within the organization

• Collaborated in enterprise Java environment using IBM Rational Application Developer (RAD) and Rational Team Concert (RTC) for development and source control

JavajQueryUI/UX DesignIBM RationalFrontend DevelopmentJavaScriptHTMLCSS

2010

Senior Programmer Analyst

Citigroup

📍 Boston, MA

• Applications Development

• Led multiple integration initiatives under Model Office (AIS Portal) program to onboard newly acquired Bisys Group into Citi's infrastructure, including upgrading and re-engineering several .NET/ASP applications to align with Citi's Information Security Standards and enterprise policies

• Served as Lead Developer for XSP (SWIFT/FPML) processing projects at CDIL, implementing SWIFT API using Java/J2EE and acting as Subject Matter Expert (SME) for integration workflows

• Led all trade processing and reporting integrations for BGI (Barclays Global Investors), delivering scalable Java/J2EE and .NET applications using SWIFT, MQ, and SQL

• Engineered systems capable of processing 1M+ transactions per minute, supporting over $5B in daily Assets Under Management (AUM)

Java/J2EE.NET/ASPSWIFTFPMLMQSQLIntegrationFinancial SystemsHigh-Performance Systems

2005

2002

Quality Assurance Engineer

Compaq Computer Co. / Hewlett Packard

📍 Shrewsbury, MA

• StorageWorks - SANSOFT

• Designed and executed network testing scripts for high-availability SAN systems

• Tested across IBM Shark/DS4400, Solaris, Red Hat Linux, and Windows Server

• Utilized Fibre Channel connections for multi-platform validation

• Analyzed and documented test results to ensure system stability

• Ensured cross-platform performance and compatibility compliance

SANFibre ChannelIBM SharkSolarisLinuxWindows ServerNetwork TestingQuality Assurance

2000

Featured Projects

Some of my recent work

Featured

🔒Private

Elegant Elephant Travel Platform

Elegant Elephant Travel Website Screenshot

Comprehensive travel management system serving thousands of customers with real-time booking, payment processing, and AI-powered recommendations. Built with modern web technologies and cloud infrastructure. Visit www.elegantelephanttravel.com to experience the platform.

ReactNode.jsPostgreSQLAWSStripe APIOpenAI API

Live Site

Featured

Memory Bank for Agents

A drop-in NPX script that installs and configures the Memory Bank system following the SPEC design process. Utilizes cutting-edge best practices in Agentic Coding to create intelligent memory management solutions for AI development workflows.

NPXTypeScriptAgentic CodingSPEC DesignAI/MLMemory ManagementDevelopment Tools

Source Code

Featured

AI-GA Tetris

Advanced Tetris implementation using genetic algorithms and artificial intelligence. Features neural network-based gameplay optimization, genetic algorithm training for optimal piece placement strategies, and real-time AI decision making for competitive gameplay.

JavaGenetic AlgorithmsNeural NetworksAI/MLGame DevelopmentAlgorithm Optimization

Source Code

🔒Private

Bad Neighbor

A LUA-based game developed using the Love2D framework. Features engaging gameplay mechanics, smooth animations, and interactive elements. Demonstrates game development skills and LUA programming expertise.

LUALove2DGame Development2D GraphicsGame MechanicsAnimation

Fermanis & Sons Lawn Care

Business management system for lawn care operations, featuring customer management, scheduling, billing, and service tracking. Built with modern web technologies for efficient business operations. Visit www.fermanisandsons.com to see the platform in action.

Web DevelopmentBusiness ManagementCustomer ManagementSchedulingBilling System

Live Site Source Code

Featured

Personal Portfolio Website

Modern, responsive portfolio website built with Next.js, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS. Features smooth animations, interactive components, and a clean design showcasing professional experience and projects. Includes contact form, resume download functionality, and optimized performance.

Next.jsTypeScriptReactTailwind CSSThree.jsJestTesting LibraryResponsive DesignPerformance Optimization

Live Site Source Code

Get In Touch

Skills & Technologies

My technical expertise

I've worked with a wide range of technologies throughout my career, from frontend frameworks to backend systems and cloud infrastructure. Here are the key areas where I excel:

AI & Machine Learning

AI Strategy

Agentic Coding

MCP

TensorFlow

PyTorch

OpenAI API

LangChain

Computer Vision

NLP

MLOps

Neural Networks

Genetic Algorithms

Machine Learning

AI-Driven Automation

skills

Enterprise Architecture

Enterprise AI

Mentoring

Talent Systems

Security Best Practices

Leadership

Strategic Planning

High Performance Engineering

Networking/Network Security

Micro-Frontends

SuperGraphQL

OPA

LeanIX

C4 Diagramming

skills

Frontend Development

React

TypeScript

JavaScript

HTML5

CSS3

Tailwind CSS

Next.js

Vue.js

Angular

Vite

JSP/ASP

SASS

jQuery

Groovy/Grails

Htmx

UI/UX Design

skills

Backend Development

Node.js

Python

Java

.NET

Express.js

Django

Spring Boot

ASP.NET Core

Rust

Serverless

AWS CDK

J2EE

ASP

skills

Database & Cloud

PostgreSQL

MongoDB

MySQL

AWS

Azure

Google Cloud

Docker

Kubernetes

Redis

Big Data - Hadoop/Hive

SQL

skills

Financial & Integration Technologies

SWIFT

FPML

Financial Systems

High-Performance Systems

Integration

Trade Processing

Assets Under Management

IBM Rational

IBM Shark

Fibre Channel

SAN

skills

Development Tools & DevOps

NPM/YARN/PNPM

CVS/SVN/GIT/Github Actions

K6 Load Testing

Bamboo/Bamboo Specs

Maven/Gradle

Ab Initio

Informatica (ETL)

OIDC/OAuth 2 Flows

System Administration

Release Engineering

Quality Assurance

Network Testing

skills

Get In Touch

Let's work together

I'm always interested in new opportunities and collaborations. Whether you have a project in mind or just want to connect, feel free to reach out.

Get In Touch

zacfermanis@gmail.com

Location

Raleigh, NC

Connect With Me

Send Message

Oh yeah, I'm also in a band!

When I'm not coding, you can find me playing music with Echo Blvd. I made that website too!