Open to opportunities

Joshua Herndon

@joshuaherndon

I build high-performance backend platforms, modernize legacy systems, and lead architecture across distributed teams.

At The Pokémon Company International, I led a squad building Python and AWS backend services for a new leaderboard experience, dynamic rule updates, and multiple product lines. I also migrated roughly 15 years of legacy data with zero downtime and reduced critical Postgres queries from over 15 minutes to under 30 seconds.

I've improved platform reliability and performance at TalentNow, LexisNexis State Net, and LaunchBadge through observability, asynchronous processing, GraphQL APIs, and backend modernization. My work has eliminated multi-minute response times, resolved database bottlenecks, rescued delayed messaging services, and supported blockchain and distributed ledger products.

I enjoy turning complex legacy systems into clear, maintainable services through domain boundaries, architecture reviews, and practical collaboration with product, platform, and quality teams.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Senior Software Engineer

The Pokémon Company International

Dec 2022 - Jul 2025 (2 years 7 months)

Led an agile squad to develop a backend service for a leaderboard experience, enabling dynamic rule updates and supporting multiple product lines. Designed a data storage solution with a RESTful API and ETL pipeline, migrating legacy data with zero downtime and reducing critical query execution time by ~97%.

Python fastAPI AWS Lambda Aurora PostgreSQL REST ETL Agile

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

University of Central Missouri

Bachelor of Science, Computer Science

Completed three years of coursework toward a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a Data Science emphasis, including relevant coursework in machine learning, big data systems, artificial intelligence, deep learning, and software engineering.