Eugene, Oregon · Pacific Time
Miguel Cervera
Staff Software Engineer, thirteen years across Twitter, Stripe, Uniswap Labs, and Caldera. Consulting from a permaculture homestead in Oregon, with a growing focus on climate-tech and the regenerative economy.
About
I'm a Staff Software Engineer with thirteen years building internet services: APIs, data platforms, and the infrastructure underneath them. Most recently I led backend and SDK for the cross-chain Metalayer at Caldera; before that, Smart Order Router at Uniswap Labs and the REST → GraphQL migration of Twitter's Timelines API. The full project list is below.
My particular angle is systems thinking. I see how systems work internally and externally, and I'm good at designing the tests and probes that surface real behavior. I care about sound engineering practices and data-driven decisions in equal measure: build it right, then instrument the actual thing and let it tell you what's true.
I grew up in Monterrey, Mexico and studied computer science at Tecnológico de Monterrey (with a year at UNC Greensboro). I'm bilingual in English and Spanish, which helps when a project crosses borders.
These days I'm increasingly drawn to mission-aligned work in climate-tech, environmental nonprofits, and regenerative networks. My partner Anakaren and I live in Eugene, Oregon, where we're slowly turning ten acres into a permaculture homestead: gardens, food forest, bees, biochar, the works. I also serve as Vice President at Beyond Toxics, an environmental-justice nonprofit in town. I run Maybloom, the umbrella for the consulting, the homestead, and a small set of mission-aligned tools I'm slowly bringing to market. If any of that resonates, get in touch.
Hire me
Most of my work is for small-to-mid-size teams that want staff-level technical instinct without the full-time hire. The focus is increasingly on climate-tech, environmental nonprofits, and regenerative-economy organizations. Below are the shapes I take on most often, though I keep the door open for engagements that don't fit them cleanly.
- ADVISORY
Short technical advisory
A few hours per week, 1–3 months. I join your team to help with architecture decisions, API design, hiring evaluations, or de-risking a build. Best when you have a specific question that needs senior judgment, not full-time hands.
Book to discuss - BUILD
Build engagement
Longer, project-based. I do the engineering work end-to-end on a defined project. Best for teams without a senior engineer and a real deadline.
Book to discuss - WEBSITE
Website and internet-presence consulting
For solo professionals, local businesses, and indie founders who want a custom-feeling presence on the internet (a marketing site, a portfolio, a landing page) without the cost or complexity of a full custom application. I work from an opinionated set of templates and patterns; we figure out what fits and you end up with something that's actually yours. Fixed-price project, with an optional light-maintenance retainer.
Book to discuss
Tech I work in
- Languages
- TypeScript, Scala, Python, Go, Solidity, Ruby
- APIs
- Protobuf / Connect-RPC, GraphQL, REST, Thrift
- Cloud / infra
- AWS, Terraform, Kubernetes, Postgres, NoSQL (Manhattan, DynamoDB)
- Onchain
- EVM (Ethereum, Arbitrum, OP Stack), Solidity, cross-chain bridging architecture
- AI
- Claude / Anthropic SDK, agentic tooling and the surrounding ecosystem
- Domains
- Resilient and fault-tolerant systems, multi-service architectures, API design, backend frameworks, data pipelines, regulatory-compliance APIs
Past projects
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Cross-chain Metalayer (asset bridging)
Caldera · 2024 – 2026
Architected and built the backend API and TypeScript SDK for the Metalayer, a system that bridges assets between any chains running in the Caldera ecosystem. Also contributed to the React widget and Solidity smart contracts.
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Smart Order Router scalability
Uniswap Labs · 2023 – 2024
Worked on the RoutingAPI (quoting, pricing, route discovery) and added scalability features including a database of routes. Built a generalized framework for AWS backend systems with testability as a first-class concern.
-
Timelines REST → GraphQL migration
Twitter · 2020 – 2022
As a Staff engineer on Timelines Infrastructure, led the migration of TimelineService-API (the backend powering Home Timeline, Profile Timeline, and adjacent surfaces) from REST to GraphQL. Cross-functional with frontend, backend, data science, and infra teams.
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NFT Profile Picture backend
Twitter · 2021
Initial architect of the backend services that let Twitter users display verified NFT pictures in their profiles.
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Connect Accounts FinCEN compliance API
Stripe · 2018
On the Connect Accounts team, built the API surface that let marketplace platforms collect and submit the information their businesses needed to be FinCEN-compliant.
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Designed and implemented a service to define cohesive, experimentable onboarding flows across platforms (still in use at Twitter).
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Address Book Service re-architecture
Twitter · 2015
A database-layer overhaul of the Address Book backend, re-indexing trillions of contact entries for more efficient access and storage. The work laid the foundation for Twitter's eventual GDPR compliance.
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Birth-date feature + the birthday balloons 🎈
Twitter · 2014
Original engineer on the birth-date feature: backend changes to add the field to user profiles and store/serve it, plus the web client implementation of the floating-balloon animation that appears on a user's profile on their birthday. Yes, those balloons.
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Twitter Profile Pages redesign
Twitter · 2013 – 2014
First team I joined at Twitter. Backend and frontend engineering on the changes that shipped the redesigned profile page (header photo, larger avatar, pinned tweets, the works) in April 2014.
Book an initial consultation
I take a small number of consulting engagements per quarter. The calendar below shows whatever I have free this month. A short call is usually enough to figure out if there's a fit, and if your project doesn't match any of the shapes above cleanly, that's a perfectly good reason to talk, too.
Get in touch
Email is the most reliable way to reach me. Or skip the back-and-forth and grab a slot on the calendar above.