The tennis Grand Slam season ended with Carlos Alcaraz lifting the 2025 US Open trophy in style.
What struck me most about his game? Variety.
He doesn’t just hit powerful baseline shots — he mixes in drop shots, slices, and volleys to stay unpredictable and keep opponents on edge.
That got me thinking about engineering.
Versatility in Tech
I’ve never been the type to settle in one lane. Technology is too exciting to limit myself.
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of:
- Building backend services with GoLang, FastAPI, and MongoDB
- Designing event-driven systems that notify downstream teams reliably
- Contributing to the Kroger Ad Platform from ideation through launch
- Crafting dynamic Angular frontends — including a JSON-driven UI parser that generates activation flows on the fly
- Enhancing Spring Boot gateway services with feature toggles and CI/CD pipelines
Each project required a different “shot,” much like Alcaraz switching from a volley to a drop shot.
Expanding the Game with AI
Recently, I’ve been adding another dimension to my toolkit: AI.
- I’m experimenting with MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers and have two GitHub tutorials:
- Python MCP Server with a Tennis DB 🎾 (yes, I used tennis queries as the example — couldn’t resist!)
- TypeScript MCP Server Tutorial
- I’ve been using automation tools like n8n to handle everyday workflows, showing how AI can extend beyond code and into personal productivity.
- I completed the Google Generative AI course, which gave me an end-to-end perspective on building real-world Gen AI projects.
- And I’m actively contributing to open source AI, learning by doing and giving back to the community.
AI feels like the “drop shot” or “inside-out forehand” in my engineering game — it adds variety, surprise, and a whole new set of possibilities.
Why Variety Wins
The thrill for me is in the breadth — the constant learning, experimenting, and problem-solving with new tools.
Some days, it’s debugging a distributed locking system for MongoDB change streams.
Other days, it’s wiring up a new Angular store with RxJS.
And increasingly, it’s building smarter systems with AI that augment the work I already do.
That mix keeps the work exciting, sharpens my skills, and makes me ready for whatever challenge comes next.
Closing Thought
Whether on the court or behind the keyboard, versatility wins.
Be like Alcaraz. 😄
Originally published on LinkedIn.