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Sandra Chaparro — Software Engineer

Sandra Chaparro

Software Engineer -> Cybersecurity

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About Me

Driven to Understand. Built to Investigate.

I'm transitioning from software engineering into cybersecurity, exploring different areas of the field to discover where my interests and strengths align. I'm building my cybersecurity foundation through certification study and self-directed learning, while bringing the technical perspective and problem-solving skills I've developed through software engineering.

What matters to me

Secure by design

Security isn't a phase — it's a mindset.

Mission-driven tech

I'm drawn to projects where the work serves communities, not just growth metrics. Impact is part of my definition of done.

Always evolving

Transitioning from SWE to security taught me that curiosity is a skill.

Work

Featured Work

A look at what I've built — from client-facing web products to full-stack software engineering work.

Web & Client Projects

Screenshot of the DR Tile Solutions website

DR Tile Solutions

Client Website

A business website for a tile and remodeling company, with services, a project gallery, service areas, and FAQs built to drive quote requests.

Astro · Tailwind CSS · Vercel

View Project →
Screenshot of the MC the Barber website

MC the Barber

Client Website

A website for a local barbershop featuring a gallery, testimonials, location details, FAQs, and booking/contact functionality.

Astro · Tailwind CSS · Vercel

View Project →
Screenshot of the Salvatierra Digital website

Salvatierra Digital

My Software Development Business

The website for my own web development business, offering custom website development, SEO, and ongoing website support.

Astro · Tailwind CSS · Vercel

View Project →

Software Engineering

Raptor CRM

In Progress

A mobile-first CRM replacing a paper notebook for a user juggling two sales roles — car sales and independent medical insurance — keeping both client lists organized and quick to access between calls.

View Repo →

Dental Practice Management System (EHR)

February 2025 – March 2025

  • Architected a multi-tenant EHR platform enabling seamless support for multiple dental practices from a single codebase.
  • Developed RESTful APIs for appointment scheduling, treatment tracking, payment processing, and product sales.
  • Implemented JWT-based authentication and role-based access control, protecting sensitive patient health information.

Next.js · TypeScript · Tailwind CSS · Express.js · JWT · Linux · Figma

Frontend Repo → Backend Repo →

Grocery Inventory Management System

March 2024 – April 2024

  • Developed a full-stack React application that suggests 100+ recipes based on available ingredients and auto-generates grocery lists.
  • Integrated a third-party recipe API and designed a MongoDB backend to store API responses and user preferences.

React · MongoDB · REST APIs

View Repo →

Career

Professional Experience

A summary of my experience — full details are in my resume below.

  • Software Engineer

    Mayan Technologies

    April 2025 – January 2026

    • Built full-stack features for a specialty healthcare EHR — secure payment processing, appointment scheduling, and product sales modules serving 15+ practitioners.
    • Diagnosed and resolved critical performance bottlenecks by optimizing inefficient MySQL queries, cutting API response time from 3.5s to 207ms (a 70% reduction).
    • Strengthened API security by implementing authentication and authorization middleware across endpoints, preventing unauthorized access to sensitive patient information.

    Node.js · Express · React · Next.js · MySQL · APIs

  • Web Developer

    SWITECH

    July 2024 – April 2025

    • Designed and deployed responsive websites for small businesses, optimizing SEO, page performance, and Core Web Vitals to improve search visibility, load times, and cross-device usability.
    • Partnered directly with business owners to translate needs into high-performance web solutions.
    • Deployed client websites through GitHub-integrated Vercel workflows for automated builds and production deployments.

    React · Bootstrap · Astro · Figma · Vercel

  • Computer Science Tutor

    Superprof

    December 2022 – July 2024

    • Provided individualized instruction to 10+ students in Java, JavaScript, and C++ through hands-on coding and pair programming.
    • Designed and implemented a curriculum focused on Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) best practices, resulting in a 35% improvement in student code quality metrics.

    Java · C++ · JavaScript

  • Software Engineer Co-Op

    Motorola Solutions, Inc.

    May 2022 – October 2022

    • Developed a centralized React dashboard with OAuth 2.0 authentication integrating the Jira API, providing real-time project visibility across sites.
    • Built responsive Bootstrap front-end interfaces, improving page load performance and data interactivity.
    • Completed FedRAMP compliance training covering security controls, authorization requirements, and industry best practices for services handling federal government data.

    React · OAuth 2.0 · Jira API · Node.js · Express

Transition

Why Cybersecurity

My move into cybersecurity isn't a cold start — production engineering kept putting real security work in front of me: protecting patient data, securing APIs, and completing federal compliance training. This is a continuation of that work, not a departure from it.

Applied in Professional Roles

  • Implemented authentication and authorization middleware protecting sensitive patient data in a production healthcare EHR.
  • Built JWT-based authentication and role-based access control (RBAC) to safeguard protected health information (PHI).
  • Completed FedRAMP compliance training covering security controls, authorization requirements, and best practices for federal data.

Currently Learning

  • Studying for the CISSP certification (ISC2) — in progress.
  • Studying for CompTIA Security+ — in progress.
  • Applying security-first practices in day-to-day development work while building toward threat intelligence, OSINT, threat hunting, and AI security.

Roadmap

Career Roadmap

How my career is progressing toward cybersecurity — from a software engineering foundation, through formal security study and hands-on exploration, to a cybersecurity role.

01

Software Engineering

A Computer Science degree and hands-on software engineering experience — production applications, APIs, authentication and authorization, databases, and web development. The foundation I'm building security knowledge on top of.

02

Security Foundations

Formalizing that foundation into cybersecurity knowledge through certification study (CISSP, Security+), core security concepts, and continued learning — turning that knowledge into hands-on practice next.

03

Security Exploration

Developing practical understanding through hands-on learning and research — exploring areas like threat intelligence, OSINT, threat hunting, and AI security to identify where my technical skills and investigative mindset fit best.

04

Cybersecurity Career

The goal: a cybersecurity role where I can apply my problem-solving ability, engineering background, and investigative mindset, alongside the security knowledge I'm building, to help solve real security problems and keep people, data, and organizations safe.

Supporting Certifications & Training

ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) — Cert Prep

LinkedIn Learning

Completed

Cert prep course completed via LinkedIn Learning — not the official ISC2 CC exam credential.

View Credential →

CISSP

ISC2

In Progress

CompTIA Security+

CompTIA

In Progress

AI Fluency Framework & Foundations

Anthropic

Completed

Claude Code 101

Anthropic

Completed

Claude 101

Anthropic

Completed

Cloud Foundations

Epicor

Completed

Application Studio Foundations

Epicor

Completed

Toolkit

Technical Skills

Software Engineering

JavaScript · TypeScript · React · Next.js · Chakra UI · Tailwind CSS · Bootstrap · C#

Application & API Security

OAuth 2.0 · JWT · Authentication & Authorization · RBAC

Databases & Backend

Node.js · Express · SQL · MySQL (Sequelize) · MongoDB (Mongoose) · APIs

Tools & Platforms

Git/GitHub · CI/CD · Linux

Background

Education

  • B.S. in Computer Science and Information Systems Engineering

    Fort Hays State University

    June 2019 – December 2022

    • Delivered full-stack projects using Java, JavaScript, PHP, and C++ with a 100% on-time completion rate, deployed on Heroku and Netlify.

  • English

    Arizona State University — Global Launch

    2018

Evidence

Full Resume

For the complete breakdown of roles, responsibilities, and technologies, download the full resume.

Download Resume →

Get in touch

Contact

Have a role, project, or opportunity in mind? Send a message and I'll get back to you.

Find me elsewhere

LinkedIn

© 2026 Sandra Chaparro.