Maha Uddin — Portfolio

About

Builder. Thinker.
Problem Solver.

I'm a Computer Science student at Wayne State University (expected May 2029) currently working as a Software Developer Intern at JustAir, where I build full-stack internal tooling and contribute to data engineering initiatives.

I operate at the intersection of backend engineering and product thinking — comfortable designing 3-tier backend architectures and async workflows, but equally fluent in the tradeoff conversations, phased roadmaps, and stakeholder communication that make products actually ship.

My background spans full-stack development (MERN/PERN), MongoDB Atlas administration, REST API design, OAuth 2.0, and technical project management. I've shipped tools actively used by engineering teams, built during real work hours on real infrastructure.

Years of Development

Engineers Served

Connect

mahau1833@gmail.com

GitHub

Experience

What I've Built
& Shipped

MongoDB Atlas Sandbox Deployment Tool

Software Developer Intern · JustAir

MERN Stack MongoDB Atlas API OAuth 2.0 Express.js React / Vite REST API Async Job Queue

Jul 2025 — Present

Project Overview

An internal developer tooling platform built for JustAir's engineering team — automating multi-stage MongoDB Atlas sandbox environment provisioning that previously required hours of manual work. The tool sequences cluster creation, snapshot retrieval from production, and point-in-time restore jobs via an async job queue, and is now embedded in the active workflow of 8 engineers.

Technical Deep Dive

Architected a 3-tier backend (routes → services → Atlas API layer) with custom middleware for token lifecycle management — including automatic Bearer token refresh on 401 responses and a 5-minute expiry buffer to prevent mid-request token invalidation.
Implemented an async job queue using in-memory JavaScript Map storage to handle multi-minute cluster deployment workflows — enabling the React frontend to poll job status at 5-second intervals without blocking HTTP connections or hitting browser timeout limits.
Built a complete cluster orchestration engine sequencing MongoDB Atlas API calls: cluster creation → snapshot retrieval from production → automated point-in-time restore jobs.
Developed a RESTful API surface across 5 route modules: /auth, /clusters, /snapshots, /restore-test, /sandboxes with consistent error response schemas and Atlas-specific HTTP status mapping.

Engineered multi-layer production safety controls including regex-based cluster name validation blocking PROD*, PRODUCTION*, MAIN*, LIVE* patterns.
Enforced automatic SANDBOX- prefix and 409 duplicate-detection check with race condition handling.
Resolved a critical OAuth authentication failure caused by expired service account client secrets — implemented environment variable validation at server startup with process.exit(1) on missing credentials to prevent silent runtime failures.

Led end-to-end delivery, defining MVP scope and prioritizing a stateless async architecture over Redis-dependent alternatives — reducing infrastructure complexity and accelerating time-to-ship.
Evaluated synchronous vs. asynchronous API patterns; selected in-memory job queue that eliminated browser HTTP timeout constraints without adding infrastructure dependencies.
Scoped a phased roadmap: shipped backend infrastructure and async deployment engine as Phase 1, with React frontend dashboard queued as Phase 2 — prioritizing backend stability before UI investment.
Coordinated teammate onboarding via setup docs including .env.example templates, Atlas service account guides, and Postman collection validation workflows.
Managed Git collaboration across divergent branches, resolving merge conflicts and standardizing environment file handling to prevent credential exposure in version control.

Reduced manual sandbox setup from hours to a single API call — now serving a team of 8 engineers in JustAir's active workflow.
Eliminated a class of production safety incidents by encoding business constraints (protect live data) as formal system constraints at the API validation layer.
Demonstrated PM-level tradeoff reasoning as a freshman — evaluating async architecture decisions, sequencing a phased roadmap, and translating business requirements into technical specifications.

Project Demo

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Sep 2024
Jun 2025

Student Engineer, Engineering Practicum

YouthTank, Detroit

Applied full-stack development using the PERN stack (PostgreSQL, Express, React, Node.js) for end-to-end product delivery.
Developed a text-based interactive data analysis tool integrating dynamic database queries to evaluate job market outcomes across college majors.
Awarded 2nd place in a competitive hackathon for building a web application that empowers users to assess and develop tech-relevant skills.

Jun 2024
Aug 2024

Cybersecurity Analyst

Little Caesars Enterprises · Ilitch Holdings, Detroit

Developed engaging interactive activities, including Jeopardy-style games, to promote Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
Gained expertise in delivering targeted employee training to address social engineering vulnerabilities.

Sep 2023
Jun 2024

Student Engineer

Google Code Next, Detroit

Built meaningful professional relationships with Google software engineers and business professionals, enhancing industry insight and technical communication abilities.
Leveraged and experimented with LLMs to automate complex tasks and drive problem-solving, showcasing rapid adaptation to AI-driven technologies.

Portfolio

Projects

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MongoDB Atlas Tool

MongoDB Atlas Sandbox Tool JustAir

Full-stack internal developer tooling platform automating sandbox environment provisioning for 8 engineers — reducing setup from hours to a single API call.

MERN OAuth 2.0 Atlas API

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ProfessioNest

ProfessioNest YouthTank

A centralized platform helping learners tailor study habits and resource discovery based on career goals — organized by field and skill.

PERN Stack PostgreSQL React Express

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Eye-Controlled Mouse

Eye-Controlled Mouse CV / AI

Real-time vision-based mouse control using eye movements. Gaze moves the cursor; blinks trigger clicks. Built with OpenCV, MediaPipe FaceMesh, and PyAutoGUI.

Python MediaPipe OpenCV PyAutoGUI

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Hi, I'm Maha
Uddin

Builder. Thinker.
Problem Solver.