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Full-stack EngineerCloud EngineerU.S. Navy Veteran

I build and support web platforms for founders, operators and agencies, from first release to long after launch. Nine years in the U.S. Navy taught me that every number must agree. I build software the same way.

Start a projectSee the work

Taking on new projects

Collage portrait of Romnick Sarmiento in a dark suit and striped tie, set on torn scraps of a nautical chart, navy paper and a software flowchart, with his name on a paper strip.

Projects

Live, and what’s next

Two live platforms and one in the research phase. I build end to end, and I stay on after launch.

ProjectDatesStatus
TidepassOct 2024 – Oct 2026Live
InvitaJul 2026 – presentLive
TallyNo dates yetResearch phase

Tidepass

LiveOct 2024 – Oct 2026

A registration and payment platform for tourist destinations. I built it, and I still run it. It takes online and cash payments, reconciles them automatically, generates documents, and alerts me when something needs attention.

  • Full-stack
  • Cloud
  • Vue
  • TypeScript
  • Firebase
Case study
Tidepass admin dashboard for one day: revenue with a seven-day trend, guest and paid registration counts, and the cash handover by staff member.
Tidepass registration on a phone: a destination welcome card with terms and privacy checkboxes and a Begin registration button.
Illustrative demo data

Release history

  1. v1May 2025

    Live · single-site launch

    Shipped

  2. v2May 2026

    Multi-tenant rebuild

    Shipped

  3. v3Oct 2026

    Redesign and hardening

    Shipped

Continuous support since launch. Two major updates, both shipped.

  • 135,000+tourists registered since launch
  • Zerodowntime since launch¹
  • Zeroaccounting discrepancies

Since launch

  • Operational
  • Degraded

Bars illustrative

¹ Launched May 2025. Since launch, 3 hours of degraded performance, from a cloud provider incident. Never down.

Invita

LiveJul 2026 – present

Mobile-first digital invitations. Guests RSVP from their phone without signing in. It started as one invitation, which served a real family celebration in September 2026, and is growing into a platform with designed themes and a live editor.

  • Full-stack
  • Next.js
  • Firebase
  • Cloudflare R2
  • GSAP
Case study
  • Invita’s Copertina theme on a phone: a magazine-cover debut invitation with a portrait and the party details.
  • Invita’s Jardin theme on a phone: a garden wedding invitation with the couple’s portrait above their names.
  • Invita’s Étoile theme on a phone: a night-sky debut invitation with a large gold 18.
Illustrative demo data

How a host uses Invita: three steps from theme to RSVPs

  1. Create

    Picks a theme, adds the details and photos, and sets the RSVP deadline and guests per reply.

  2. Publish

    Publishes one link for guests, ready to copy or share.

  3. Manage

    Tracks every reply in the host panel: who’s coming, the headcount, dietary needs and notes.

Republishing keeps the same link and every RSVP already received, so a host can still correct a detail after the invitation has gone out.

Tally

Evidence-checked AI assistant

Research phase

Designed to answer only from a company’s own material. A new kind of AI will check every factual answer against the question and the evidence, and hold back any that doesn’t add up.

The goal: fewer wrong answers, not just fewer made-up ones.

  • Applied AI
  • LLM
  • Decision model
Case study Research phase
Halftone illustration of index cards pinned in a grid. Three are filled in and one slot is left empty.Halftone illustration of index cards pinned in a grid. Three are filled in and one slot is left empty.

How Tally will answer: three checks against wrong answers

  1. Scope

    Sorts each message first, so it answers only what’s in scope and knows when facts are needed.

  2. Evidence

    Finds the supporting evidence, or says there isn’t any. No evidence, no guess.

  3. Verify

    Checks the answer against the question and the evidence, then sends, revises or holds it back.

Static sources only, by design: documents, policies and historical data. Each deployment will be tuned to one client’s own material, for accuracy.

Education

Always in session

Design, then engineering, now applied AI. Four programs since 2021.

  1. Platt College

    AA, Graphic Design

    Nov 2021 – Feb 2023Completed

    Where the art direction comes from

  2. SDGKU

    Certificate, Full-Stack Development

    May 2023 – Dec 2023Completed

    Graduated with Distinction

  3. National University

    BS, Computer Science (Software Engineering)

    Jan 2024 – Jun 2026Completed

    Magna Cum Laude

  4. Eastern University

    MS, Applied Artificial Intelligence

    From Aug 2026In progress

    Started August 2026

The route so far

From Navy supply and audits to design school, code school and production software.

  1. Halftone photo of the destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) under way, outlined in yellow.

    Chapter 1 of 52012–2021

    At sea and ashore

    Nine years in the U.S. Navy, five of them at sea. I kept the books and the stores for crews of 300 to 350 on deployments of up to six months. At sea you can’t run out and you can’t guess. Resupply comes on a schedule, so the count has to be right. Later, I led the Supply Department’s training program for three years, led a team of 40+, and ran audit preparation. Eight audits passed. Zero liabilities.

    Every number must agree.

    incidents across 5 deployment years
    0
    compliance on all 8 audits
    95%+
    audit awards, one afloat, one ashore
    2
  2. Halftone illustration of a design desk: a spiral sketchbook of page layouts, a pen and an open laptop.

    Chapter 2 of 52021–2023

    Starting over

    In 2021 I left a career that had nothing to do with software and started again. I studied graphic design first, then finished a full-stack development certificate in 2023. Design school trained my eye. Code school taught me to ship.

    Learn to see first, then learn to build.

    career change begins
    2021
    Graphic Design, completed 2023
    AA
    full-stack certificate
    Distinction
  3. Halftone illustration of a graduation cap resting beside a closed laptop, its tassel yellow.

    Chapter 3 of 52024–2026

    Tidepass, and a degree alongside it

    In October 2024 I started building Tidepass while studying for a BS in Computer Science. It went live in May 2025, was rebuilt as a multi-tenant platform in May 2026, and has been supported without a break since. I graduated Magna Cum Laude in June 2026.

    Launch was day one, not the finish line.

    tourists registered
    135,000+
    downtime since launch
    Zero
    BS Computer Science
    Magna Cum Laude
  4. Halftone illustration of a phone outlined in yellow, showing Invita’s Copertina invitation: a magazine cover for Bianca with her portrait and a red “18” badge.

    Chapter 4 of 5From 2026

    Invita

    Invita began in July 2026 as one invitation for one real family celebration, which it served in September. It is growing into a platform with designed themes, a live visual editor, private share links and RSVP without sign-in. It is in active development.

    Built for one real celebration first.

    designed themes
    11
    curated palettes
    33
    first real event served
    Sep 2026
  5. Halftone photo from above of a magnifying glass over a technical flowchart, one decision box enlarged and outlined in yellow.

    Chapter 5 of 5From 2026

    Applied AI

    In August 2026 I began an MS in Applied AI at Eastern University. Now I’m researching Tally, an assistant designed to reduce error. At its core, a new kind of AI will sort each message, find the evidence and check every answer against it. It’s the audit habit again: nothing will go out unless the answer agrees with its evidence.

    Sometimes the right answer is “I don’t know.”

    MS Applied AI begins
    Aug 2026
    Tally research phase
    Now

How I work

New tools. Navy standards.

Speed comes from the tools. The judgment stays mine.

  1. AI-accelerated, human-directed

    You get the speed of AI and automated workflows in design and code, and one engineer accountable for every decision. Nothing ships without my review and approval.

  2. Taste isn’t automated

    Tools generate options. I choose. My training in graphic design sets the art direction.

  3. Every number must agree

    The Navy trained me to reconcile everything. For you, that means tests, automated reconciliation and monitoring, so problems surface early.

  4. Support doesn’t end at launch

    I support what I ship. Tidepass went live in May 2025. Its first major update shipped in May 2026, and the second in October 2026.

Stories

Field notes

Essays on changing careers, building alone and doing the work properly.

Halftone photo of a folded Navy work shirt and white sailor’s cap beside a laptop showing code.Halftone photo of a folded Navy work shirt and white sailor’s cap beside a laptop showing code.

Career change7 min read

Starting over in your 30s: from Navy audits to production code

What nine years of Navy supply and audits taught me about building software people rely on.

In 2021 I left the Navy after nine years of supply, accounting and audits, and started over in software. It took design school, code school and a CS degree. This is what came with me, and what I had to learn from zero. The habit that carried over most: nothing ships until the numbers agree.

Read the story

Contact

Work with me

Tell me what you’re building and where it stands. I take on new products, rebuilds and long-term support. I’ll reply by email.

Prefer email? Write to contact@romnick.dev

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I’ll reply to this address.

A rough range helps me suggest the right scope.

A few sentences is enough.