Client & context
A long-running subscription video streaming platform needed to:
- Modernize its Symfony, Nuxt.js, Next.js, and Angular stack.
- Maintain and extend an in-house CMS used for video production and publishing.
- Improve database performance for schedule and search queries.
- Keep AWS-based infrastructure current and maintain effective communication between engineering and business.
I joined as a full-stack engineer to help upgrade and sustain the platform.
Challenges
- Legacy codebase with Node.js 12 and Nuxt.js 2, several deprecated patterns and libraries.
- A complex integration with a third-party MS SQL-based application, using SQL triggers and custom sync logic.
- Slow queries affecting the TV schedule site and video search.
- AWS infrastructure (including ElastiCache for Redis) needed upgrades.
- Marketing and operations teams relied on custom email layouts and reports built on top of internal tools.
What I did
1. Stack upgrades and front-end modernization
- Upgraded Node.js from 12 to 18 and Nuxt.js from 2 to 3.
- Replaced Axios with the modern
fetch API where appropriate.
- Rewrote pages and components using the Composition API.
- Improved Docker Compose settings for local development for two AWS Lambda projects.
2. CMS maintenance and integration support
- Sustained and extended the in-house CMS used for video production and publishing.
- Reverse-engineered and documented a complex integration with a third-party MS SQL-based application, including SQL trigger-based synchronization.
- Restored missing knowledge about how this integration worked and ensured it could be safely maintained.
3. Performance optimization
- Improved a complicated TV schedule query, making it run around three times faster.
- Tuned database configuration and queries to make search operations five times faster.
- Updated obsolete URLs for video trailer previews to match the current infrastructure.
4. AWS and operational support
- Upgraded AWS ElastiCache for Redis from an obsolete version to a current one.
- Monitored and responded to AWS notifications, keeping management and server support informed of changes and issues.
- Supported newsletter and marketing operations by:
- Creating new weekly newsletter layouts.
- Improving email layouts built with Google Apps Script.
- Creating reports and updating banners on sites regularly.
Results
- The platform moved to a modern Node/Nuxt/Symfony stack while remaining in continuous operation.
- Critical CMS and integration knowledge was recovered and documented, reducing operational risk.
- Performance improvements in schedule and search queries made the user experience faster and more responsive.
- AWS infrastructure and email/marketing workflows were brought up to date and made more maintainable.
Tech & responsibilities
- Role: Full-stack developer for a subscription streaming platform
- Technologies: Node.js 12→18, Nuxt.js 2→3, Symfony 3→6, Composition API, MS SQL Server, SQL triggers, AWS (ElastiCache, Lambda), Docker Compose, Google Apps Script, Redis
- Scope: Stack upgrades, CMS/integration maintenance, query optimization, AWS operations, and marketing support tools
If you run a content or streaming platform with an aging stack and complex integrations, I can help you modernize the technology and improve performance without disrupting your business.
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