Product Engineer
I build healthcare platforms across web and mobile, bringing a researcher’s rigor to production code. Design systems, multi-tenant architecture, and shipping end-to-end with distributed, US-based teams.
About
For most of my career I worked in health. I just changed the tool.
I have a Master’s in Physical Activity and Health from Spain, and I spent close to five years as a university lecturer and researcher in athletic training. My work was building training systems: you plan, you measure, you adjust, then you run it again. I also taught other coaches how to do it.
At 34 I started over. I learned to code at night, and in about three years I went from my first frontend job to Product Engineer, building healthcare platforms for remote US teams. Funny thing is, the field stayed the same. I used to study health, now I build the software that delivers it.
From the lab and the classroom I kept a few habits. I measure before I trust an opinion. I care about code other people can actually maintain. And I’d rather ship something that solves a real problem than something that just looks clever.
Off the clock you’ll find me with my wife planning our next trip (Europe has treated us well lately) or on a tennis court, convinced I’m better than I am.
Cristian Peña
Valledupar, Colombia · remote
Experience
SANO, a platform for pre-hospital and home medical care. I founded the shared design system across web and mobile, built the white-label setup that onboards new healthcare clients without forking code, and led the Attentions domain with role-based access and Row-Level Security.
A patient portal that became the single touchpoint between clinics and patients: real-time messaging, a virtual waiting room, and payment flows over Finix, Stripe and Plaid. I also helped build a multi-agent AI desktop app for providers using Module Federation.
Founding-team contributor on a B2B sourcing SaaS. I shaped the frontend under Clean Architecture and SOLID, shipped modules for clients, inventory, catalog and orders, and built the design system in Storybook.
Core e-commerce modules (navigation, filters, checkout) for a Magento-based health and wellness marketplace, matched to Figma pixel by pixel.
My first role in tech. Built an e-commerce platform with React and Redux and shipped responsive landing pages under Scrum.
Projects
Side projects and client work. The ones with a link are live.
A privacy-first image tool. Compress, convert and resize images entirely in the browser, with nothing leaving your device.
Colombia's lottery results, published minutes after each draw. Static and SEO-first, built to load fast and rank.
A B2B automation platform with always-on operative AI for sales, purchasing and collections.
Brand site for a collective of four restaurants, with an editorial, hospitality-led feel.
Conversion-focused marketing site for a remodeling company in Florida.
Site for an aesthetic and anti-aging medicine practice, with a premium, editorial tone.
Writing
I write about engineering, building with AI, and what it’s like to change careers in your thirties.
Every door I've walked through in tech opened through a person, not an application form. Here's the first one.
Coming from years of web, here's what surprised me about Expo, React Native and NativeWind, and where the honeymoon ends.
Two weeks apart, same question, completely different answer. The model didn't change. One line in my instructions did.
Most online image tools quietly send your files to a server. WebAssembly means they don't have to anymore.