Hugo Santamaria

General Motors

Software Engineering | March 2022 - May 2026

I joined General Motors in March 2022 as an entry-level software developer on the Inbound Visibility team. Over the next several years, I worked across transportation and logistics applications, moved to the ALPS team, was promoted to Mid-Level Software Engineer, and later returned to Inbound Visibility.

My work changed quite a bit over that time. I went from helping build a greenfield transportation application to working on large rate-processing workflows, application modernization, platform migrations, security remediation, and external shipping integrations.

Mar 2022

Inbound Visibility

Entry-Level Software Developer

Transportation Data Platform

I started on the Transportation Data Platform, a greenfield application for transportation and logistics workflows. Because the application was being built from the ground up, I had the opportunity to work across the stack and see it evolve from early development through production launch.

A large part of my backend work involved ingesting shipment and telematics data. I used parallel processing to make API calls, process the returned data, and publish the results to Kafka for downstream processing.

I also worked on the shipment API using Spring WebFlux, building endpoints and queries for shipment data. On the frontend, I worked in Angular on features such as a shipment card that surfaced selected information for individual shipments.

Work Included

  • Built a shipment and telematics data-ingestion flow using parallel API calls, processing logic, and Kafka publishing.
  • Created endpoints and queries in the shipment API using reactive programming with Spring WebFlux.
  • Built UI features in Angular, including a shipment card that surfaced selected details for a specific shipment.
  • Stayed involved as the application moved from early development toward production launch.
What I Learned

TDP was my first opportunity to work on a greenfield enterprise application from early development through production. It gave me hands-on experience with asynchronous data flows, reactive APIs, Kafka, and working across backend and frontend code in a production system.

Technologies
JavaSpring BootSpring WebFluxAngularREST APIsKafkaParallel processingTelematics dataTransportation systemsProduction launch

2023

ALPS

Entry-Level Software Developer

PROMOTED

Mid-Level Software Engineer

Promoted in 2023

Logistics purchasing and contracts

On the ALPS team, I worked more heavily with large data-processing workflows and performance problems.

One larger challenge involved rate files where a single rate could contain roughly 90 to 130 Excel columns. Many fields needed database lookups, validation, or additional processing. I helped move parts of that workflow toward batching and asynchronous execution, which reduced total processing time by roughly 60%.

Beyond the performance work, I also handled rate templates, customs rates, duplicate and overlap rules, user administration, mode restrictions, fuel surcharge uploads, GST administration, API integrations, legacy feature migration, and production issues.

Work Included

  • Improved a large rate-file process with batching and asynchronous execution.
  • Worked on rate workflows where a single rate could contain roughly 90 to 130 Excel columns.
  • Handled lookup-heavy and validation-heavy processing paths in the rate flow.
  • Implemented UI and backend features in ALPS as part of decommissioning a legacy application.
  • Worked on logistics purchasing and contracts workflows.
  • Worked on API integrations and legacy feature migration.
  • Handled work around rate templates, customs rates, duplicate and overlap rules, and mode restrictions.
  • Supported fuel surcharge uploads, GST administration, user administration, and production issues.
What I Learned

This period pushed me deeper into performance engineering and data-processing design in production systems, especially where validation rules and large files can create bottlenecks if workflows stay fully sequential.

Technologies
JavaSpring BootAngularAsync processingBatch processingExcel importsValidation

Mid 2024

Inbound Visibility

Mid-Level Software Engineer

Modernization, migrations, and integrations

When I moved back to Inbound Visibility, my work was different from when I first joined the team. Instead of primarily working on a newer application, I was now working across existing production systems that needed to be modernized, migrated, secured, upgraded, or integrated with newer services.

The work covered database and CI/CD migrations, application modernization, Spring Boot upgrades, security remediation, FedEx shipping integrations, and production support.

Database Migration
  • Worked on migration efforts from Oracle to PostgreSQL.
Developer Platform / CI/CD
  • Helped move repositories and development workflows from Azure DevOps to GitHub.
  • Built and updated GitHub Actions workflows used for application delivery.
Security & Upgrades
  • Worked through dependency updates and security vulnerability remediation across existing applications.
  • Completed multiple Spring Boot upgrades for legacy microservices.
Application Modernization
  • Participated in redesign and modernization work that moved functionality from an existing monolithic application into Spring Boot services.
  • Worked with API Gateway routing and Eureka service discovery as functionality was separated into services.
  • Worked with OAuth2 security and Kubernetes-based service deployment.
FedEx Shipping Integration
  • Worked on the transition from legacy WSDL-based FedEx integrations to FedEx REST APIs.
  • Worked on domestic, international, and multi-package shipment workflows.
  • Handled shipment, package, and customs-related data required by the integration.
Production Support
  • Supported production logistics applications and worked through incidents and reliability issues.
Engineering Growth

By this point, my role had grown beyond implementing individual features. I was participating more in technical design and discussions around how applications should be modernized, how functionality should be separated into services, and how changes would affect existing production systems. I was still hands-on with implementation, but I was beginning to contribute at the design level as well.

Technologies
Spring BootPostgreSQLOracleAPI GatewayEurekaGitHub ActionsOAuth2KubernetesFedEx REST APIs