# Yonatan Mekete (YONATANE M)

> Fullstack TypeScript Developer and Software Engineer building production-grade software. Based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (UTC+3) and working worldwide.

## Summary

- **Name**: Yonatan Mekete
- **Roles**: Fullstack TypeScript Developer, Fullstack Software Engineer
- **Location**: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (UTC+3) · Working Worldwide
- **Philosophy**: "I ship. TypeScript across the whole stack, no excuses."
- **Website**: https://yonatanem.com

## Projects

### Shipyard (LIVE)
Project management for small engineering teams

Opinionated open-source workspace where people and AI agents plan, track, and ship work in the same focused flow.

Links: [Live](https://shipyard.yonatanem.com) · [GitHub](https://github.com/YONATANEMEKETE/shipyard) · [Case Study](https://yonatanem.com/projects/shipyard)

- **Stack**: Next.js, TypeScript, Express, Prisma, Turborepo, React, PostgreSQL, Better Auth, Tailwind CSS, Docker

## Experience

### Frontend Developer — Ablaze Labs
*Addis Ababa | Oct 2024 – Jan 2025*

- **Tools**: React, Next.js, TypeScript, REST API, Figma
- **Key Contributions**:
  - Built and maintained a multilingual government platform with React and Next.js.
  - Made accessibility, responsiveness and clarity the baseline for a platform serving diverse user groups.
  - Integrated API-driven content systems so the platform could be updated dynamically instead of through redeploys.
  - Worked with designers and stakeholders in short feedback loops to refine the user experience.

### Senior Frontend Engineer — Zulu Tech
*Remote | Jan 2025 – Oct 2025*

- **Tools**: React, Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, REST API, Figma
- **Key Contributions**:
  - Owned frontend architecture and product implementation for a large-scale web application built with Next.js, TypeScript and shadcn/ui.
  - Partnered with product managers to turn roadmap features into scalable frontend systems.
  - Designed a reusable component architecture that lifted development velocity and kept the interface consistent as the product grew.

### Senior Frontend Engineer — Blih Tech
*Addis Ababa | Nov 2025 – Feb 2026*

- **Tools**: React, Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, TanStack Query, REST API, Vercel, Figma, Linear
- **Key Contributions**:
  - Led frontend architecture and delivery across three products: the Lionstone Distribution website, the BlihOps website and the BLIH System platform.
  - Built and shipped Next.js 16 + React 19 applications with TypeScript and Tailwind CSS for marketing, lead intake and admin workflows.
  - Led the frontend work of two developers, owning technical direction, conventions and review for the work they shipped.
  - Designed a reusable component system that improved consistency and accelerated feature delivery across multiple codebases.

### Full-Stack TypeScript Engineer — Blih Tech
*Addis Ababa | Mar 2026 – Sep 2026*

- **Tools**: React, TypeScript, Next.js, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, TanStack Query, React Hook Form, Zod, Prisma, PostgreSQL, REST API, Better Auth, Resend, i18next, S3, Docker, Sentry, Vercel, cal.com, Figma, Linear
- **Key Contributions**:
  - Designed and built the company's internal outsourcing pipeline end to end, connecting pilot requests, client-specific workspaces and the contract flow that client onboarding ran on.
  - Built the pilot system solo: a client requests a pilot, the platform provisions a client-specific workspace, and Blih runs the pilot with assigned talent through to contract.
  - Contributed to the skills platform, the learning management system where local talent completes courses to become outsourcing-ready.
  - Contributed to the talent platform, the marketplace where Blih-vetted engineers are listed and international companies filter, shortlist and contact them.
  - Owned the work full-stack, from React and TypeScript frontends through the API layer, Prisma/Postgres data access and containerized deployment.

## Technical Stack

TypeScript, React, Next.js, Vite, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, Radix UI, Base UI, TanStack Query, TanStack Start, React Hook Form, Zod, Figma, Node.js, Express, NestJS, Hono, Bun, REST API, Prisma, PostgreSQL, Redis, Supabase, Better Auth, Stripe, Resend, i18next, cal.com, S3, Cloudflare, Docker, Vercel, Turborepo, Sentry, Linear

## Articles & Writing

### [The Skill That Matters More Than Knowing One Technology](https://yonatanem.com/blogs/the-skill-that-matters-more-than-knowing-one-technology)
*Category: TECH | 5 min read*

AI is making implementation faster. The real advantage is understanding systems, learning quickly, and knowing how everything fits together.

## Contact & Profiles

- **Email**: mailto:yonatanemekete22@gmail.com
- **GitHub**: https://github.com/YONATANEMEKETE
- **LinkedIn**: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonatanemekete/
- **X (Twitter)**: https://x.com/Yonatanem2
- **Book a Call**: https://cal.com/yonatan-mekete
- **Resume**: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15MoMlM-VXsptKP0K0ry9Z0EO5n7udcES/view?usp=drive_link