Padma Raj Lama

I'm a Principal Engineer at Deerhold in Tokyo, where I work with Showcase to build full-stack SaaS products across healthcare, education, and fintech. 12+ years in — these days mostly React, Vue, and Next.js on the frontend with Node.js and NestJS on the backend, plus a few earlier years in Java/Grails and PHP.

A lot of my work has been building component systems that hold up across React, Vue, and plain Web Components, and bringing tools like Tailwind CSS, Storybook, and CI/CD into teams that didn't have them. I also taught JavaScript and the MERN stack part-time at Deerwalk Institute of Technology for three years, and have mentored junior engineers at every company I've worked with since.

Outside client work, I've been teaching myself AI by building with it — Ajako Taja, a news platform that scores and summarizes trending stories from hundreds of sources, came out of that.