feat(experience): promote to Senior on Recurly post + MilestoneCard component

mdx-components.tsx

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import {
   Callout,
   ProcessFlow,
   StatBlock,
+  MilestoneCard,
 } from '@/components/mdx';
 import { Mermaid } from '@/components/mdx/Mermaid';
 
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ export const mdxComponents: MDXComponents = {
   Callout,
   ProcessFlow,
   StatBlock,
+  MilestoneCard,
   // Headings
   h1: ({ children }) => (
     <h1 className="mb-4 sm:mb-6 mt-6 sm:mt-8 font-heading text-3xl sm:text-4xl font-bold uppercase text-foreground">

pnpm-workspace.yaml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 packages:
   - '.'
 
-ignoredBuiltDependencies:
-  - sharp
-  - unrs-resolver
+allowBuilds:
+  sharp: true
+  unrs-resolver: true

src/components/mdx/MilestoneCard/MilestoneCard.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+'use client';
+
+import { ArrowRight, Award, Calendar, Mic, Rocket, Sparkles, TrendingUp } from 'lucide-react';
+import { cn } from '@/lib/utils';
+import type { MilestoneCardProps, MilestoneKind } from './MilestoneCard.types';
+
+const kindConfig: Record<MilestoneKind, { label: string; Icon: typeof TrendingUp }> = {
+  promotion: { label: 'Promotion', Icon: TrendingUp },
+  award: { label: 'Award', Icon: Award },
+  launch: { label: 'Launch', Icon: Rocket },
+  talk: { label: 'Talk', Icon: Mic },
+  milestone: { label: 'Milestone', Icon: Sparkles },
+};
+
+/**
+ * MilestoneCard Component - Career milestone callout
+ * Neo-Brutalist visual for a single career event: promotion, award, launch, talk.
+ * Optional FROM → TO transition row makes it especially fit for promotions.
+ * Slim layout: header strip + title row + optional transition + optional highlights.
+ */
+export function MilestoneCard({
+  title,
+  subtitle,
+  kind = 'milestone',
+  date,
+  from,
+  to,
+  highlights,
+  className,
+}: MilestoneCardProps) {
+  const { label, Icon } = kindConfig[kind];
+
+  return (
+    <div
+      className={cn(
+        'my-8 overflow-hidden rounded-none border-[4px] border-foreground bg-bg-elevated shadow-[8px_8px_0px_0px] shadow-black',
+        className
+      )}
+    >
+      <div className="flex items-center gap-2 border-b-[4px] border-foreground bg-secondary px-4 py-2">
+        <Icon size={14} className="text-secondary-text" strokeWidth={3} />
+        <span className="font-mono text-[10px] font-bold uppercase tracking-widest text-secondary-text">
+          {label}
+        </span>
+        {date && (
+          <span className="ml-auto inline-flex items-center gap-1 font-mono text-[10px] font-bold uppercase tracking-widest text-secondary-text">
+            <Calendar size={11} strokeWidth={3} />
+            {date}
+          </span>
+        )}
+      </div>
+
+      <div className="p-4 sm:p-5">
+        <h3 className="font-heading text-lg sm:text-xl font-bold uppercase tracking-tight text-foreground leading-tight">
+          {title}
+        </h3>
+        {subtitle && (
+          <p className="mt-1 font-mono text-xs uppercase tracking-wider text-muted">{subtitle}</p>
+        )}
+
+        {(from || to) && (
+          <div className="mt-4 flex flex-wrap items-center gap-2 font-mono text-xs sm:text-sm">
+            <span className="text-foreground/60 line-through decoration-[2px] decoration-red-500">
+              {from ?? '—'}
+            </span>
+            <ArrowRight size={14} className="text-foreground" strokeWidth={3} />
+            <span className="font-bold text-foreground">{to ?? '—'}</span>
+          </div>
+        )}
+
+        {highlights && highlights.length > 0 && (
+          <ul className="mt-4 space-y-1 font-mono text-xs sm:text-sm">
+            {highlights.map((item, idx) => (
+              <li key={idx} className="flex items-start gap-2 text-foreground/90">
+                <span className="mt-1 inline-block h-1.5 w-1.5 flex-shrink-0 bg-secondary" />
+                <span className="leading-relaxed">{item}</span>
+              </li>
+            ))}
+          </ul>
+        )}
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}

src/components/mdx/MilestoneCard/MilestoneCard.types.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+export type MilestoneKind = 'promotion' | 'award' | 'launch' | 'talk' | 'milestone';
+
+export interface MilestoneCardProps {
+  title: string;
+  subtitle?: string;
+  kind?: MilestoneKind;
+  date?: string;
+  from?: string;
+  to?: string;
+  highlights?: string[];
+  className?: string;
+}

src/components/mdx/MilestoneCard/index.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+export { MilestoneCard } from './MilestoneCard';
+export type { MilestoneCardProps, MilestoneKind } from './MilestoneCard.types';

src/components/mdx/index.ts

@@ -20,3 +20,5 @@ export { ProcessFlow } from './ProcessFlow';
 export type { ProcessFlowProps, ProcessStep } from './ProcessFlow';
 export { StatBlock } from './StatBlock';
 export type { StatBlockProps, Stat } from './StatBlock';
+export { MilestoneCard } from './MilestoneCard';
+export type { MilestoneCardProps, MilestoneKind } from './MilestoneCard';

src/content/projects/recurly.mdx

@@ -1,25 +1,39 @@
 ---
-title: "Software Engineer II at Recurly"
-description: "Building Recurly Commerce, a subscription management platform integrated with Shopify for recurring revenue businesses"
-publishedAt: "2025-07-01"
+title: 'Senior Software Engineer at Recurly'
+description: 'Building Recurly Commerce, a subscription management platform integrated with Shopify for recurring revenue businesses. Promoted to Senior Software Engineer in May 2026.'
+publishedAt: '2025-07-01'
 current: true
-category: "current"
-tags: ["shopify", "subscriptions", "saas", "ecommerce", "fullstack"]
+category: 'current'
+tags: ['shopify', 'subscriptions', 'saas', 'ecommerce', 'fullstack']
 featured: true
 type: 'experience'
-author: "Esteban Estrada"
-thumbnail: "/images/projects/recurly.jpg"
+author: 'Esteban Estrada'
+thumbnail: '/images/projects/recurly.jpg'
 ---
 
-# Software Engineer II at Recurly
+# Senior Software Engineer at Recurly
 
-Currently working at Recurly as a Software Engineer II, focused on building and enhancing **Recurly Commerce**, a subscription management platform that helps Shopify merchants manage recurring revenue through subscriptions, memberships, and subscription boxes.
+Currently working at Recurly as a **Senior Software Engineer**, focused on building and enhancing **Recurly Commerce**, a subscription management platform that helps Shopify merchants manage recurring revenue through subscriptions, memberships, and subscription boxes.
+
+<MilestoneCard
+  kind="promotion"
+  title="Promoted to Senior Software Engineer"
+  subtitle="Recurly · Recurly Commerce"
+  date="May 2026"
+  from="Software Engineer II"
+  to="Senior Software Engineer"
+  highlights={[
+    'Owning end-to-end delivery on Shopify checkout and customer-portal features',
+    'Driving architectural decisions across the subscription lifecycle layer',
+    'Mentoring teammates and raising the floor on review quality',
+  ]}
+/>
 
 ## Experience Overview
 
 - **Company**: Recurly
-- **Role**: Software Engineer II
-- **Timeline**: July 2025 - Present (8 months)
+- **Role**: Senior Software Engineer _(promoted from Software Engineer II, May 2026)_
+- **Timeline**: July 2025 - Present
 - **Location**: Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
 - **Product**: Recurly Commerce (Shopify Subscription Platform)
 - **Tech Stack**: Full-stack web development, Shopify API, Payment Processing
@@ -39,41 +53,47 @@ The platform integrates directly into Shopify's native checkout experience and p
 ## Key Responsibilities
 
 ### Shopify Integration Development
+
 - Building and maintaining Shopify app extensions (checkout and customer account integrations)
 - Developing seamless integration between Recurly Commerce and Shopify's native checkout
 - Implementing webhook handlers for Shopify events (orders, products, customers)
 - Ensuring compliance with Shopify API rate limits and best practices
 - Working with Shopify's GraphQL Admin API for store data access
 
 ### Subscription Management Features
+
 - Developing subscription lifecycle management (create, pause, skip, cancel)
 - Building bundle configuration systems (gift boxes, fixed bundles, customizable options)
 - Implementing pricing models (subscribe and save, tiered pricing, usage-based)
 - Creating trial period functionality and promotional pricing
 - Developing subscription modification flows (swaps, add-ons, upgrades/downgrades)
 
 ### Customer Portal Development
+
 - Building low-code customer portal for subscription self-service
 - Implementing skip and swap functionality for subscription flexibility
 - Creating gift subscription management features
 - Developing subscription preference controls
 - Ensuring mobile-responsive portal experience
 
 ### Payment Processing & Billing
+
 - Working with payment processing pipelines for recurring billing
 - Implementing retry logic for failed payments
 - Developing dunning management for recovering failed charges
 - Creating invoice generation and management systems
 - Handling proration calculations for subscription changes
 
 ### Analytics & Reporting
+
 - Building analytics dashboards for merchant insights
 - Implementing metrics tracking (MRR, churn rate, LTV)
 - Creating executive reporting features
 - Developing data export capabilities
 - Integrating with third-party analytics platforms (Klaviyo, Fivetran)
 
 ### Churn Reduction Features
+
 - Developing retention tools (pause subscriptions, incentives)
 - Building cancellation flow optimizations
 - Implementing win-back campaigns and offers
@@ -83,39 +103,47 @@ The platform integrates directly into Shopify's native checkout experience and p
 ## Key Challenges & Solutions
 
 ### Challenge 1: Shopify API Rate Limiting
+
 **Problem**: High-volume operations (bulk imports, sync operations) hitting Shopify API rate limits.
 
 **Solution**:
+
 - Implemented request queuing with exponential backoff
 - Built batch processing for bulk operations
 - Added caching layer for frequently accessed data
 - Created monitoring and alerting for rate limit proximity
 - Optimized API calls to use bulk operations where possible
 
 ### Challenge 2: Subscription State Synchronization
+
 **Problem**: Keeping subscription state consistent between Recurly Commerce and Shopify (orders, inventory, customer data).
 
 **Solution**:
+
 - Implemented event-driven architecture with webhooks
 - Built idempotent webhook handlers to prevent duplicate processing
 - Created conflict resolution strategies for out-of-sync states
 - Added sync status tracking and manual reconciliation tools
 - Implemented retry mechanisms with dead letter queues
 
 ### Challenge 3: Complex Pricing Calculations
+
 **Problem**: Handling various pricing models (tiered pricing, promotions, trials, proration) with correct tax calculations.
 
 **Solution**:
+
 - Built comprehensive pricing engine with rule-based calculations
 - Implemented preview functionality for subscription changes
 - Created extensive test coverage for pricing scenarios
 - Integrated with Shopify's tax calculation APIs
 - Documented pricing logic for support team reference
 
 ### Challenge 4: Checkout Extension Performance
+
 **Problem**: Checkout extensions need to load fast to not impact conversion rates.
 
 **Solution**:
+
 - Optimized bundle size for checkout extensions
 - Implemented lazy loading for non-critical features
 - Added performance monitoring and alerting
@@ -125,6 +153,7 @@ The platform integrates directly into Shopify's native checkout experience and p
 ## Skills Developed
 
 **Technical Skills**:
+
 - Shopify app development and ecosystem
 - Subscription billing system architecture
 - Payment processing and PCI compliance
@@ -133,20 +162,23 @@ The platform integrates directly into Shopify's native checkout experience and p
 - Multi-tenant SaaS architecture
 
 **Domain Knowledge**:
+
 - Subscription business models and metrics (MRR, churn, LTV)
 - E-commerce best practices
 - Recurring payment processing
 - Merchant onboarding flows
 - Customer retention strategies
 
 **Tools & Platforms**:
+
 - Shopify Admin API (GraphQL & REST)
 - Shopify App Extensions
 - Third-party integrations (Klaviyo, Postscript, Gorgias)
 - Payment gateway integrations
 - Analytics platforms
 
 **Soft Skills**:
+
 - Working on a product used by thousands of merchants
 - Balancing merchant needs with platform scalability
 - Cross-functional collaboration with product, design, and support teams
@@ -156,18 +188,21 @@ The platform integrates directly into Shopify's native checkout experience and p
 ## Impact & Results
 
 ### Platform Performance
+
 - Maintaining high availability for subscription processing (critical for recurring revenue)
 - Fast checkout extension load times to prevent conversion drop-off
 - Reliable webhook processing for real-time sync
 - Scalable architecture handling thousands of subscription operations daily
 
 ### Merchant Experience
+
 - Simplified subscription setup process for new merchants
 - Intuitive admin interface for managing subscriptions
 - Comprehensive analytics for business insights
 - Flexible subscription options to match various business models
 
 ### Customer Experience
+
 - Seamless Shopify-native checkout experience
 - Easy-to-use customer portal for subscription management
 - Reliable subscription deliveries and billing
@@ -176,20 +211,23 @@ The platform integrates directly into Shopify's native checkout experience and p
 ## Technical Highlights
 
 **Shopify Integration Architecture**:
+
 - OAuth 2.0 authentication for merchant stores
 - Webhook subscriptions for real-time updates
 - App extensions embedded in Shopify admin and checkout
 - Theme app extensions for storefront integration
 - Metafield management for subscription data
 
 **Subscription Engine**:
+
 - Recurring billing scheduler with timezone handling
 - Subscription lifecycle state machine
 - Flexible pricing rule engine
 - Inventory allocation for upcoming orders
 - Automated notification system
 
 **Third-Party Integrations**:
+
 - Klaviyo for email marketing automation
 - Postscript for SMS notifications
 - Gorgias for customer support context