When the database has to work, I’m who you call.
Senior Oracle, database, and application engineering — design, build, migrate, tune. 25+ years, deepest in Oracle, with PostgreSQL and AWS/Azure reach. Delivered directly, without staffing-firm overhead.
12 hrs → 3 hrs
Re-architected a serial migration pipeline into parallel streaming — processing windows cut 75% across 5 production datasets.
8 hrs → under 10 sec
Took an Oracle batch process from 8 hours per client to under 10 seconds.
Batch → hourly
Stood up a PostgreSQL (Aurora) data warehouse on AWS with incremental ETL, powering hourly dashboard refreshes.
The senior engineer you call when there’s no room to get it wrong
The hardest database problems don’t announce themselves in advance — they surface at peak load, mid-migration, or the week before a release. That’s when Salamander Systems gets the call.
Salamander is the independent practice of John Wichorek, a senior database and application engineer with 25+ years of experience. Founded in 1998, it delivers senior engineering directly: the person who scopes the work is the person who does it. No staffing-firm overhead, no bait-and-switch.
And where it can, Salamander solves with the tools you already own — not the ones you’d have to buy.
What I do
- Database-to-cloud migration (AWS, Azure) — planning, execution, post-migration validation
- ETL and data warehouse architecture — design, build, and modernization (Oracle, PostgreSQL, cloud)
- SQL / PL/SQL performance tuning and AWR/ASH root-cause analysis
- Greenfield system design and back-end development
- Database and application upgrades and end-of-life transitions
- Production issue diagnosis across the database, data, and application layers
Have a system that has to work? Let’s talk.
Independent · Remote (EST) · Corp-to-Corp · Currently accepting new engagements.