A Full Stack Engineer (FSE) is a software engineer who delivers solutions in software development at all layers of the application stack. From the runtime environment to infrastructure to data structuring and security to data processing and presentation, an FSE delivers solutions that are efficient and effective. A full stack engineer does this by approaching the application stack at all levels with expertise and vision far beyond what can be expected of a typical Code Developer.
There is a distinct separation between the services provided by a traditional code developer and the services provided by a full stack engineer:
A code developer can be relied upon to design, write, test, and maintain good code. He or she will write an application that will run as expected in the isolated environment that it was developed to run within.
A full stack engineer considers and utilizes elements of the entire ecosystem a software solution runs within in order to deliver the most effective solution. Much like a Code Developer, an FSE can be relied on to deliver code as well as infrastructure- and architecture solutions with vision that is truly "outside of the box."
In this day and age, an effective Web application requires much more than a simple set of code that produces dynamic HTML output. Full stack engineers do not simply comprehend this at an academic level; they master proficiencies and strategies in each technology needed to implement solutions that make the most out of this understanding. Approaching the stack holistically, the solutions an FSE can provide are typically more sensible by comparison, as well. In order to resolve a tricky bug or feature request, a traditional Code Developer may require an impossibly deep dive within his or her area of specialty, where an FSE may be able to resolve the same issue with a simple adjustment to the runtime environment or network configuration.
In the years I have spent developing my skills as a Full Stack LAMP Engineer, I have amassed a number of proficiencies that enable me to do all of this. I have an intimate understanding of PHP, Apache, Linux, and data backend such as MySQL, MSSQL, and MongoDB. I have experience with system automation from the development cycle all the way through production deployments. I also provide extensive knowledge of big data ETL processes, multithreaded processing architectures, networking, virtual environments, data storage and redundancy, high availability web applications, web application security, and Web APIs.