Suzana Melo#
Full-stack engineer building toward AI. I write about Cloud, AWS, and AI for people who don’t see themselves in tech yet — career changers, women, beginners, and immigrants like me.#
If you’re wondering whether it’s too late to move into tech, maybe thinking you’re too old, too far behind, or too different from the people already there, this place is for you.
I moved to New Zealand with no English. I worked as a cleaner, a supermarket checkout operator, and a driver. I built my English one shift at a time, rebuilt my confidence from scratch, and eventually did a coding bootcamp in my 40s. Then I shipped production code for startups, taught AI fundamentals to women from migrant and refugee backgrounds, spoke at AWS re:Invent, and founded and support communities for women in cloud computing across three continents.
That path wasn’t linear. But it’s the reason I write here. Because I’ve been exactly where you are, and I know what it takes to get through it.
My engineering background spans TypeScript, Node.js, React, Next.js, and AWS serverless with production experience across AI-powered platforms, APIs, and internal developer tooling. I’m now deepening that foundation in AI and machine learning: enrolled in a postgraduate specialization at PUC Minas and building applied AI projects, which I’ll write about as I go.
Before tech, I spent 20+ years as a journalist, editor, and media director in Brazil. I led teams, managed newsrooms under daily deadline pressure, and learned to explain complex things to large audiences. That background didn’t disappear when I became an engineer, which is why I can write a technical article that reaches 14,000 readers or deliver an AI curriculum to non-technical learners in a second language.
Community is central to everything I do in tech. As an AWS Community Builder since 2023, I write articles, deliver talks, and mentor women entering cloud computing across EMEA, APAC, and LATAM. I co-organise AWS Community Day Baltic, mentor women transitioning into cloud careers through Women Innovating in Cloud Africa and Escola da Nuvem in Brazil and have founded and led developer communities in New Zealand and Sweden — including the AWS Women’s User Group Sweden. Before that, while living in Auckland, I founded the Auckland AWS Tools and Programming meetup and co-organised the Full-Stack Engineering Auckland community for 4+ years.
See the full picture of my community work → Community
Cloud & AWS FoundationsBeginner-friendly guides to Cloud computing, AWS services, and how to start your cloud journey without a technical background.
AI for BeginnersPractical introductions to AI and machine learning concepts — what they are, how they work, and how to start using them.
Career Change & GrowthHonest reflections on transitioning into tech, building confidence, and navigating the industry as an outsider.
If any of this sounds like where you are → start here
Certifications#
Model Context Protocol Advanced Topics - Anthropic - May 2026
Building with the Claude API - Anthropic - May 2026
Claude Code in Action - Anthropic - May 2026
AWS Cloud Quest: Generative AI Practitioner - Training Badge - Apr 2026
AI Python for Beginners - DeepLearning.AI - Feb 2026
Al Fluency Framework & Foundations - Anthropic - Feb 2026
AWS Knowledge: Cloud Essentials - AWS - Sep 2024
AWS Cloud Practitioner certificate - AWS - Mar 2023
Education#
Postgraduate Specialization (Lato Sensu), Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning - PUC (Pontifícia Universidade Católica) Minas - Apr 2026 - Present
Diploma, Web Development Training - Dev Academy Aotearoa, Auckland, New Zealand - Sep 2019 - Dec 2019
Bachelor’s degree, Communication and Media Studies (Journalism) - Uninorte/Laureate International Universities, Manaus, Brazil - Feb 2009 - Feb 2014
