Justin Poehnelt
Senior Software Engineer
Senior Software Engineer with a decade of experience bridging deep machine learning foundations with modern agent infrastructure. Previously at Google and Descartes Labs. Building tools, supporting open-source, and running ultramarathons in Colorado.
Background
I'm a Senior Software Engineer with a decade of experience bridging deep machine learning foundations with modern agent infrastructure. Previously a Senior Developer Relations Engineer at Google on the Google Workspace and Google Maps Platform teams, and a Founding Engineer at Descartes Labs.
Recently, I architected the open-source Google Workspace CLI in Rust—built entirely via AI agents—which hit 20k+ stars and #1 on Hacker News. My background spans building petabyte-scale Kubernetes architectures, engineering visual search engines over billions of satellite images, and developing full-stack embedded Rust IoT firmware with custom LoRa mesh networking for endurance races.
Before Google, I worked with geospatial data at Descartes Labs and the U.S. Geological Survey, building data platforms and working with satellite imagery at scale.
I excel at taking systems from 0 to 1 and driving adoption through great developer experiences. I'm looking for Senior/Staff or Founding Engineer roles where I can tackle complex distributed systems or build secure, agent-first infrastructure.
Open Source
I'm a maintainer and contributor to several open-source projects across the Google ecosystem and beyond:
Featured
- googleworkspace/cli — Google Workspace CLI built in Rust via AI agents (20k+ stars, #1 on HN)
- @googleworkspace/drive-picker-element — Web component for Google Drive Picker
- @googleworkspace/drive-picker-react — React wrapper for Google Drive Picker
- @googlemaps/js-api-loader — The official loader for the Google Maps JavaScript API
- @googlemaps/react-wrapper — React wrapper for Google Maps
- Google Workspace — Samples, add-ons, and tooling for the Workspace developer platform
Personal
- secrets-sync-action — GitHub Action to sync secrets across repositories
- semantic-release-replace-plugin — semantic-release plugin for version replacement in files
- in-solidarity-bot — GitHub App for inclusive language in pull requests
- apps-script — Monorepo of tools and projects for Google Apps Script
Speaking & Content
- Google Cloud Next '24 — Unleashing the power of Rust, Python, and WebAssembly in Apps Script
- Google Workspace Developer Summits 2024 — Boston & Berlin
- @GoogleWorkspaceDevs — Google Workspace Developer News, tutorials, and developer spotlights
- dev.to/googleworkspace — Articles on Apps Script, Gemini, Vertex AI, and developer spotlights
- Stack Overflow — Answering questions on Google Maps and Workspace
Beyond Code
When I'm not coding, I'm usually running long distances in the mountains of Colorado. I've completed 35+ ultramarathons including multi-day events like the Moab 240 and Cocodona 250. Notable results include 1st at the Ute 100 50-miler, 2nd at Creede 100, and 2nd at Deadman Peaks. I serve on the boards of the Falls Creek Ranch Association and Falls Creek Wildlands and Trails.