Worked on enhancing the robustness of the search functionality in the alcosi/twins repository by addressing a critical issue related to HierarchySearch object initialization. Applied backend development skills in Java to ensure that HierarchySearch objects are always initialized to a safe empty state when null, effectively preventing NullPointerExceptions during the creation of search specifications. This targeted bug fix improved the reliability and stability of the search experience for end users by reducing fatal errors. The work demonstrated a focused approach to backend reliability, leveraging Java’s object handling to address edge cases and maintain consistent application behavior in production environments.