In my current role within the research department, I primarily focus on working with databases and managing cloud infrastructure, specifically within the AWS environment. A significant portion of my time is dedicated to optimizing and streamlining the department's cloud infrastructure, utilizing tools like Terraform to address the challenges commonly associated with research departments, such as cost management.As the primary manager of the Vertex Synapse database, I am responsible for enhancing our deployment processes and optimizing the internal organization of the database. This involves working extensively with various programming languages, including Python, Go, and Storm (the native language of the database). Through coding and automation, I strive to improve the efficiency, reliability, and overall performance of our database operations.In addition to my core responsibilities, I also collaborate with the research team to understand their specific needs and ensure that the database infrastructure adequately supports their projects. This may involve implementing custom features, optimizing queries, and fine-tuning the overall database configuration.By leveraging my expertise in database management, cloud infrastructure, and programming languages, I contribute to the success of the research department by facilitating efficient data management, enhancing deployment processes, and reducing costs associated with cloud infrastructure.Overall, my role as a Research Department Software Engineer allows me to combine my passion for research, data management, and software development to support the department's objectives and contribute to its ongoing success.

I worked as a "solver" type of Staff Engineer, focusing on systems related to schedule changes and payment processing. With my problem-solving mindset, I successfully tackled a wide range of complex challenges involving multiple teams and a diverse mix of technology stacks. From a technical perspective, I delved into the depths of Python, Redis, RabbitMQ, PostgreSQL, GCP, and Kubernetes. On the organizational side, I excelled in identifying and bridging communication gaps between teams, addressing lost knowledge, and adapting code to support new, less senior team members.

My responsibilities spanned a wide range of areas, and I played multiple roles within the team.One of my notable achievements was leading a team and serving as a reviewer and operations expert for the development of a standalone Write Ahead Log application for the Clickhouse DB. This involved utilizing C++ and ASIO to create a robust and efficient solution.In addition, I designed and built a privacy and GDPR-aware data aggregation system using streaming and probabilistic algorithms, such as Hyper-Log-Log, and a "delayed GROUP BY" functionality within Clickhouse.During a two-year period, I had the opportunity to mentor students as part of an internship program. In this capacity, I successfully built and managed a team, focusing on identifying self-sufficient individuals and helping them grow. Throughout this process, I facilitated the professional development of two groups, consisting of a total of 20 individuals. Notably, six of these individuals received offers to join the company, while four chose to continue their journey within the organization.Furthermore, I delved into the fascinating field of passive fingerprinting, which involved analyzing devices, browsers, and user behavior. This exploration encompassed studying various aspects such as timings, HTTP, SSL, Nginx internals, and more.Throughout this role, I combined my expertise in software engineering and data science to drive innovation and deliver impactful solutions.

In this role, I undertook a diverse range of responsibilities encompassing testing, benchmarking, development, refactoring, and integration tasks. Here are the key highlights:- Tested and benchmarked various distributed job frameworks and databases to address machine learning and pattern discovery problems. This involved evaluating their performance, scalability, and suitability for the company's requirements.- Developed a bonus/profit sharing scheme using Mechanism Design principles derived from Game Theory. This scheme was successfully implemented by the company and remained in use for at least five years, fostering motivation and incentivizing performance.- Constructed a multivariate time series analyzer that automated the decision-making process. This solution incorporated security-aware machine learning techniques, including segmentation algorithms and multivariate time series-aware clustering. By leveraging these methods, the system enhanced the efficiency and accuracy of decision-making processes.- Refactored legacy code to improve its maintainability and readability. This involved migrating the codebase to Python 3 and implementing necessary enhancements for better comprehension and maintainability in the long run.- Integrated a basic monitoring infrastructure solution, including several "smart batteries." This involved setting up monitoring systems to ensure the health and performance of the infrastructure, incorporating intelligent components to proactively identify and address potential issues.Throughout this role, I demonstrated my technical expertise and problem-solving skills to contribute to the development, optimization, and efficiency of various systems and processes within the company.

Designed a payment application backendDesigned a database layout (PostgreSQL)Built an HTTP/SMS bridge. Also was responsible for it’s deployment and monitoringForked the python-smpp library (SMS processing in telecom) and started maintaining it. The library is actively used by the community, I still do code reviews on my free time.

Developed a C++ library for media streaming on top of libav and libcurlRefactored and modernized legacy Python/Django codeMigrated the project database to PostgreSQL (originally the project was built using early versions of MongoDB, we needed tables to be partitioned and also Django didn’t play well with Mongo).Created a library (Django app) to support partitioning in PostgreSQL (and periodically run any custom SQL per Django model)Developed a library to quickly test any Django application for dummy errors (bombard test-server with semi-random requests, based on the definitions in uris.py). The idea was that server should never hang or return 5xx status codes however bad the client behavior is.

Developed new and reviewed existing algorithms and snippets for expert search, significance evaluation (of terms, n-grams, events in social network)Prototyped the project frontend (JQuery, Django)Reported on meetings about advantages in relevant science tools and related fields of knowledge (Sagemath, natural language processing, corporate social network analysis)Participated in the project presentation for the customerBuilt a software bridge between the components of the project developed by different teams, e.g. access C# libraries from the Python backend (using Celery, Pyro, Pythononnet, Ironpython)

Developed new and reviewed existing algorithms for vehicle routing on a terrain map. Implemented these algorithms as cross-platform applications and libraries (c++)Implemented development process technologies and methodologies in the department: Git, Doxygen, Redmine, CMake, virtualization

Developed a program for internal usage by the Centre (part of simulation suite)Was responsible for results of the whole project (team lead).Octave, C++, Gnuplot, wxWidgets