Francis is available for hire
Hire FrancisFrancis Brassard
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Developer
Montreal, QC, Canada
Toptal member since September 17, 2019
Bio
Francis has built and led teams that have successfully developed robust and efficient web applications and ecosystems. He brings over a decade and a half of hands-on experience with high-availability, high-traffic applications in both monolithic and microservice architectures. Francis strives for agility and efficiency, utilizing available resources to their best to adhere to the highest and greatest delivery standards.
Portfolio
SimplyWise, Inc.
Django, Kubernetes, React, Python, DevOps, Amazon Web Services (AWS)...
Cribbo Technologies, Inc.
Python, Node.js, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Webflow, Airtable, Equifax, Plaid...
Cherrington Media, LLC
Laravel, TALL Stack, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Linode, ChatGPT, Claude...
Experience
- Back-end - 15 years
- PHP - 15 years
- Solution Architecture - 12 years
- Technical Leadership - 12 years
- Laravel - 12 years
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) - 10 years
- Kubernetes - 7 years
- Python - 6 years
Preferred Environment
Docker, Kubernetes, PHP, Python, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
The most amazing...
...project I've executed was the live migration of a core set of apps from on-premise hosting to Docker on AWS with no downtime or data loss.
Work Experience
Senior Full-stack Developer
2024 - PRESENT
SimplyWise, Inc.
- Developed new features and maintained a monolithic back-end application on Django. Implemented asynchronous processes with RabbitMQ and SQS queues using Celery workers.
- Maintained a React web application and React Native mobile application for iOS and Android.
- Standardized and maintained an AWS infrastructure on Terraform, including a full migration from Amazon EKS to Amazon ECS with no downtime.
Technologies: Django, Kubernetes, React, Python, DevOps, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Monitoring, RabbitMQ, Terraform, Datadog, React Native, Full-stack Development, Solution Architecture, iOS, Android, Redis, Front-end Development, Back-end Development
Senior Back-end Developer
2025 - 2025
Cribbo Technologies, Inc.
- Maintained and developed a Webflow intake form for the real estate industry. Connected the form to different data sources and APIs with a fully serverless API Gateway and Lambda architecture maintained with Terraform.
- Integrated the Plaid API to aggregate user income and accounts.
- Integrated Equifax API to validate user identity and credit history.
Technologies: Python, Node.js, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Webflow, Airtable, Equifax, Plaid, Terraform, Front-end Development, Back-end Development, Full-stack Development
Solutions Architect | Tech Lead
2024 - 2025
Cherrington Media, LLC
- Led a team of two back-end engineers, one AI engineer, and one DevOps engineer.
- Architected and led the development of a web-based AI marketing automation platform on Laravel, FastAPI, and Flowise. Implemented user interfaces using Inertia (Vue) and the TALL stack (Tailwind CSS, Alpine.js, Laravel, and Livewire).
- Architected and oversaw the deployment of the applications on Linode with Terraform.
Technologies: Laravel, TALL Stack, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Linode, ChatGPT, Claude, Flowise, Vue, Tailwind CSS, Tailwind UI, PHP, Redis, Front-end Development, Back-end Development, Full-stack Development, Technical Leadership, FastAPI, Python
Solutions Architect | Team Lead
2020 - 2024
Azrieli Ecommerce Ltd.
- Founded and managed the back-end and DevOps teams of five and two members, respectively. Worked closely with the CTO as a solutions architect to establish the engineering roadmap.
- Migrated a legacy .NET application to a new microservice architecture on the Symfony (Akeneo, Sylius) and Flask frameworks.
- Set up and maintained the AWS infrastructure with Terraform. Fully migrated the applications from a European region to the newly deployed Israeli region.
Technologies: PHP, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Symfony, Back-end, MySQL, DevOps, Microservices, Flask, Monitoring, Product Information Management (PIM), Terraform, SendGrid, Twilio, Team Leadership, Kubernetes, Docker, Python, Sylius, Akeneo, Solution Architecture, Redis, Front-end Development, Back-end Development, Full-stack Development, Terraform Cloud
Solutions Architect | Senior Full-stack Developer
2020 - 2024
Wizard Phone LLC
- Migrated the existing monolithic application to a microservice architecture on Laravel and WordPress. Expanded checkout functionalities to Stripe and PayPal. Implemented SendGrid, Twilio, and SendGrid messaging providers.
- Worked closely with the CEO to define and execute the engineering roadmap. Managed and oversaw UI redesigns with various subcontractors.
- Migrated the complete application from a dedicated server to AWS with Terraform. Increased client application uptime from 90% to 99.9% within a year.
Technologies: PHP, JavaScript, MySQL, Laravel, Amazon Web Services (AWS), DevOps, WordPress, Microservices, Monitoring, Terraform, SendGrid, Twilio, Telnyx, Docker, Stripe, PayPal, Subscriptions, Software as a Service (SaaS), Alpine.js, Laravel Livewire, TALL Stack, Tailwind CSS, Full-stack Development, Solution Architecture, Redis, Front-end Development, Back-end Development
Team Lead | Senior Web Developer
2020 - 2022
IVADO Labs
- Developed Python AI/ML solutions for a wide variety of business clients in the supply chain domain.
- Defined and deployed cloud infrastructure in various cloud providers (Azure, AWS, GCP). Implemented continuous integration and deployment pipelines.
- Led and mentored teams of developers and DevOps engineers.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Python, Artificial Intelligence (AI), PostgreSQL, Team Leadership, MySQL, Solution Architecture, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure, Machine Learning, Back-end Development
Tech Lead | Senior Web Developer
2017 - 2020
SSENSE
- Led and mentored a team of developers of all experience levels. Oversaw organization-wide efforts to standardize processes and development standards, including documentation, transfer of knowledge, and code reviews.
- Architected the cloud infrastructure, including CI/CD pipelines.
- Broke down and migrated a legacy monolithic Product Information Management application into microservices (Flask, React) with no downtime or data loss.
Technologies: MySQL, PHP, MongoDB, Python, Symfony, Product Information Management (PIM), Microservices, Flask, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Datadog, Solution Architecture, React, Material UI, Front-end Development, Back-end Development, Full-stack Development
Senior Web Developer
2014 - 2017
Cakemail
- Implemented development and deployment standards, including continuous integration and delivery pipeline on Jenkins.
- Maintained a high-traffic and high-availability PHP and MySQL application.
- Replaced most of the application's CRONs with RabbitMQ queues and workers for faster and more efficient data processing.
Technologies: RabbitMQ, Docker, MySQL, PHP, Jenkins, Monitoring, DevOps, Amazon Web Services (AWS), HIPAA Compliance, Back-end Development, Solution Architecture, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Redis, Front-end Development, Full-stack Development
Tech Lead | Web Developer
2009 - 2014
TC Media
- Implemented code-review processes across the department.
- Defined, documented, and enforced development standards.
- Guided and mentored team of developers of various seniority.
- Supported a new release manager position by helping put in place a proper delivery pipeline with Jenkins.
- Assessed and resolved complex issues that required deeper business and technological knowledge.
Technologies: HTML, CSS, MySQL, PHP, Jenkins, Team Leadership, Content Management Systems (CMS), Full-stack Development, Solution Architecture, Front-end Development, Back-end Development, Technical Leadership
Experience
SaaS Product for Nonprofit Organizations
https://www.wizardphone.com/A SaaS marketing product for nonprofit organizations. I was solely responsible for maintaining the full product. The tech stack included a marketing website, a customer portal, and a management portal. The applications were deployed on AWS, managed with Terraform, and built using the Laravel framework.
eCommerce Platform Rehaul
https://www.azrieli.comOne of the biggest eCommerce platforms in Israel. I was responsible for planning and executing the full migration of a legacy eCommerce platform to a new cloud provider and tech stack. I set up and led the back-end and DevOps teams and moved on to an enterprise architecture role. We seamlessly migrated from on-premise to AWS Europe and then from AWS Europe to AWS Israel without major downtime or data loss. The full infrastructure was managed in Terraform Cloud. The tech stack included Symfony (PHP), Flask (Python), and Angular applications.
Mobile and Web Applications
Mobile and web applications to scan receipts. The tech stack included a React front end, a React Native mobile application (Android and iOS), and a Python back end (Django). I worked on all components and managed and fully migrated the infrastructure to Terraform (on AWS).
Certifications
NOVEMBER 2024 - NOVEMBER 2027
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
Amazon Web Services
JULY 2020 - JULY 2023
Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)
Linux Foundation
DECEMBER 2019 - DECEMBER 2021
GCP Associate Cloud Engineer
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Stripe, Vue, React, Node.js
Tools
Terraform, RabbitMQ, Jenkins, SendGrid, Akeneo, ChatGPT, Claude, Plaid
Languages
CSS, PHP, Python, HTML, JavaScript
Frameworks
Flask, Django, Symfony, Laravel, Alpine.js, Laravel Livewire, Tailwind CSS, Sylius, React Native, Material UI
Paradigms
Microservices, DevOps, HIPAA Compliance
Platforms
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Docker, Kubernetes, WordPress, Twilio, Telnyx, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Android, iOS, Linode, Webflow
Storage
MySQL, PostgreSQL, Datadog, Redis, MongoDB
Other
Back-end, Product Information Management (PIM), Team Leadership, Technical Leadership, TALL Stack, Content Management Systems (CMS), Full-stack Development, Back-end Development, Front-end Development, Solution Architecture, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Monitoring, Terraform Cloud, PayPal, Subscriptions, Software as a Service (SaaS), Tailwind UI, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Flowise, Airtable, Equifax, Microsoft Azure, Machine Learning, FastAPI
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