
Luis Manuel da Silva Mendonca
Verified Expert in Engineering
Back-end Developer
Porto, Portugal
Toptal member since May 19, 2021
Luis is a software developer with an electronics engineering background. He likes to solve complex problems and deliver great products. Luis is a well-rounded software engineer with a wide spectrum of experience that includes medical, industrial, and military applications. In his work, he is obsessed with details and likes clear, concise communication.
Portfolio
Experience
- Python - 20 years
- SQL - 18 years
- DevOps - 11 years
- PostgreSQL - 11 years
- Web Security - 11 years
- NGINX - 8 years
- Django - 8 years
- Docker - 6 years
Preferred Environment
Python, Docker, PostgreSQL
The most amazing...
...product I've developed was a blockchain-based collaborative investment platform called Avokado.io.
Work Experience
Full-stack and Back-end Developer
Freelancer
- Developed a trading system for a client using PostgreSQL, TimescaleDB, and Keras for machine learning and ZeroMQ for inter-service communication.
- Developed a blockchain-based platform for a startup using Ethereum's Solidity language and ERC-20 token generation.
- Used a microservices approach to system architecture and deployed them to AWS using Kubernetes.
Senior Full-stack Developer
Tectobit
- Designed and developed a full-stack MVP for a mobile health application, delivering back-end services, APIs, and core user flows that enabled rapid validation of the product concept.
- Implemented scalable back-end and front-end components, integrating authentication, user profiles, and health-related data flows, and delivering a functional end-to-end system ready for pilot users.
- Designed and implemented an AI-intensive pipeline for the mobile health MVP, handling content and image generation via external AI APIs, and enabling rapid feature iteration while keeping the system scalable and production-ready.
CTO
Metdaan
- Managed and led a cross-functional team of around 10 engineers, coordinating back-end development, internal tooling, and delivery timelines while aligning technical execution with business goals.
- Defined and executed the end-to-end technical architecture, translating product requirements into scalable systems and ensuring the platform could support thousands of concurrent users if brought to market.
- Designed and developed the MVP of a Turo-like car-sharing platform with services for user, vehicle, and booking workflows.
Senior Back-end Python Developer
Invicta Pte Ltd
- Developed and deployed Python Flask back-end services on AWS, ingesting and processing millions of records per day from multiple data sources and persisting them reliably into PostgreSQL.
- Designed and optimized high-throughput data ingestion pipelines, improving write performance through batch inserts, connection pooling, and database indexing strategies.
- Implemented and maintained scalable, fault-tolerant back-end services, achieving high service availability and reducing data ingestion failures by over 50% through robust error handling, retries, and monitoring.
Django and Python Developer
FuriTech Ltd
- Designed and implemented a Django-based back end on Google Cloud Platform, delivering REST APIs that supported production workloads with 99.9% uptime and handled tens of thousands of requests per day using Cloud Run and managed PostgreSQL.
- Built and optimized Python data-processing and background task pipelines, reducing API response times by around 40% through query optimization, caching, and asynchronous job execution with Cloud Tasks/Pub/Sub.
- Deployed and maintained CI/CD workflows and cloud infrastructure on GCP, cutting deployment time by 60% and improving release reliability via automated testing, containerized services, and environment-specific configuration management.
Database Manager
NATO/KFOR
- Designed, developed, and implemented applications and databases for KFOR.
- Liaised with contractors for the maintenance of several deployed systems.
- Maintained the databases and optimized multiple Microsoft SQL Server databases.
Founder
Queo
- Founded the software development company. Focused on web, mobile, and desktop development.
- Developed websites with Python, Django, MySQL, JavaScript, and jQuery.
- Implemented several websites and online shops for customers.
Software Development
Self-employed
- Created several small and medium-size software projects for both web and desktop using Python.
- Developed database systems with Python, Django, and MySQL stack.
- Developed electronic systems for experimentation and medical research signal acquisition. Built microcontroller electronic circuits using AVR microcontroller programming in C.
Experience
Avokado.io
Education
Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering of Porto University - Porto, Portugal
Certifications
CNSSI (Committee on National Security Systems Instruction) 4013A System Administrators
NATO School Oberammergau
ITIL Service Transition
Learning Tree UK
Cisco CCENT
NATO Communications and Information Systems School (NCISS)
Certified Ethical Hacker
Naval Postgraduate School/NATO School Oberammergau
ITIL Foundation
FGI Training & Consultancy
PRINCE2
Learning Tree UK
Skills
Libraries/APIs
REST APIs, React, Node.js, Stripe, Keras, jQuery, ZeroMQ, Redis Queue
Tools
NGINX, Apache, wxPython, Expo
Languages
Python, SQL, JavaScript, C++, C, Solidity, GraphQL, TypeScript
Frameworks
Django, Flask, Next.js, React Native
Paradigms
DevOps, Microservices, Penetration Testing
Platforms
Ubuntu, Docker, Kubernetes, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Blockchain, Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
Industry Expertise
Telecommunications, Project Management
Storage
PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB
Other
Electrical Engineering, Information Systems, Security, Web Security, Web Development, Full-stack Development, Web Scraping, Architecture, Integration, Full-stack, Payment APIs, Back-end, Back-end Development, APIs, API Integration, Cloud, System Administration, Network Security, Finance APIs, IIS, Cisco Networking, IT Service Management (ITSM), GCP DevOps, CI/CD Pipelines, Supabase, Supabase Auth, AI-enabled Applications, Push Notifications
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