Alex Apkhaidze
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Developer
Tbilisi, Georgia
Toptal member since November 14, 2017
Alex is a senior back-end engineer with 10+ years of experience building scalable systems using Java, Go, and AWS. He works across system design, development, integrations, and cloud infrastructure, contributing to architecture and data modeling. Alex values clean, maintainable code and reliable system design.
Portfolio
Experience
- Java - 12 years
- APIs - 12 years
- Cloud - 10 years
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) - 10 years
- Microservices - 7 years
- Solution Architecture - 7 years
- Apache Kafka - 5 years
- Go - 3 years
Preferred Environment
Git, Docker, IntelliJ IDEA
The most amazing...
...thing I've coded is a memory-optimized Red-Black tree that uses only one child's pointer in the parent node and calculates the second one's address dynamically.
Work Experience
Senior Software Engineer
Learntiums Pty Ltd
- Designed and developed the back-end architecture for a large-scale platform supporting apprentices, supervisors, and administrators.
- Implemented complex business logic for qualification progression, task calculations, and compliance workflows.
- Built role-based REST APIs for multiple user groups with dynamic authorization and efficient data access patterns.
- Contributed to system design, data modeling, and performance optimization to ensure fast response times and scalable operations.
- Integrated external systems and contributed to reporting services used for organization-level analytics.
- Optimized back-end workflows and high-load operations to improve system reliability and reduce latency.
- Used Go for selected back-end components and internal tools alongside the main Java-based services.
- Collaborated closely with business analysts and stakeholders to translate domain requirements into robust back-end functionality.
Java Back-end Engineer
Nexar Ltd
- Designed and developed production microservices in Go, supporting real-time data ingestion, processing, and distribution.
- Implemented gRPC-based communication and high-throughput service interactions across distributed systems.
- Built and integrated Kafka-powered messaging workflows for event-driven data pipelines.
- Developed internal tools and testing frameworks in Go, improving service reliability and enabling stress testing of new platform components.
- Worked with PostgreSQL and AWS infrastructure to support scalable and resilient back-end services.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to integrate external systems and ensure seamless data flows across the platform.
Senior Software Engineer
Adamos
- Developed back-end services for the IIoT marketplace, enabling integration and management of industrial machine applications.
- Built a distributed microservices architecture with secure communication and modular service boundaries.
- Implemented single sign-on (SSO) using Keycloak to unify authentication across the platform.
- Integrated external systems, including CMS, subscription management tools, and email services (SendGrid).
- Contributed to GraphQL and REST API development to support machine data, subscriptions, and marketplace functionality.
- Performed code reviews and collaborated with cross-functional teams to maintain code quality and architectural consistency.
Senior Software Engineer
ZOOTCH (via Toptal)
- Built a geolocation processing system that handled real-time updates of user locations and proximity-based discovery.
- Developed REST APIs enabling users to find nearby users based on time and location with low latency.
- Designed and implemented a secure, scalable back-end architecture running on AWS.
- Integrated third-party services, including Applozic and OneSignal, for chat and push notifications.
- Implemented Facebook Login and Twilio SMS integrations to support onboarding and authentication flows.
- Developed an administrative management and monitoring application for operational visibility.
- Improved back-end performance and ensured consistency across distributed components.
Senior Software Engineer
Exhale Enterprises (via Toptal Projects)
- Built a middleware layer integrating Exhale Spa systems with Hyatt platforms, enabling unified customer and subscription experiences.
- Designed and implemented REST APIs for customer- and administrator-facing applications.
- Developed complex synchronization flows between systems using asynchronous, multi-threaded processing to ensure data consistency and reliability.
- Implemented a job scheduling and management subsystem for a clustered environment.
- Integrated payment and service platforms, including Stripe and Mindbody.
- Set up automated database migrations and contributed to schema evolution and deployment workflows.
Senior Software Engineer
Project44 (via Toptal)
- Developed and consumed REST and SOAP web services to integrate with multiple freight carriers for rating, shipment estimates, and tracking.
- Contributed to a real-time truck location monitoring system, ingesting GPS and ELD device data into high-throughput pipelines.
- Processed and streamed sensor data into Kafka, supporting real-time logistics visibility across distributed systems.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to integrate heterogeneous carrier APIs and ensure consistent data flows.
- Wrote unit and integration tests (JUnit, Mockito) to maintain quality across services and integrations.
- Performed code reviews and contributed to shared platform components.
Senior Software Engineer | Team Lead
Product Savvy Georgia
- Led a team of engineers to design, develop, and deliver SaaS platforms from architecture through implementation, testing, and deployment.
- Built a scalable back-end system using microservices and Docker to support event technology operations and mobile communication features.
- Designed, documented, and implemented REST APIs for mobile and web clients.
- Developed back-end services for group riding, navigation, and real-time chat, leveraging AWS infrastructure (EC2, ECS, Aurora, RDS, ElastiCache, SNS, IoT, SES).
- Created a unified middleware layer for managing subscriptions and payments across PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
- Implemented CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins (Pipeline as Code) to automate building, testing, and deployment.
- Integrated third-party services and payment providers, and contributed to analytics and reporting services.
- Conducted interviews, led daily stand-ups, and contributed to engineering best practices across the team.
Senior Software Engineer
Global Stream Georgia
- Designed and implemented back-end architecture for scalable electronic payment and billing systems.
- Developed software for international money transfer services, integrating with diverse external systems across several countries.
- Built clearing and settlement components to ensure accurate and reliable transaction processing.
- Integrated merchants into payment and billing platforms, supporting various transaction flows and operational requirements.
- Developed back-end systems for customer support and call-center operations.
- Created the architecture for an internal e-wallet solution used across the organization.
- Optimized back-end workflows and ensured consistent, reliable processing in high-volume environments.
Analyst - Developer
Bank of Georgia
- Developed software for monitoring and managing client information used by the legal and customer support departments.
- Built back-end components for electronic payments processing and transaction monitoring.
- Implemented services for payment system management and integrated new payment channels into existing enterprise platforms.
- Developed and maintained software for self-service kiosks, adding new payment services and improving system reliability.
- Created and consumed SOAP-based web services for internal banking operations.
Experience
ZOOTCH
https://www.zootch.comADAMOS IIoT Marketplace
Exhale Spa - World of Hyatt
WolfPack
AVaStar
https://www.avastar.io/Census 2014, National Statistics Office of Georgia
Where Am I - Android App
http://wai.aleksandre.netEducation
Master's Degree in Computer Sciences
Tbilisi State University - Tbilisi, Georgia
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Sciences
Tbilisi State University - Tbilisi, Georgia
Certifications
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
Amazon Web Services
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate
AWS
Skills
Libraries/APIs
JAX-RS, Spring REST, REST APIs, API Development, JAX-WS, Java Message Service (JMS), Java Transaction API (JTA), JAXB, Java Servlets, Twilio API, Facebook Login, PayPal API, Stripe API, Spring Cloud Sleuth
Tools
Apache Tomcat, Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR), AWS ELB, Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS), Apache Maven, Git, Amazon Simple Email Service (SES), Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS), Docker Compose, Amazon ElastiCache, WildFly, Apache JMeter, SoapUI, Postman, Kafka Streams, Gradle, OneSignal, Angular CLI, GitHub, GitHub Pages, AWS IAM, IntelliJ IDEA, Sublime Text, Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), Claude, Claude Code, Codex, ChatGPT, Jenkins, Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS), Flyway, HSQLDB, Subversion (SVN), Keycloak, Jira, Terraform, Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), Amazon Cognito, AWS CodeBuild, AWS CodeDeploy, Amazon CloudWatch, Helm
Languages
SQL, Java, Java 8, Java 7, Java 9, Java 11, Java 10, Go, XML, Bash Script, CSS, HTML5, JavaScript, HTML, C, Java SE (Core Java), Bash, GraphQL
Frameworks
Spring Boot, JavaBeans, Spring, JPA, AWS HA, Spring Security, Swagger, OAuth 2, Angular, Bootstrap 3, Hibernate, Vaadin, Jakarta Server Pages (JSP), Bootstrap, Spring MVC, Spring JDBC, Spring Microservice, JUnit, Mockito, JSON Web Tokens (JWT), JSF, AngularJS, gRPC
Paradigms
Object-oriented Programming (OOP), ACID, REST, API Architecture, Back-end Architecture, Microservices, Agile Software Development, Scrum, Microservices Architecture, Design Patterns, Unit Testing, Dependency Injection, Database Design, Continuous Delivery (CD), Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Deployment, DevOps, Load Testing
Platforms
Jakarta EE (Java EE or J2EE), Amazon EC2, Docker, Linux, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Java EE (Jakarta EE), JSE, AWS IoT, Android, Apache Kafka, AWS Lambda, Kubernetes, JBoss, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Mailgun, Google Cloud Engine, AWS ALB
Storage
Spring Data, MySQL, JSON, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Spring Data JPA, Redis, PostgreSQL, JBoss Infinispan, SQLite, JavaDB, HSQL, H2, Hazelcast, Amazon Aurora, Databases, MongoDB, NoSQL, Amazon DynamoDB, Oracle RDBMS, Couchbase
Other
Hibernate Validators, Spring Web Services, Software Engineering, Software Architecture, AWS Auto Scaling, OOP Designs, Web Services, Spring Dependency Injection (DI), API Integration, AWS Certified Solution Architect, Solution Architecture, Architecture, Back-end, Cloud, Mobile Back-end, Enterprise Java Beans (EJB), APIs, Back-end Development, RESTful Services, Scalability, Cloud Architecture, Engineering, Software, Server-side, RESTFul APIs, API Design, Software Development, Webhooks, Containerization, Containers, OAuth, Enterprise Software, Integration Testing, SOAP, CDI, Android Development, Elastic Load Balancers, Amazon API Gateway, Spring Cloud, Spring Session, Integration, AWS DevOps, SOLID Principles, Code Review, Source Code Review, Software as a Service (SaaS), Full-stack, Task Analysis, Analysis, Custom Solutions, Distributed Systems, CI/CD Pipelines, Identity & Access Management (IAM), Cloud Infrastructure, Infrastructure, AI Agents, Prompt Engineering, API Gateways, Distributed Software, Reverse Proxy, SQL Server, ECS, Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Entry Services (SES), Amazon Route 53, Drip Marketing, Drip Email, Team Leadership, Message Queues, Interviewing, Technical Hiring, Concurrency, Multithreading, Amazon RDS, Autoscaling, Java 17, Leadership, Computer Science, Migration, AWS WAF, AWS VPN, Amazon S3 Cross-Region Replication (CRR), Hardware
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