Darren Li, Developer in Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Darren Li

Back-end Engineer and Developer

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Toptal member since January 10, 2025

Expertise
Cloud EngineeringAlgorithmsFull-stackLinuxMacOSPythonSQLJavaScriptMySQLPostgreSQLMongoDBGolangGoogle Cloud DevelopmentBack-end Developers
Bio

Darren has 15+ years of software development and database design experience, with exceptional analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills. He has extensive experience with Go, Python, C++, Java, JavaScript, Rust, Ruby, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and SQL. Darren is detail-oriented, self-motivated, and a quick learner. He also has technical lead experience in development, communicating with stakeholders to efficiently prioritize work and meet deadlines and KPIs.

Portfolio

Google
Go, Python 3, SQL, Databases, Python
Outreach Inc.
Go, Cloud, PostgreSQL, Kubernetes, Redis, APIs, gRPC, AWS IoT, Back-end, Python
Retailstat
Node.js, React, Cloud, Redis, AWS IoT, MongoDB, JavaScript, Full-stack, Python...

Experience

  • Python - 10 years
  • SQL - 10 years
  • JavaScript - 10 years
  • Linux - 10 years
  • PostgreSQL - 10 years
  • MySQL - 10 years
  • MongoDB - 10 years
  • Go - 7 years

Preferred Environment

Linux, MacOS, Cloud, AWS IoT, Google Cloud

The most amazing...

...thing I've done from scratch is build and implement a next-gen distributed system for a retail intelligence cloud service.

Work Experience

Senior Software Engineer

2023 - 2025
Google
  • Worked on digital rights management (DRM) and video security.
  • Designed and developed a scalable API for Google DRM Cloud, enabling secure video encryption for producers and decryption for customers.
  • Optimized video fraud management service by implementing a sharding strategy, breaking down the central database into dated databases, resulting in increased performance and efficiency.
  • Developed a dashboard and alert system to monitor license and provisioning requests, enhancing visibility and response times.
  • Enhanced license service security by implementing new algorithms and increasing the security level, protecting sensitive video content.
Technologies: Go, Python 3, SQL, Databases, Python

Senior Software Engineer

2021 - 2023
Outreach Inc.
  • Designed and implemented an API proxy service to route legacy API requests to microservices, and partitioned the central database by geolocation, resulting in significant performance boosts for a large user base.
  • Spearheaded the decomposition of a monolithic Rails application into scalable Go microservices, starting with authentication and user management components.
  • Developed the System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM) service using Go, enabling enterprise customers to streamline user provisioning and management.
  • Built a single sign-on (SSO) service as a microservice, managing user authentication and authorization across multiple services.
  • Led the end-to-end development cycle, driving the delivery of these scalable and secure solutions.
Technologies: Go, Cloud, PostgreSQL, Kubernetes, Redis, APIs, gRPC, AWS IoT, Back-end, Python

Senior Software Engineer | Tech Lead

2019 - 2021
Retailstat
  • Led a development squad, overseeing technology stack selection, code and design reviews, and ensuring timely milestone delivery.
  • Designed and implemented a cutting-edge, event-driven microservices architecture, replacing legacy applications with a scalable and high-performance solution that enabled the faster development of new features.
  • Collaborated with stakeholders and project managers to deliver the application on schedule, driving successful project outcomes.
  • Provided hands-on DevOps expertise, setting up and configuring infrastructure components such as EC2, SQS, and MongoDB.
Technologies: Node.js, React, Cloud, Redis, AWS IoT, MongoDB, JavaScript, Full-stack, Python, MySQL, Go

Software Engineer

2014 - 2019
Sage
  • Designed and implemented scalable Sage Business Cloud Accounting services, driving business growth through cloud-based solutions.
  • Developed and deployed the Sage Business Cloud Payroll service, ensuring seamless integration and efficient payroll processing.
  • Spearheaded the migration of a monolithic application to a microservices architecture, enhancing flexibility, scalability, and maintainability.
  • Decoupled the front end from a Rails application using React, improving user experience and application performance.
  • Integrated multiple third-party applications with Sage Accounting services, expanding functionality and streamlining workflows.
  • Led innovative hackathons and projects, fostering collaboration and driving creative solutions.
  • Mentored junior engineers, providing guidance and support to help them grow professionally.
  • Contributed to prominent projects, including Sage One, a leading cloud accounting platform.
Technologies: Back-end Development, Front-end, Ruby on Rails 5, MySQL, AWS IoT, React

Experience

Next-gen Distributed System for a Retail Intelligence Cloud Service

I designed and implemented a next-gen distributed infrastructure application from scratch.

I built next-gen event-driven microservices to replace the legacy application for better performance and productivity of new features. I also led the development squad—choosing the technology stack, conducting code and design reviews, and meeting milestone dates—and coordinated with stakeholders and project managers to deliver the app on schedule. Additionally, I had hands-on DevOps experience setting up Amazon EC2, Amazon SQS, and MongoDB.

Education

2003 - 2005

Master's Degree in Computer Science

Dalhousie University - Halifax, NS, Canada

Skills

Libraries/APIs

React, Node.js

Languages

Go, Python 3, SQL, JavaScript, C++, Java, Ruby, Rust, Python

Paradigms

Database Design

Platforms

Linux, MacOS, AWS IoT, Kubernetes

Storage

MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Google Cloud, Redis, Databases

Frameworks

Ruby on Rails 5, gRPC

Other

Cloud, Algorithms, Back-end Development, Software Development, APIs, Full-stack, Front-end, Back-end

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