Dieter is available for hire

Dieter Van de Walle

Verified Expert in Engineering

Back-end Developer

Location

Stockholm, Sweden

Toptal Member Since

February 17, 2022

Dieter is a back-end developer with 17 years of experience. Having a solid background in operations and networking, he excels in building and scaling companies from greenfield to 100+ employees. Dieter enjoys solving complex problems by building Java, Spring, or cloud-based solutions.

Software Engineering Java Apache Maven Git Spring Amazon Web Services (AWS)JSON Amazon EC2 C++Google Bigtable gRPC Amazon RDS PostgreSQL Docker Google Cloud Platform (GCP)Google Compute Engine (GCE)Google Cloud Dataflow ArchiMate

Portfolio

AudioHarvest

Spring, Java, Docker, PostgreSQL, Amazon Web Services (AWS), AWS Lambda...

Spotify

Scala, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Cloud Dataflow, Google Bigtable...

Lightspeed

Java, Spring, H2 Database, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon EC2, Git

Experience

Software Engineering - 20 years Java - 20 years PostgreSQL - 15 years Spring - 13 years Amazon Web Services (AWS) - 12 years Software Architecture - 10 years C++ - 6 years Google Cloud Platform (GCP) - 5 years

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Apache Maven, Java, Spring, React, PostgreSQL, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Docker, Kubernetes

The most amazing...

...thing I've built and scaled is the music and podcast ingestion systems at Spotify.

Work Experience

CTO | Co-founder

2021 - PRESENT

AudioHarvest

Built a SaaS podcast solution on AWS cloud designed for performance, stability, and scalability from the ground up.
Set up a CMS and digital marketing solution integrated with the SaaS product.
Involved in sales and pitching the product to potential customers and investors.

Technologies: Spring, Java, Docker, PostgreSQL, Amazon Web Services (AWS), AWS Lambda, Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), AWS Elastic Beanstalk, React, SEO Marketing, Apache Maven

Senior Software Engineer

2017 - 2020

Spotify

Designed and developed the podcast ingestion system and helped scale the podcast catalog systems from a few thousand up to 2.5 million podcasts and updated it in near real-time.
Outlined and developed the new generation of music ingestion systems to increase scale, SLO's, and stability.
Took ownership of Scala-based data pipelines running on Google Dataflow, interfacing with Bigtable and BigQuery, and processing millions of items per minute.

Technologies: Scala, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Cloud Dataflow, Google Bigtable, Google BigQuery, Java, Google Compute Engine (GCE), Apache Maven

Senior Software Developer

2014 - 2017

Lightspeed

Supported a startup from 20 to 100+ employees, turning the company into a global player through an acquisition.
Helped establish mature development practices, version management, quality assurance, and continuous integration.
Delivered the payment solution, payment card processing, and integrations with Stripe, PayPal, Adyen, Worldpay, and Zettle.

Technologies: Java, Spring, H2 Database, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon EC2, Git

C++ and Java Developer

2010 - 2012

Newtec Cy

Oversaw the Sat-IP satellite network transport system. Refactored the 100,000-line codebase to new requirements, which resulted in an independent, highly-reliable component.
Managed the AudioCodec audio encoding and decoding solution. Deployed the highly-customized embedded Linux platform in remote unreachable locations with a heavy focus on reliability and fail-safety.
Developed the MENOS satellite network management software using Java, implemented new features, and integrated with the Tellicast transport system.

Technologies: C++, Java, Spring, Telecom Equipment & Solutions

Research Assistant

2005 - 2008

MultimediaLab University of Ghent

Built a C++ H264 decoder for supporting the video compression research.
Participated in several joint-effort projects between academic and business partners.
Developed several H264 and AVC-related tools to support the work of a research group.

Technologies: C++, H264, Video Compression

Experience

Spotify Music and Podcast Ingestion Pipeline

http://www.spotify.com

The project aimed to refactor the legacy Python-based music ingestion solution into a modern microservice-based processing pipeline using Java.

I played a key role in this project that resulted in reducing processing times from days to hours. I also designed and built a new podcast ingestion system, scaling from thousands to millions of podcasts. Additionally, my task was to take ownership and improve Google Dataflow-based podcast publishing pipeline, owning the back-end servers serving all Spotify clients.

AudioHarvest SaaS Startup

https://www.audio-harvest.com

AudioHarvest provides a quick, easy, and cost-effective way to create podcasts out of existing content. The user can leverage its previous marketing investments in written content and bring them into the audio world.

I founded and bootstrapped the SaaS startup, building a cloud-based—AWS—robust and scalable solution. I also implemented and managed all related technical concerns, including CRM and digital marketing.

Skills

Languages

Java, C++, Scala

Frameworks

Spring, gRPC, OSGi

Tools

Apache Maven, Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), Google Compute Engine (GCE), Git, Flyway, Cloud Dataflow, Amazon CloudWatch, Apache Beam

Platforms

Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon EC2, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Docker, AWS Lambda, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Arduino, Kubernetes

Storage

Google Bigtable, JSON, PostgreSQL, H2 Database

Other

Software Engineering, H264, Digital Music, Software Architecture, Google BigQuery, Video Compression, Performance Tuning, Music Industry, Amazon RDS, IT Project Management, SEO Marketing, Telecom Equipment & Solutions, Video Editing

Libraries/APIs

Liquibase, React

Paradigms

PRINCE2

Education

2000 - 2005

Masters Degree in Computer Science

Ghent University - Ghent, Belgium

Certifications

DECEMBER 2013 - PRESENT

PRINCE2 Foundation

APMG International

FEBRUARY 2013 - PRESENT

ArchiMate 2

The Open Group

Collaboration That Works

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