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Draco Li, Software Developer in New York, NY, United States
Draco Li

Software Developer in New York, NY, United States

Member since April 14, 2020
Draco is a lead engineer with over 13 years of full-stack experience at early-stage startups in industries ranging from online retail, blockchain/web3, and AI insurance to mobile gaming. As a founding engineer at Dots, he launched TwoDots (50+ million downloads) and Dots & Co (1.5+ million downloads in the first two days). He also served as the engineering lead at Loose Button, where he launched an online advertising network that grew to over $1 million in sales in just three months.
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Portfolio

  • Kava Labs
    Go, Cosmos, Solidity, Ethereum, MetaMask, APIs, Blockchain...
  • Restaurant Brands International
    Amazon Web Services (AWS), Node.js, TypeScript, Serverless, React, mParticle...
  • MasterHealth
    Node.js, Amazon Web Services (AWS), React Native, TypeScript, Back-end, APIs...

Experience

Location

New York, NY, United States

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Xcode, Slack, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Git

The most amazing...

...product that I've collaborated on is called TwoDots (+50 million downloads). It ranked #1 in over 100 countries on both the App Store and Play Store.

Employment

  • Open Source Blockchain Developer

    2021 - PRESENT
    Kava Labs
    • Core contributor to the open-source Kava blockchain, a top 100 crypto project by market cap and a top 10 decentralized finance chain by TVL.
    • Led the development of the EVM support for the Kava blockchain, unlocking over $200 million in TVL through new protocols.
    • Developed a method to allow for MetaMask signing of Cosmos transactions, which enabled EVM users to interact with the Cosmos-based Kava blockchain.
    • Respected highly by colleagues for technical skills and the ability to deliver high-quality software on tight deadlines.
    • Demonstrated expertise in various technologies, including Go, Cosmos, Ethereum, MetaMask, and web3.js.
    Technologies: Go, Cosmos, Solidity, Ethereum, MetaMask, APIs, Blockchain, Ethereum Smart Contracts, Smart Contracts, Web3.js, Docker, Test-driven Development (TDD), PostgreSQL, CI/CD Pipelines

  • Senior Engineering Consultant

    2020 - 2022
    Restaurant Brands International
    • Built and launched the Popeyes and Burger King rewards platforms across US and Canada. (Node.js back end and React front end).
    • Led the development of the user data deletion and access requests using OneTrust and a custom-built AWS pipeline.
    • Designed and implemented multiple user events tracking methodologies across all three RBI brands (Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes).
    • Demonstrated expertise in serverless architecture using AWS Lambda, DynamoDB, AWS Step Functions, and SQS.
    Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Node.js, TypeScript, Serverless, React, mParticle, APIs, Web Development, Full-stack, Microservices, AWS Lambda, Mobile, Localization, Cypress, React Native, Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), CSS, SQL, Express.js, HTML, Architecture, Application Architecture, Software Architecture, Lambda Functions, Server-side Rendering (SSR), Snowflake, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Google Analytics 4, MERN Stack

  • Engineering Lead

    2020 - 2022
    MasterHealth
    • Led the engineering development of a cross-platform, subscription-based healthcare app.
    • Managed a team of engineers (local and remote) on the development of the back-end API. (Node.js, TypeScript, Postgres, GraphQL).
    • Oversaw the development and creation of a flexible program data schema that allows new healthcare programs to be easily created by the team.
    • Developed several powerful internal tools using Retool that allowed extensive real-time application and course data configurations.
    Technologies: Node.js, Amazon Web Services (AWS), React Native, TypeScript, Back-end, APIs, Mobile, JSON Web Tokens (JWT), User Authentication, Redis, PostgreSQL, Test-driven Development (TDD), CI/CD Pipelines, Architecture, No-code, SQL, iOS, Application Architecture, Software Architecture, MERN Stack

  • Lead Architect

    2019 - 2020
    DollarOP
    • Developed DollarOP, a lottery-based eCommerce shop with crypto payments and a live winner-drawing experience via a Rails background and a TypeScript/React front end.
    • Designed and developed a unique purchasing process that allows users to purchase shares of an item via a credit card or cryptocurrency.
    • Oversaw the launch of DollarOP, which saw over 1,000 users on the first day of the launch.
    • Planned and architected the core online retail platform for DollarOP, including a GraphQL back end and a SPA for the client-facing retail platform.
    Technologies: Google Cloud Storage, Heroku, Jest, WebSockets, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby, Phaser.io, GraphQL, Apollo, TypeScript, JavaScript, APIs, Full-stack, PayPal API, Bootstrap, Webpack, Test-driven Development (TDD), PostgreSQL, Architecture, HTML, Application Architecture, Software Architecture

  • Engineering Team Lead

    2018 - 2019
    Jerry
    • Led a team of senior engineers to manage the development of the Jerry CRM system used by over 100 internal and external insurance agents.
    • Collaborated with the leadership team to improve internal processes, code quality, and cross-team communication. This enabled us to double our engineering headcount within six months.
    • Managed a remote development team of three engineers based in Lviv, Ukraine, to assist in CRM product development.
    Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Jest, Apollo, Sequelize, Redux, GraphQL, Node.js, React, Flow, JavaScript, TypeORM, Full-stack, TypeScript, MongoDB

  • Staff Engineer

    2013 - 2019
    Playdots
    • Led the development of back-end microservices to purchase tracking using Go workers for events processing via AWS SQS. This service is used in production by TwoDots (50+ million downloads) and Dots & Co (10+ million downloads).
    • Contributed to diverse core back-end features, including player inventory syncing, weekly events, cheating detection, A/B testing, authentication, install tracking, and global leaderboard for over 1 million DAUs.
    • Developed back-end services for player data syncing, authentication, install tracking, and multiple in-game event systems.
    • Contributed to the architecture and development of Dots, TwoDots, Dots & Co, and multiple unannounced games.
    • Created admin dashboards for in-game economy management (Ruby on Rails and AWS Elastic Beanstalk).
    Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Phaser.io, CoffeeScript, Java, Xcode, Objective-C, Unity, C#, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby, Go, JavaScript, Full-stack, HTML5, Vue, Localization, Sidekiq, PostgreSQL, Redis, Ruby Gems, Webpack, MySQL, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, iOS, Facebook API

  • Engineering Lead

    2012 - 2013
    Loose Button (Acquired)
    • Managed all technical developments and launched a number of services including a dashboard for large CPG brands, an online retail store, and a subscription service for tights.
    • Developed the core analytics dashboard for the ad network, which grew from nothing to over $1 million in sales within three months.
    • Improved overall hiring process for software engineers and established a formal performance review system.
    Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), JavaScript, Django, Python, MySQL, CSS, PHP, HTML, WordPress

Experience

  • TwoDots
    https://apps.apple.com/us/app/two-dots/id880178264

    TwoDots is a casual mobile game. I was the lead back-end engineer and also one of the core developers for the mobile game.
    For the back end, I led the development of a microservice for purchase tracking, systems for player event data syncing, cheat detection, weekly events, global leaderboards, and an internal A/B testing platform.
    For the game, I led the development of the level editor, weekly events, and multiple SDKs to interact with back-end microservices.

  • DollarOP

    DollarOP is a custom-built online retail store that allows users to purchase shares of an item. It includes a unique purchase flow, a live winning selection event, and a payment process that allows both credit card payments and cryptocurrencies.
    I was the lead engineer behind this project. I designed and developed both the back-end API and the SPA for the client-side retail store.
    The back end uses GraphQL and WebSockets to enable flexible data retrieval and instant updates on the online store when purchases are made. The front end is built with React and is both interactive and performant. The web app also includes a live winning selection event that is built with the HTML5 gaming framework, Phaser.js.

  • Dots & Co

    Dots & Co is a popular mobile game available both on iOS and Android. I led the development of the back end and the in-game level editor for Dots & Co.
    For the back end, I designed and built a player inventory syncing system and a platform to A/B test and provide data to the in-game economy.
    For the game, I led the development of the level editor and built the weekly event system.

Skills

  • Languages

    Ruby, JavaScript, GraphQL, TypeScript, CSS, HTML, HTML5, C#, SQL, Objective-C, Go, PHP, Python, Java, CoffeeScript, Solidity, Snowflake

  • Frameworks

    Ruby on Rails (RoR), React Native, Unity, Django, Express.js, JSON Web Tokens (JWT), Redux, Jest, Phaser.io, Cypress, Bootstrap

  • Libraries/APIs

    React, Facebook API, Node.js, PayPal API, Vue, Web3.js, Sidekiq

  • Tools

    Google Analytics, Sequelize, Git, Slack, Xcode, Flow, GoLand, MetaMask, Webpack, Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS)

  • Paradigms

    Application Architecture, Microservices, Test-driven Development (TDD)

  • Platforms

    Mobile, iOS, Blockchain, AWS Lambda, WordPress, Heroku, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ethereum, Docker, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Visual Studio Code (VS Code)

  • Other

    Web Development, Full-stack, Architecture, Software Architecture, Lambda Functions, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics 4, MERN Stack, Apollo, Ethereum Smart Contracts, Smart Contracts, Non-fungible Tokens (NFT), Localization, Server-side Rendering (SSR), WebSockets, Back-end, Serverless, mParticle, Cosmos, APIs, TypeORM, User Authentication, Ruby Gems, CI/CD Pipelines, Business Administration, Finance, No-code

  • Storage

    PostgreSQL, MySQL, Google Cloud Storage, MongoDB, Redis

Education

  • Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Commerce and Computer Science
    2008 - 2012
    Queen's University - Kingston, Ontario
  • Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Commerce and Computing
    2010 - 2011
    National University of Singapore - Singapore

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