Fernando is available for hire
Hire FernandoFernando Ferrer
Verified Expert in Engineering
Data Engineer and Developer
Lisbon, Portugal
Toptal member since June 18, 2020
Bio
Fernando is a data engineer and SQL expert with domain knowledge in finance and healthcare. He's created companies and data systems for well-known entities such as the Olympic Committee and Queen's University. Fernando's work in the medical research field was pivotal in obtaining over $50 million in investment, and he also co-founded an innovative DaaS healthcare company that was later acquired by a multibillion-dollar conglomerate.
Portfolio
ContractSafe LLC
PostgREST, PostgreSQL, Data Engineering, Database Design, Amazon Aurora...
Rome Business School
Business, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Open-source LLMs, Business Strategy
Figure 1
Looker, PostgreSQL, Redshift, Amazon Redshift, Data Visualization...
Experience
- Data Modeling - 14 years
- SQL - 12 years
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) - 8 years
- Data Warehousing - 8 years
- Data Engineering - 7 years
- ETL - 7 years
- Redshift - 4 years
- Google Cloud - 4 years
Availability
Part-time
Preferred Environment
PostgreSQL, Linux, Amazon Redshift, Snowflake, Python 3, Python
The most amazing...
...thing I've created was a healthcare analytics company from scratch that was sold to a multibillion-dollar conglomerate.
Work Experience
Senior Data Architect
2024 - 2024
ContractSafe LLC
- Identified PostgreSQL database server configuration issues.
- Fined tuned slow queries to improve performance by over 25%.
- Provided a roadmap to implement moving forward to improve overall app performance.
Technologies: PostgREST, PostgreSQL, Data Engineering, Database Design, Amazon Aurora, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Django ORM, Python, Django, Elasticsearch, SQL Architecture
Faculty Professor
2023 - 2024
Rome Business School
- Delivered dynamic and hands-on classes for the Master's in AI online program.
- Developed curriculum and materials for half a dozen courses for the Master's in AI program.
- Created challenging assignments for students to learn and test their abilities in developing AI and business solutions.
Technologies: Business, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Open-source LLMs, Business Strategy
Senior Data Engineer
2023 - 2024
Figure 1
- Developed a new and improved data model for Looker Studio, resulting in faster data load times.
- Created new data visualizations to explain the user journey that led to company acquisition.
- Built data pipelines from multiple tools and APIs into Redshift and Looker.
Technologies: Looker, PostgreSQL, Redshift, Amazon Redshift, Data Visualization, Business Intelligence (BI), Iterable, Mixpanel
Senior Data Engineer
2023 - 2024
Endevor
- Created a PII masking solution for Snowflake VARIANT fields where default masking functionality couldn't be implemented.
- Developed numerous Prefect flows to create data pipelines into and out of Snowflake.
- Improved the run time of multiple data pipelines using Python multi-tasking/threading in numerous Prefect flows.
Technologies: Snowflake, Prefect, Python 3, Python, REST, Segment, Amazon Web Services (AWS), dotdigital, onebox, SQL, Data Build Tool (dbt)
Database Architect (Toptal Teams)
2023 - 2024
Compliance Made Easy Inc. d/b/a CertifyOS
- Developed a relational data model to migrate data from a document database.
- Created an ETL pipeline using Apache Beam and Python.
- Migrated user-related data into a new PostgreSQL environment.
Technologies: NoSQL, PostgreSQL, Database Migration, Cloud Firestore, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Data Modeling, Microsoft Power BI
Faculty Professor
2022 - 2024
Seneca College
- Delivered four different courses in databases and data architecture to undergraduate students.
- Created assignments and hands-on labs for students to test their abilities.
- Mentored students as part of the applied research department at Seneca.
Technologies: MongoDB, Oracle, Data Modeling, Data Architecture
MongoDB Architect
2023 - 2023
Hendrick Autoguard
- Advised a team of engineers on designing and implementing a data lake for centralized data repositories.
- Created a NoSQL data model to integrate multiple data sources.
- Provided advice around best practices when dealing with data.
Technologies: MongoDB, PyMongo, SQL
Data Engineer
2022 - 2023
Pfizer - PGS Operations Insights
- Developed a data warehouse and data pipelines to ingest logistic and pharmaceutical data.
- Reduced ETL pipeline complexity by re-designing the data model and process.
- Improved data quality by adding QA checks to the pipeline to ensure consistency and accuracy.
Technologies: SQL, Data Engineering, Python, ETL, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Python 3, Google Cloud, Data Modeling, Apache Airflow
Data Advisor
2021 - 2023
Continuum Health Ventures
- Automated due diligence processes to reduce cost. Applied NLP on financial and pitch documents for context extraction.
- Completed due diligence using data analytics tools on benchmarking against the universe of potential investments.
- Integrated multiple data feeds into our data lake to potential benchmark investments.
Technologies: Data Analytics, Big Data, Data Lakes, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Looker, Data Modeling
Senior Data Architect
2021 - 2022
Goodwater Capital
- Migrated environment to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) while managing two data engineers and one data scientist.
- Moved over 20 TB of data to BigQuery. Set up ETL pipeline using Airflow. Tuned queries and designed BI architect system.
- Managed a team of three data professionals. Migrated the entire environment to the cloud.
Technologies: Google Cloud Platform (GCP), BigQuery, Apache Airflow, Big Data, SQL, ETL, Python 3, Looker, Google Data Studio, Data Modeling
Corporate Training Director
2017 - 2020
NobleProg
- Trained the Royal Canadian Navy on how to do data analytics on AWS.
- Coached a team of DBA and database developers working for the federal government of Mexico in PostgreSQL administration.
- Instructed a team at Logitech Asia headquarters in testing and tinning PostgreSQL queries.
- Developed the curriculum and syllabus for the following technical areas: PostgreSQL, database development and administration, AWS cloud computing, GCP cloud computing, and MariaDB administration.
- Trained multiple clients in data visualization using PowerBI.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), PostgreSQL, Oracle, MongoDB, MySQL, PHP, SQL
Technical Director
2017 - 2020
Immutable Data, Inc.
- Developed data warehouses for various clients, including ETL jobs, data lakes, and data pipelines. I designed and administered MySQL clusters as well as PostgreSQL instances.
- Built a custom sports analytics platform for the US Olympic Committee using MySQL, PostgreSQL, Snowflake, and Python. Using DMS, I created an ETL pipeline and used Snowpipe to move raw data dumps into a virtualized Snowflake data lake.
- Set up a data warehouse for a professional social media platform. I designed a pipeline that ingested data from MySQL and PostgreSQL and combined them into a data warehouse I created.
- Performed DBA tasks on MySQL and PostgreSQL instances to ensure reliability and availability. It included troubleshooting slow queries, configuring buffers, provisioning hardware, and networking equipment.
- Created ETL jobs using ETL works platform etlworks.com. We performed multiple transformations from raw dumps, PostgreSQL dumps, to Redshift.
- Hired a team of seasoned data scientists to support client operations.
- Developed multiple dashboards for multiple clients using PowerBI, Metabase, Tableau, and Looker.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Snowflake, Relational Database Services (RDS), PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redshift, Python, SQL, Metabase, Data Visualization, Big Data, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Google BigQuery, BigQuery, ETL, Data Modeling
Senior Data Engineer
2017 - 2017
Androdon Capital, Inc.
- Collected 20 years of currency trading data and inserted it into a PostgreSQL database.
- Created a custom Python ETL to aggregate financial data into currency data.
- Developed a high-frequency trading algorithm using C#.
Technologies: Python, MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL, ETL
Co-founder
2013 - 2017
Q2 Metrics
- Created a physician influence tracking tool using over 1.2 billion records from both government and private companies. The transnational nature of the application was powered by a cluster of five MySQL servers.
- Optimized MySQL cluster to ingest over 1 billion records and perform sub-1-second queries with over 1000 concurrent connections.
- Managed a high-performing team of full-stack developers.
- Negotiated the sale of the company to a multibillion-dollar conglomerate.
Technologies: PostgreSQL, Oracle, MongoDB, MySQL, PHP, SQL, ETL, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Analytics 4, Data Modeling
Clinical Applications Developer
2008 - 2013
Queen's University
- Built the first online patient randomization system. It was a revolutionary way to enroll patients into blind randomized control trials. The system was powered by our on-premise My-SQL database cluster of three nodes.
- Developed an open source longitudinal in-patient electronic data capture system in conjunction with Vanderbilt University.
- Constructed a custom electronic data collection system for the largest nutritional-based randomized in-patient clinical trial study.
- Performed SysAdmin tasks on a cluster of Unix servers where MySQL was installed and running. It included patching, troubleshooting slow queries, and ensuring uptime.
Technologies: Unix, PostgreSQL, MySQL, PHP, SQL, ETL
Oracle Developer
2007 - 2008
Canadian Cancer Institute of Canada
- Developed Oracle Forms to collect and analyze clinical trial data.
- Implemented a proprietary EDC system called Medidata Rave.
- Migrated the past clinical trial data from a legacy system into a new system.
Technologies: C#, Oracle
Experience
Physician Influence Tool
A custom online tool that tracked how each physician in the US was doing in their field in comparison to their peers.
The tool tracked:
• Number of procedures performed
• Amount of billables
• Published articles
• Shared patients
• Social media feeds
• Conference speakers
The goal of the tool was to show to clients which physician was an influencer in order for them to pitch their products to them.
The tool tracked:
• Number of procedures performed
• Amount of billables
• Published articles
• Shared patients
• Social media feeds
• Conference speakers
The goal of the tool was to show to clients which physician was an influencer in order for them to pitch their products to them.
Data Warehouse and Pipeline for the US Olympic Committee
The high-performance division of the US Olympic Committee asked my team and me to develop an internal tool to collect and analyze athletes' performance data and predict possible injuries.
We collected wearable/sensor data plus questionnaire data and medical records and combined them into a data warehouse.
The orchestration was done using Airflow, and the warehouse was built on Redshift.
We collected wearable/sensor data plus questionnaire data and medical records and combined them into a data warehouse.
The orchestration was done using Airflow, and the warehouse was built on Redshift.
High-frequency Trading Algorithm
I developed a high-frequency trading algorithm for a boutique financial firm in Toronto. The algorithm would look at current pricing and trends of different currency pairs and would execute trades based on a predictive model.
Central Randomization System
https://ceru.hpcvl.queensu.ca/CRS/Conducting a randomized control trial across multiple centers in multiple geographical areas presents a unique set of challenges. Traditionally sealed envelopes are used to randomize the next patient. When multiple centers are involved, that strategy can't guarantee a balanced set of arms.
That's where the central randomization system comes in.
This online tool guarantees patients are enrolled in a blind, double-blind, or balanced arm study from anywhere in the world. It provides different access levels to allow for patient unblinding in case of a serious adverse event while maintaining the blindness of the study.
That's where the central randomization system comes in.
This online tool guarantees patients are enrolled in a blind, double-blind, or balanced arm study from anywhere in the world. It provides different access levels to allow for patient unblinding in case of a serious adverse event while maintaining the blindness of the study.
Google Cloud Badges
https://google.qwiklabs.com/public_profiles/8a94e88a-e3bb-4578-9036-de3a9881d308Here are the Google Qwiklabs badges and quests that I've obtained thus far.
• BigQuery Basics for Data Analysts (Earned Jun 15, 2020)
• Baseline: Infrastructure (Earned May 15, 2020)
• Google Cloud Essentials (Earned May 13, 2020)
• BigQuery Basics for Data Analysts (Earned Jun 15, 2020)
• Baseline: Infrastructure (Earned May 15, 2020)
• Google Cloud Essentials (Earned May 13, 2020)
ETL Pipelines
I developed ETL pipelines using Prefect to transform data from Snowflake into a transactional PostgreSQL database for a large conglomerate of companies. These pipelines were orchestrated via Prefect flows.
Education
2021 - 2022
Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Marketing
Power Business School - Madrid, Spain
2020 - 2020
Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree in Business
PowerMBA - Madrid, Spain
2015 - 2015
Continuing Education Diploma in Big Data Analytics
MIT xPRO - Online
2014 - 2014
Continuing Education Diploma in Big Data Analytics
Caltech via Coursera - Online
2006 - 2008
Advanced Diploma (Graduated with Distinction) in Computer Programmer Analyst
St. Lawrence College - Kingston, Ontario, Canada
2002 - 2006
Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Engineering
URBE University - Maracaibo, Venezuela
Certifications
MARCH 2023 - PRESENT
Palantir Foundry Foundations
Palantir
NOVEMBER 2019 - NOVEMBER 2024
AWS Associate Engineer
AWS
JUNE 2015 - PRESENT
Big Data Fundamentals
IBM
FEBRUARY 2015 - PRESENT
MongoDB Certified DBA Associate
MongoDB University
Skills
Libraries/APIs
D3.js, PyMongo, PostgREST, Django ORM
Tools
BigQuery, Apache Airflow, Microsoft Power BI, Sisense, Looker, dbt Cloud, Prefect
Languages
SQL, Snowflake, Python, Python 3, PHP, C#, R
Paradigms
ETL, Database Design, DevOps, Agile, REST, Business Intelligence (BI)
Platforms
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Jupyter Notebook, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Linux, Oracle, Unix, Iterable, Mixpanel
Storage
Redshift, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Databases, NoSQL, Data Lakes, MongoDB, Google Cloud, Amazon Aurora, Data Lake Design, Google Cloud SQL, Database Migration, Cloud Firestore, Elasticsearch, SQL Architecture, Amazon S3 (AWS S3)
Industry Expertise
Healthcare
Frameworks
Ruby on Rails (RoR), Flask, Laravel, Hadoop, Django
Other
Data Warehousing, Data Modeling, Data Engineering, Fintech, Finance, Education, Big Data, Data Visualization, Metabase, Data Warehouse Design, Data Analytics, Dashboards, Dashboard Development, Lecturing, Higher Education, Google BigQuery, Amazon Redshift, Data Science, Google Analytics 4, Google Data Studio, Data Build Tool (dbt), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Open-source LLMs, Relational Database Services (RDS), Web Marketing, SEO Tools, Ads, Business, Business Models, Software Development, Software Deployment, Data, Data Architecture, Segment, dotdigital, onebox, Business Strategy, Reports
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