Gonzalo is available for hire

Gonzalo Fernández de Aguirre

Verified Expert in Engineering

Back-end Developer

Location

Madrid, Spain

Toptal Member Since

November 5, 2021

Gonzalo is a senior back-end developer with ten years of experience. His preferred stack is Python, Django, and Flask, and his areas of expertise include databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, NoSQL) and Docker. Gonzalo has delivered a wide range of projects, including data migrations, automation scripts, model designs, and API definitions and implementations. In addition to full-time employment, Gonzalo has 5+ years of experience as a freelance developer for many company types, sizes, and environments.

Programming Back-end Back-end Development Data Migration Python Django REST APIs Flask Microservices Web Development Code Review Databases HTML5 Bash CSS Database Caching Wagtail CMS

Portfolio

Twilio (Contract)

Python, Django, Wagtail CMS, Docker, PostgreSQL...

Imagination

Python, Django, Flask, Microservices, APIs, CouchDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL...

Stonework Solutions

Python, Django, Front-end, MySQL, Team Leadership, VoIP, Fraud Prevention...

Experience

Django - 8 years Databases - 8 years Python - 8 years APIs - 5 years Microservices - 5 years Flask - 5 years Web Development - 5 years Wagtail CMS - 4 years

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Python, Django, Flask, Wagtail CMS, PostgreSQL, MySQL, APIs, Web Development, Command-line Interface (CLI), Bash

The most amazing...

...projects were migrating an old monolith to a modern microservices architecture and designing and implementing a custom globalization of a CMS.

Work Experience

Senior Back-end Developer

2018 - 2021

Twilio (Contract)

Designed and implemented an ad hoc solution for globalization, localization, and translation within a heavily customized version of Wagtail, an open-source CMS architecture.
Coded a very intense data migration of hundreds of unorganized, static code samples used in the documentation of Twilio libraries exposed in its website into dynamic code samples.
Became the go-to person for new system design questions, new features, and almost every question regarding the back end of the Twilio site.
Chosen to be part of hiring processes by interviewing potential colleagues and then becoming a mentor to the newest members.

Technologies: Python, Django, Wagtail CMS, Docker, PostgreSQL, Content Management Systems (CMS), Databases, Data Migration, Twilio, Back-end, Refactoring, Code Review, Sublime Text 3, Interviewing, Source Code Review, Technical Hiring, Technical Design, Team Management, Task Analysis, HTML

Senior Back-end Developer

2015 - 2018

Imagination

Migrated a very big, outdated, and slow system built as a monolith into a modern microservices architecture. The system is the black box given to engineers during big shows, such as Detroit Auto Show and Canon's Photokina.
Made critical decisions in the very fast-paced, high-stakes marketing environment. Our motto was, "The show must go on, we will deliver."
Became the technical studio senior engineer and go-to person for all questions regarding the black box we created for shows to run smoothly.
Was chosen to be part of hiring processes by interviewing potential colleagues and then mentoring the newest team members.

Technologies: Python, Django, Flask, Microservices, APIs, CouchDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Back-end, Databases, Microservices Architecture, Data Migration, Code Review, Sublime Text 3, Interviewing, Source Code Review, Technical Hiring, Technical Design, Task Analysis, HTML

Back-end Developer

2012 - 2015

Stonework Solutions

Developed security applications in telecommunications and media, programming in VoIP environments, prevention and detection of fraud in telecommunication systems, and agents endowed with artificial intelligence.
Became the tech lead for a small team, owning new projects and managing the team to deliver on requests.
Implemented a heavily customized web app as a real-time dashboard to enable big applications to route VoIP calls, filter calls, and expose the system through that custom dashboard.

Technologies: Python, Django, Front-end, MySQL, Team Leadership, VoIP, Fraud Prevention, Web Applications, Dashboards, Web Development, Back-end, Code Review, Sublime Text 3, Technical Design, Team Management, HTML

Web Developer

2011 - 2012

Efors

Refactored and redesigned the database models, making the whole app faster and more efficient.
Developed and implemented front-end pages from scratch using HTML5, CSS, and jQuery.
Refurbished the whole template system and database connections and integrated a cache mechanism for a better web experience.

Technologies: PHP, jQuery, HTML5, CSS, MySQL, Front-end, Databases, Templates, Database Caching, Web Development, HTML

Experience

Twilio Website Globalization System

An ad hoc solution for globalization, localization, and translation within a heavily customized version of Wagtail, an open-source CMS architecture. I designed and implemented the solution using Python metaclasses to customize each model within the current project (on top of the CMS) and make them translatable in one click. I also developed the translation API container class and the whole data flow from start to finish. Python metaclasses are dangerous but powerful!

Imagination's Black Server Box

While in London, I assisted in migrating a very big, very outdated, and very slow system built as a monolith into a modern microservices architecture. Today, that system is the black box given to the engineers during big shows, such as Detroit Auto Show and Canon's Photokina. A plug-and-play set of systems under the same hood would ensure that all the data in those big events would be properly generated, accounted for, stored, and synced.

Twilio Code Samples Migration for Developer Education

Coded a very intense data migration of hundreds of unorganized, independent, and static code samples used in the documentation of Twilio libraries exposed in its website into dynamic code samples retrieved via an API. This migration enhanced the editors' job and the organization and maintainability of the data. I gained a new appreciation for the value of custom APIs to make your life easier!

Converter CLI

https://github.com/patillacode/converter-cli

A custom Python CLI for converting media files. The idea was for the CLI to ask users for the necessary information through the command line. This abstracted the process so the user could make just a few selections and get the expected output.

Education

2009 - 2011

Superior Technician Degree in Computer Programming

IES Virgen de la Paloma - Madrid, Spain

2005 - 2009

Bachelor's Degree in Telecommunications

Universidad Carlos III - Madrid, Spain

Skills

Libraries/APIs

REST APIs, jQuery

Tools

Sublime Text 3, Celery, RabbitMQ

Frameworks

Django, Flask

Languages

Python, HTML5, CSS, Bash, HTML, PHP

Paradigms

Microservices, Microservices Architecture, Refactoring

Platforms

Docker, Twilio, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Kubernetes

Storage

Databases, MySQL, PostgreSQL, CouchDB, Redis, Database Caching

Other

Wagtail CMS, Programming, APIs, Web Applications, Data Migration, Back-end, Back-end Development, Web Development, Command-line Interface (CLI), i18n, Team Leadership, Content Management Systems (CMS), Code Review, Technical Hiring, Interviewing, Source Code Review, Engineering, Front-end, Libraries, VoIP, Fraud Prevention, Dashboards, Templates, Technical Design, Team Management, Task Analysis

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