
Jakub Szafrański
Verified Expert in Engineering
Full-stack Developer
Gdańsk, Poland
Toptal member since March 31, 2021
Jakub is a full-stack software developer, a Linux/Unix system administrator, and a team lead, with 10 years of experience. He has managed and created hosting solutions, including web server optimization, database management, virtualization, and Ansible automation. He has also developed a variety of software solutions, mainly hosting management systems, a complex CRM system. While Jakub started his career in early 2011, he began programming as a hobby in 2008.
Portfolio
Experience
- Python - 10 years
- Django - 10 years
- Front-end - 9 years
- Back-end - 9 years
- Agile - 5 years
- Docker - 5 years
- Vue - 3 years
Availability
Preferred Environment
Django, Vue, Python, JavaScript, Docker, Amazon Web Services (AWS), REST APIs, Full-stack Development
The most amazing...
...thing I've developed is a big, complex account management system for MyDevil. I created the app from scratch, and it's still in use years later.
Work Experience
Senior Staff Engineer
Postmedia
- Optimized whole app performance by almost 65%, drastically reducing maintenance costs.
- Identified nearly $90,000 in annual infrastructure cost savings.
- Implemented and launched multiple initiatives and integrations related to Canada/global events.
Staff Python Engineer
Adverity
- Helped with the local development set up with Docker: optimized build times and performance, optimized usage of pre-commit hooks, and fixed a couple of issues related strictly to Docker for development immediately after joining.
- Took over a project that's used to securely mirror credentials across multiple instances for better QA and development workflow.
- Designed an improvement to credential handling through a secure micro-service that maintains authorization and logs usage for compliance and currently charged of developing this as a project.
Team Leader | Full-stack Engineer
Motoinsight
- Led a team responsible for decoupling a big application into smaller, more manageable web services.
- Managed the team responsible for designing and developing the architecture of the platform and took the lead on knowledge sharing and enforcing best practices.
- Assisted with the transition of our entire infrastructure to a fully self-managed AWS account.
Full-stack Engineer
Thought Leaders
- Designed and initiated migration from the old AngularJS-based front end to the new Vue.js-based one, which required gradual movement by building small Vue-based web components and replacing parts of the old AngularJS legacy code with them.
- Greatly improved the local development experience by Dockerizing our entire application stack and introducing a set of helpful Makefile commands that make managing developers' local environment much easier.
- Introduced "Heroku Review Apps" to the client, which allowed him to have separate instances "per pull request" rather than having one "test" environment that was shared by everyone and required constant coordination on who was using it.
- Implemented many new features and improvements to the clients' codebase, both in the front end and the back end.
Senior Full-stack Developer
STX Next
- Broke down a big, monolith application into smaller, more manageable, and self-isolated web services.
- Implemented a custom, in-house SSO solution for employees and clients, based on OAuth 2 and Django.
- Rewrote a heavy, synchronous application into a more scalable, multi-worker architecture with a proper queuing system, which prevented a single user from rendering the app unusable to other clients.
- Participated in around 80 technical interviews, which led to hiring a few very talented people who are still happy members of the company. Assisted in designing several interview questions.
- Ran "Python Has Power Advanced" workshops to teach people how to create web apps in Python and Django. Created the workshop plan and the introductory task.
System Administrator | Programmer
AIS.PL
- Assisted in transitioning the entire infrastructure of the company to a new location, focusing on the office and data center setup.
- Developed an internal hub/intranet system that allows users to start on-demand virtual machines for testing purposes, managed personal data/LDAP profiles, and synchronized phone contact lists.
- Automated deployment of various internal, Linux-based systems using orchestration tools, such as Ansible.
System Administrator | Software Developer
MyDevil.net
- Developed an account management app/platform that allows hosting customers to manage their accounts, including creating databases, websites, and emails. The app was introduced in 2013 and is still running on the platform.
- Created a custom CRM system tailored for the company, which handled automatic account creation, renewals, payment processing, and other financial and accounting processes.
- Assisted with redesigning the brand from an old-school IRC shell provider to a more developer-oriented (and later, business client-oriented) hosting provider.
Experience
MyDevil.net | Hosting Account Management System
https://mydevil.netI created the front end, called DevilWeb2, using Django and jQuery. The whole suite allows any customer of MyDevil.net to easily manage their hosting account, including websites and DNS zones, mail accounts, databases, and FTP accounts. MyDevil.net still uses DevilWeb2, which is fast and secure and has been acknowledged as the best, easiest-to-use web-based management system. Implementing this system and the CRM system (described below) made it possible for the company to increase its userbase by more than 300%.
Finance CRM System
gComply Plus Formula App
https://decernis.com/solutions/gcomplyplus/Thoughtleaders.io web application
https://www.thoughtleaders.io/Education
Engineer's Degree in Computer Science
Nicolaus Copernicus University - Torun, Poland
Certifications
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate
AWS
Cisco Certified Network Associate: Routing and Switching Essentials
Cisco
Cisco Certified Network Associate: Network Fundamentals
Cisco
Certificate in Advanced English (Cambridge ESOL Level 2 Certificate in ESOL International)
University of Cambridge
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Django ORM, REST APIs, Vue, jQuery, React
Tools
NGINX, Ansible, Celery, Logstash, Kibana, Terraform
Languages
Python, JavaScript, HTML, Python 2, Python 3, CSS, TypeScript, SQL, XML
Frameworks
Django, Django REST Framework, Flask, AngularJS, Angular, Bootstrap, Plone, Bootstrap 3, Material UI
Paradigms
API Architecture, REST, RESTful Development, Agile, Scrum, ETL
Storage
PostgreSQL, JSON, Redis, MySQL, Redis Cache, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, Memcached, Google Cloud
Platforms
Docker, FreeBSD, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Heroku, Oracle, Linux, Oracle Database
Other
Web Programming, Domains & Hosting, Web Hosting, Front-end, Back-end, Full-stack, APIs, API Integration, Full-stack Development, Back-end Development, Linux Administration, Networks, Networking, English, Software Architecture, Algorithms, IT Recruitment, System Administration, Cisco, API Design, CRM Systems, petl
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