Nicolae-Andrei Minescu, Developer in Bucharest, Romania
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Nicolae-Andrei Minescu

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Back-end Developer

Bucharest, Romania

Toptal member since October 27, 2022

Bio

Andrei is a software engineer with solid experience in Python, creating APIs and building apps in the Linux user space. He designed and implemented new features, which helped the company cut million-dollar deals. He enjoys new challenges related to programming, from embedded to web development, and is passionate about the Linux world.

Portfolio

DriveNets
C, C++, Git, Python 3, Python, Pytest, Go, Linux, Networking, IP Networks...
DriveNets
C, C++, Git, Python 3, Go, Linux, IP Networks, Networking, Docker...
Lenovo
C, C++, Git, Linux, Linux Administration, Python 3, Yocto, Operating Systems...

Experience

  • Linux - 5 years
  • C++ - 5 years
  • Python - 5 years
  • C - 5 years
  • APIs - 3 years
  • Docker - 3 years
  • Node.js - 3 years
  • Networking - 3 years

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Linux, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Git, MacOS

The most amazing...

...project I've developed is integrating the RADIUS AAA protocol into a network operating system from scratch, having only the RADIUS RFCs.

Work Experience

Senior Software Developer

2021 - PRESENT
DriveNets
  • Added support for the Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service (RADIUS) authorization and authentication (AA) protocol in the network operating system login process to make a business deal with a new service provider.
  • Integrated Linux PAM into one of the processes to avoid using third-party binaries. Integrated Linux PAM with PAM modules in the login-handling process.
  • Introduced support for the Secure Shell (SSH) over multiple virtual routing and forwarding (VRFs) for the in-band network. They are managed dynamically based on the router configuration.
  • Managed a team of three programmers and two testers in a scrum environment.
Technologies: C, C++, Git, Python 3, Python, Pytest, Go, Linux, Networking, IP Networks, Docker, Docker Swarm, RADIUS, Docker Compose, Telnet Protocol, FTP, ntpd, TACACS, RPC, Request for Comment (RFC), Protobuf, Linux Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM), Jira

Software Developer

2020 - 2021
DriveNets
  • Developed a time manager for the network operating system to sync the time between the cluster elements and connect to other Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers on the in-band and out-of-band networks.
  • Developed an event management tool to allow network operators to run automation scripts based on a schedule or when an event was triggered.
  • Fixed critical login bugs caused by the client's old and untested codebase in a couple of days.
  • Built the test infrastructure for all management features, which can run on separate VRFs, using Docker Swarm to create the test bed.
  • Repaired old bugs that were still present in the backlog.
Technologies: C, C++, Git, Python 3, Go, Linux, IP Networks, Networking, Docker, Docker Compose, Docker Swarm, Pytest, RADIUS, SSH, Telnet Protocol, FTP, ntpd, TACACS, Python, Jira

Embedded Software Developer

2019 - 2020
Lenovo
  • Maintained the Lenovo operating system used for its data center group by fixing common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) related to open-source binaries and building each package from the source code using Yocto Project.
  • Created a pipeline to automate scanning operating system images for vulnerabilities, keeping track of fixed CVEs, and releasing new images.
  • Integrated a new operating system built from scratch for a future product of Lenovo. Moved quickly to keep up with product development by adding new packages and fixing vulnerabilities.
  • Fixed hundreds of CVEs for all the open-source packages, including the kernel, creating a secure operating system.
Technologies: C, C++, Git, Linux, Linux Administration, Python 3, Yocto, Operating Systems, Python

Home Lab Infrastructure

I created an infrastructure for my home lab, using Ansible and Docker to create a new service as fast as possible and integrate it into my lab. With this project, I put together all the open-source applications I use daily.

Open Infra

Open Infra is a web application written for my master's degree and used by system administrators to automate their tasks, independent of the operating system.

System administrators can manage users and services and, most importantly, harden the operating system. The project is made from a web app using Node.js for the back end and Angular for the front end.

The user has to write the IP of a server, and after, he will be presented with a list of questions that are dynamically generated in the UI based on the remote machine operating system. The questions were grouped based on categories (user, application, kernel, networking, etc.)

YouTube Downloader

Created a GUI app with Python to easily download YouTube videos. The app was written using Python's Tkinter library to create a simple yet intuitive GUI.

The app has a textbox where you set the link to your desired YouTube video. It can only save the audio part of the video.

Smart Building IoT Device

For my bachelor's degree final project, I developed multiple applications which communicated wirelessly using the esp32 module. The app's main purpose was to collect data from sensors and send actions to the devices.

I used ThingML, a modeling language independent of the programming language, to achieve this. For it to be independent, I had to implement the basic functions in a particular language. For example, if I had a temperature sensor, I had to write the interface between the sensor and ThingML.

I created interfaces for sensors, motors, and lights. Using ThingML, I programmed the microcontrollers with ease.

To manage the devices, I developed a web app that read the data from the sensors and displayed it live on a dashboard. You can send inputs to the devices from the dashboard, like opening a lead or sending a signal to a stepper motor.

Quiz API

Created a REST API in Python using the FastAPI framework. The purpose of the project was for a user to be able to create a quiz and solve quizzes created by others.

The API was secured using identity and access management features.
2019 - 2021

Master's Degree in Management and Information Security

Politehnica University of Bucharest - Bucharest, Romania

2015 - 2019

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

Politehnica University of Bucharest - Bucharest, Romania

2017 - 2018

Exchange Coursework Toward Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

Technical University of Darmstadt - Darmstadt, Germany

Libraries/APIs

RADIUS, Node.js, Protobuf, Libraries/APIs, REST APIs

Tools

Git, Pytest, Ansible, ntpd, MATLAB, Docker Compose, Docker Swarm, Traefik, Jira

Languages

C, Python 3, C++, Go, SQL, Python, Java, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, TypeScript

Platforms

Linux, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Docker, Raspberry Pi, MacOS, YouTube, Windows, Arduino

Frameworks

Express.js, Angular

Paradigms

REST, Unit Testing

Storage

MongoDB, Redis, PostgreSQL

Other

Networking, Linux Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM), Linux Administration, Operating Systems, IP Networks, SSH, Telnet Protocol, FTP, TACACS, APIs, RPC, PID Controllers, Computer Vision, Digital Signal Processing, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Digital Logic, Microcontrollers, Yocto, Request for Comment (RFC), Scripting, Graphical User Interface (GUI), API Integration, Libraries, Linux Server Administration, Internet of Things (IoT), ESP32, Microcontroller Programming, Electronics, Front-end, Back-end, FastAPI, Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT)

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