Pavel Puzikov, Developer in Lisbon, Portugal
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Pavel Puzikov

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Bio

Pavel is a software engineer with over 15 years of experience in startups. He excels in Ruby, JavaScript, React, and cloud technologies. Pavel is a founding architect at Zindi, a community of 70,000 data scientists with strategic partnerships with Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. He also co-founded and served as CTO of Flocktory, a social marketing platform later acquired by Nasdaq-listed QIWI for $20 million.

Portfolio

Zindi.africa
Redux, Node.js, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ruby, JavaScript, Azure, Docker...
Tecstone Granite USA, Ltd.
Ruby on Rails (RoR), React, WebGL, Three.js, Node.js, Software Engineering...
Infraplan
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ruby, JavaScript, MySQL, D3.js, React...

Experience

  • Full-stack - 15 years
  • JavaScript - 15 years
  • Ruby on Rails (RoR) - 14 years
  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) - 11 years
  • React - 10 years
  • Data Visualization - 10 years
  • Web Performance Optimization (WPO) - 8 years
  • Architecture - 8 years

Availability

Full-time

Preferred Environment

Tmux, OS X

The most amazing...

...thing I've built is Zindi, Africa's largest data science competition platform.

Work Experience

Co-founding CTO

2017 - 2022
Zindi.africa
  • Designed and implemented the MVP in six months, working with founders from the start.
  • Built a React front end with custom data management and SSR to ensure time-to-interactive under 1.5 seconds.
  • Engineered the API back end using Ruby on Rails and Postgres, with an average response time of 50ms, alongside a Python service for ML scoring.
  • Managed cloud deployment on AWS and Azure with CI/CD, failover, and autoscaling,
maintaining 99.99% uptime.
  • Cultivated a community of 70,000 active data scientists and hosted competitions worth $500,000 in prizes.
  • Led continuous development for five years, including a redesign in collaboration with an external agency.
Technologies: Redux, Node.js, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ruby, JavaScript, Azure, Docker, PostgreSQL, Ruby on Rails (RoR), FlowType.JS, React, Architecture, DevOps, Data Visualization, Web Performance Optimization (WPO), Software Engineering, CSS, Functional Programming, HTML, R, Python, API Design, Next.js, HTML5, ECMAScript (ES6), Data Science, Machine Learning, Full-stack, Jupyter Notebook, Figma, API Integration, Data Analysis, REST APIs, Back-end, APIs, Integration, Technical Architecture, Leadership, Front-end, Git, Startups, SQL, CI/CD Pipelines, Heroku, User Interface (UI)

Full-stack Rails and React Developer

2020 - 2021
Tecstone Granite USA, Ltd.
  • Built a browser-based 3D editor for creating granite monuments using WebGL.
  • Defined the requirements and architecture in a new and unexplored field.
  • Developed the version that supports live editing, including changing materials and engravings and importing from the company's catalog.
Technologies: Ruby on Rails (RoR), React, WebGL, Three.js, Node.js, Software Engineering, Data Visualization, Web Performance Optimization (WPO), Architecture, CSS, HTML, HTML5, ECMAScript (ES6), NoSQL, Full-stack, Back-end, Technical Architecture, Front-end, Git, Heroku, User Interface (UI)

Full-stack Developer

2018 - 2020
Infraplan
  • Developed an internal platform for an urban planning company that utilizes statistical analysis, built with Ruby on Rails and React.
  • Inherited an outdated Ruby on Rails codebase, optimized it, and added a React front end.
  • Implemented a data pipeline to support comprehensive data calculations and visualizations.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ruby, JavaScript, MySQL, D3.js, React, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Architecture, Software Engineering, Data Visualization, CSS, HTML, API Design, HTML5, ECMAScript (ES6), Full-stack, Figma, API Integration, Data Analysis, REST APIs, Back-end, APIs, Technical Architecture, Front-end, Git, SQL, Heroku, User Interface (UI)

Co-founder

2016 - 2017
Eleos
  • Started a company to pursue the idea of an application that uses environmental signals 
to find the best time to deliver the message.
  • Developed a web application, a mobile application, and a Facebook messaging bot 
as we experimented with the medium.
  • Designed and built a back end using Ruby and Apache Kafka and trained an AI model
for background signal processing.
Technologies: Redux, Node.js, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ruby on Rails (RoR), JavaScript, PostgreSQL, Ruby, React Native, React, TypeScript, Architecture, DevOps, Software Engineering, CSS, HTML, API Design, Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), HTML5, ECMAScript (ES6), NoSQL, Data Science, Machine Learning, Full-stack, API Integration, Data Analysis, MongoDB, Apache Kafka, REST APIs, WebSockets, Back-end, APIs, Integration, Technical Architecture, Leadership, Front-end, Git, Startups, CI/CD Pipelines, Heroku, Twilio, User Interface (UI), GraphQL

Principal Architect

2016 - 2016
Votecastr (with Slate.com)
  • Engineered a scalable back end to support a real-time election tracking and prediction engine, 
including a mobile app and website, within three months.
  • Developed a real-time map widget for slate.com, handling over 20 million page views and 120,000 RPM.
  • Coordinated with the data team and led the platform through election day/night in the Vice War Room.
Technologies: Redux, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ruby on Rails (RoR), JavaScript, D3.js, PostgreSQL, React, Ruby, DevOps, Software Engineering, Data Visualization, Web Performance Optimization (WPO), Architecture, CSS, HTML, API Design, HTML5, ECMAScript (ES6), NoSQL, Data Science, Machine Learning, Full-stack, API Integration, Data Analysis, REST APIs, Back-end, APIs, Integration, Scraping, Technical Architecture, Leadership, Front-end, Git, Startups, User Interface (UI)

Full-stack Developer

2015 - 2015
Predictions Dashboard
  • Created an app to process and present vast amounts of data in a readable way. The data was hundreds of gigabytes of historical information with predictions for the future, delivered weekly in CSV format.
  • Selected Google BigQuery for data storage, which provided linear query time, and created a pipeline to automatically update the data whenever new files were added to an Amazon S3 bucket.
  • Built a Ruby on Rails back end with two-factor authentication for a data API and user management panel.
  • Created a front end with React and heavy use of D3.js.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ruby on Rails (RoR), JavaScript, PostgreSQL, BigTable, Ruby, D3.js, React, DevOps, Software Engineering, Data Visualization, Web Performance Optimization (WPO), Architecture, CSS, HTML, R, Python, API Design, HTML5, NoSQL, Full-stack, API Integration, Data Analysis, REST APIs, Back-end, APIs, Integration, Technical Architecture, Front-end, Git, CI/CD Pipelines, User Interface (UI)

CTO

2012 - 2014
Flocktory
  • Joined as a CTO on the first day and built the MVP with Ruby on Rails in two months.
  • Led development for two years and grew the engineering team to eight people.
  • Contributed to achieving profitability and a user base of 5,2 million MAU within two years, culminating in a later $20 million acquisition by Nasdaq-listed QIWI.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ruby on Rails (RoR), JavaScript, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Ruby, Architecture, DevOps, Software Engineering, Web Performance Optimization (WPO), CSS, Functional Programming, HTML, API Design, HTML5, Full-stack, API Integration, Data Analysis, REST APIs, WebSockets, Back-end, APIs, Integration, Technical Architecture, Leadership, Front-end, Git, Startups, SQL, CI/CD Pipelines, User Interface (UI)

Web Developer

2010 - 2013
Grapevine
  • Founded and ran a web consultancy specializing in early-stage startups.
  • Consulted with multiple clients, including habr.com with 13 million MAU and rutube.ru with 20 million MAU.
  • Worked with the founders from inception, making prototypes, building the MVP, hiring, and transferring a project to an in-house team.
Technologies: D3.js, Amazon Web Services (AWS), MySQL, Ruby, JavaScript, Ruby on Rails (RoR), DevOps, Software Engineering, Web Performance Optimization (WPO), Architecture, CSS, Functional Programming, API Design, HTML5, Full-stack, API Integration, Data Analysis, REST APIs, Back-end, APIs, Integration, Scraping, Technical Architecture, Front-end, Git, Startups, SQL, CI/CD Pipelines, User Interface (UI)

Zindi Africa

https://zindi.africa
Zindi is the biggest platform for hosting data science competitions in Africa. I worked closely with the founders to architect and build the platform, which connected 50,000 data scientists and has Microsoft, Uber, and Amazon as partners. The technologies used include Ruby on Rails and React, and the platform is hosted on Azure and partially on AWS.

Votecastr

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Votecastr
Votecastr was a real-time voting coverage and prediction app built in partnership with slate.com and used for the United States presidential elections in 2016. I led data processing and the development of dashboards and maps on the Votecastr and slate websites, the admin panel, the dashboard for monitoring and curating incoming data, and the API to communicate with people in the field. In short, I was responsible for all the technology except the Android app and actual prediction models.

ezyorganizer

An activity management app designed for iOS and Android devices that I built in React Native. The app features a calendar, task management, real-time collaboration, customized alerts and notifications, and paid subscription options. The back end is powered by Firebase, providing seamless access to the database, authentication, storage, and serverless functions.
2004 - 2008

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

Saint Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics, and Optics - Saint Petersburg, Russia

Libraries/APIs

D3.js, Node.js, React, REST APIs, FlowType.JS, WebGL, Three.js

Tools

Git, Figma, BuildFire

Languages

CSS, HTML, Ruby, JavaScript, HTML5, ECMAScript (ES6), SQL, TypeScript, GraphQL, Clojure, Elm, Python, R

Frameworks

Redux, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Tailwind CSS, React Native, Next.js, ClojureScript

Paradigms

Web Performance Optimization (WPO), DevOps, Functional Programming

Platforms

Amazon Web Services (AWS), Heroku, Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Docker, Jupyter Notebook, Twilio, Apache Kafka, Mobile, Firebase, Android, iOS

Storage

MySQL, PostgreSQL, NoSQL, MongoDB, BigTable

Other

Data Visualization, Software Engineering, Architecture, System Design, Full-stack, API Design, API Integration, Documentation, WebSockets, Back-end, APIs, Integration, Technical Architecture, Front-end, Startups, CI/CD Pipelines, User Interface (UI), Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), Data Science, Machine Learning, Data Analysis, Storybook, Scraping, Leadership

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