Richard Zana
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Developer
Budapest, Hungary
Toptal member since May 23, 2016
Since 2014, Richard has been a professional developer. Recently, armed with an AWS Solutions Architect certification, he led infrastructure-related innovation for companies both in the K12 education and US job market sectors. With experience in multiple full-stack roles, he is a versatile problem-solver who doesn't shy away from front-end tasks.
Portfolio
Experience
- Python - 6 years
- Linux - 6 years
- Django - 3 years
- React - 3 years
- Docker - 3 years
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) - 3 years
- Node.js - 2 years
- Terraform - 2 years
Availability
Preferred Environment
Git, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Linux
The most amazing...
...challenge I've had the pleasure of working on is a learning object repository during the surge of COVID19, used by millions of educators.
Work Experience
Senior Full-stack Engineer
Instructure
- Implemented features and improved existing functionalities on the back end using Node.js along with DynamoDB, Elasticsearch, SQS, and S3 services from AWS.
- Provided infrastructure-related improvements in AWS using Terraform with relation to high availability, reliability, and security. Also made improvements to autoscaling, facilitating zero downtime during the COVID-19 traffic surge.
- Implemented features on the front end using React, including improvements on responsivity.
Senior Full-stack Engineer
Lensa
- Architected microservices (both containerized and serverless).
- Created a generic worker to facilitate the sending of millions of messages (Webpush and SMS) per day in a rate-limited manner, using Python/Asyncio, Redis, AWS ECS (Fargate), and Twilio.
- Improved on a mission-critical big data solution involved with processing and filtering hundreds of gigabytes of data monthly, making it 70x faster. This helped with cutting costs and more up-to-date information on the website.
- Created a containerized partner-facing REST API using Flask.
- Implemented features on the front end using React/Redux.
Head of Web Development (prev. Back-end Developer)
Buffered
- Created a payment system with subscription management and recurring billing using Python and Django, integrating five different payment methods and fraud detection, which has already processed seven figures.
- Took the internal business analytics tool to a new level by making it dynamic and flexible, using Python, Django, and jQuery.
- Designed, implemented, and evaluated core business-related A/B tests.
- Learned about and assisted business development as part of being in a startup.
Software Engineer
Nokia
- Helped analyze, implement, and unit test new features in Nokia NT HLR using C++, Boost, and CxxTest.
- Removed and refactored all occurrences for almost a dozen warning flags from the codebase, also unit testing the related and previously uncovered parts using C++, Boost, and CxxTest.
- Fixed multiple legacy code issues.
- Learned the low-level structure and processes of telecommunication networks.
R&D Engineer Trainee
Nokia
- Automatized the process of the official customer document generation for company products.
- Implemented the core scripts for parsing a variety of inconsistent files via Regex, using Python and PHP.
- Contributed to the implementation of a document generation process using PHP.
- Helped create a multi-browser user interface for improved usability, style, and newly added functions using PHP, HTML, and CSS.
Experience
CDRTool
Lensa
https://lensa.comNokia NT HLR
Buffered Website
Canvas Commons
https://lor.instructure.com/Education
Absolutorium in Computer Science
Eötvös Loránd University - Budapest
Certifications
Google Cloud Platform Big Data and Machine Learning Fundamentals
Coursera
Amazon Web Services Solutions Architect Associate
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Node.js, React, jQuery, React Redux, Asyncio, PayPal API
Tools
Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), Webpack, NGINX, PyCharm, Git, Sublime Text, Terraform, Valgrind, Subversion (SVN), GNU Debugger (GDB), Gerrit
Languages
Python, ECMAScript (ES6), HTML, CSS, JavaScript, C++, PHP, Java, Bash, SQL, C
Frameworks
Django, Flask, Redux, Serverless Framework, Laravel, CxxTest, Jinja, Django REST Framework, Boost, LibGDX
Paradigms
Unit Testing, REST, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Clean Code, Serverless Architecture, Agile Software Development
Platforms
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Docker, Linux, Windows, Visual Studio Code (VS Code)
Storage
Elasticsearch, NoSQL, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), MySQL, Redis, PostgreSQL
Other
Code Review, Software Architecture, Serverless, Full-stack, OpenGrok, Gunicorn, Payment Gateways, PayPal, Business Development, Game Development
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