Harun Yasar

Cloud-native, event-driven data platform on AWS with end-to-end ownership across architecture, data modelling, IaC, implementation, observability, and incident follow-up.

• Led platform engineering for serverless, event-driven data platform on AWS, owning full lifecycle of critical services from design and IaC to deployment and operations.
• Hardened ingest pipelines using S3, SNS/SQS, Lambda, and Kinesis to handle high-volume event streams with strong schema governance, idempotency, controlled retries, and DLQs.
• Designed object storage and data-access patterns to support analytics via Athena, Snowflake, and BI tools (e.g. ThoughtSpot) while optimising storage and scan costs.
• Built and maintained backend data services and REST APIs (Python – Flask/FastAPI; Node.js – NestJS) exposing event and performance data to internal consumers and external integrations.
• Implemented containerised compute for analytics and ML experiments on ECS behind Kong, orchestrated with Step Functions for repeatable model runs and batch workflows.
• Standardised IaC and CI/CD using Terraform, Serverless Framework, and GitHub Actions, aligning data models and event schemas with analytical and experimental needs.
• Drove observability and reliability using CloudWatch/Grafana metrics and alerts (latency, errors, throttles, concurrency), and contributed to DR runbooks and post-incident reviews.

Kafka-based integration and messaging platform connecting tools such as Slack with in-house emotional AI models, processing high-volume conversational data in real time for insights and moderation.

• Led design and implementation of Apache Kafka architecture powering ingestion and processing of high-volume messaging data from multiple sources.
• Owned backend architecture end-to-end (Kafka, Kubernetes, Snowflake) and provided day-to-day technical leadership for 6 backend engineers in close collaboration with data scientists, data engineers and DevOps.
• Built backend services and APIs in Python (FastAPI) for ingestion, moderation workflows and analytics, deployed as Docker containers on Kubernetes for reliable, scalable operation.
• Designed data models and storage strategies across Snowflake, PostgreSQL and MongoDB Atlas, enabling efficient querying and reporting on conversation-level and organisation-level metrics.
• Deployed and managed containerised microservices on Kubernetes using Docker, Helm and Terraform, ensuring clear separation of concerns and predictable rollouts.
• Implemented secure OAuth2/OIDC flows and SOPS-based secret and PII management to protect tokens, credentials and user identifiers across platform.
• Aligned Kafka topics, message schemas and persistence layers with emotional AI models and downstream analytics through close collaboration with data scientists and data engineers.

Backend and platform engineering focused on serverless APIs, identity and access management, and cloud infrastructure on AWS.

• Built serverless REST APIs for identity and access management, plus service registry and configuration management to support reliable operations across organisation.
• Designed and operated microservices using AWS Lambda behind API Gateway to provide scalable, serverless REST interfaces.
• Worked extensively with AWS services including Lambda, ECS, EKS, DynamoDB, RDS, S3, Cognito and Kinesis to support backend services and data flows.
• Built access and identity management application using FastAPI, PostgreSQL and SQLAlchemy, exposing REST APIs for authentication and authorisation.
• Implemented OpenID Connect and OAuth2 flows (including Authorisation Code Flow with PKCE) to provide secure, standards-based authentication.
• Managed infrastructure with Terraform and Terragrunt; containerised workloads using Docker, ECR and Kubernetes/Helm for real-time streaming services.
• Established CI/CD workflows with GitHub Actions to automate testing and deployment across multiple environments.

Django-based backend services with focus on reliable delivery, automation and modern DevOps practices.

• Contributed to design, development and maintenance of Django-based backend applications, delivering new features and fixes.
• Applied TDD with pytest and implemented database-backed API endpoints in Python to support core application workflows.
• Used Git and GitHub for collaborative workflows, branching strategies and structured code review.
• Helped establish CI workflows by integrating automation framework with GitHub, improving feedback and release cycles.
• Worked with Terraform, Docker and Kubernetes (including Kustomize) to support configuration management and containerised deployments.

Django and AWS-based financial platform delivering core product features, integrations and performance improvements.

• Developed and maintained Django backend components, including views, serializers and REST API endpoints for core lending platform.
• Worked with PostgreSQL and Redis to ensure efficient storage, querying and caching of application data.
• Optimised Celery background tasks running on AWS to improve performance and resource utilisation.
• Integrated with third-party financial systems (e.g. Wavedata, Demetris), supporting end-to-end mortgage application workflows and regulatory requirements.
• Practised TDD with pytest and collaborated with DevOps on Git-based workflows and CI processes, following Shape Up product development method.

Modernised ORA platform, leading data migration and backend work to improve accessibility and maintainability of research content.

• Consolidated multiple legacy data sources (Microsoft Access, MySQL) into PostgreSQL, designing and running ETL processes to clean and migrate data.
• Migrated research archives stored as RDF/XML, defining unified data model and data dictionary to ensure consistent usage.
• Implemented backend functionality using Flask microservices and Ruby on Rails components, enhancing processing and delivery of research materials.
• Indexed migrated objects in Apache Solr to provide fast, flexible search across research corpus.
• Contributed to CI/CD with on-premise GitLab, maintained Ansible playbooks for deployment on RHEL servers, and used Python for log analysis and Zabbix integration.

Data pipeline and analysis project for time-series data, combining streaming, storage and quality layers.

• Maintained and extended RESTful web service producing time-series data and exposing it via API.
• Built data flows with Apache NiFi to consume data from multiple sources and feed downstream processing stages.
• Developed processing and storage components in Python 3 with MongoDB (mongoengine), enabling flexible querying and analysis.
• Implemented data quality checks and layers using NumPy and pandas to validate and improve reliability of processed data.

Data migration and discovery project, moving legacy content to PostgreSQL and improving search and management tools.

• Supported data migration and discovery initiative, moving legacy content to PostgreSQL and enhancing search and management capabilities.
• Evaluated existing database structures and exported data to support migration from MySQL and other sources to PostgreSQL.
• Used Django and serpy to serialise data and manage migration logic, including maintenance of underlying data model.
• Tuned and maintained Apache Solr and Blacklight-based search application to improve discovery and performance.
• Built and improved Django application (including admin interface) to track migration status and related workflows.
• Maintained Ansible playbooks to automate deployment and configuration of involved applications.

Company-wide Odoo ERP platform focused on core functionality, integrations and day-to-day stability.

• Designed, developed and maintained modules for company-wide Odoo ERP solution supporting key business processes.
• Built and maintained web services around ERP to integrate with internal systems and third-party tools.
• Provided ongoing maintenance, bug fixing and incremental enhancements, collaborating with cross-functional teams to refine requirements and improve workflows.

Large-scale Symfony2-based LAMP e-commerce platform focused on stability, defect resolution and incremental improvements.

• Developed and maintained features in Symfony2-based LAMP e-commerce application for high-traffic online store.
• Resolved defects and implemented enhancements, improving reliability and user experience.
• Collaborated with other developers through code reviews and continuous improvements, contributing to performance and scalability optimisations.

End-to-end backend development for fast-growing e-commerce platform.

• Participated in full software development lifecycle, from requirements analysis through implementation and maintenance.
• Analysed requirements, proposed solutions and contributed to design of backend components for core e-commerce features.
• Implemented and tested new functionality, and maintained, updated and enhanced existing modules.
• Collaborated with product and engineering teams to deliver high-quality features aligned with business needs and timelines.

Corporate websites and intranet platforms focused on usability, maintainability and visual presentation.

• Designed and developed corporate websites and intranet pages aligned with organisational branding and content requirements.
• Maintained and improved existing sites, resolving issues and refining layouts to enhance usability and reliability.
• Collaborated with stakeholders to translate design and content needs into functional web pages and components.

Corporate web applications and marketing sites expanding organisational online presence.

• Contributed to corporate web applications and marketing sites, supporting growth of online channels.
• Developed and maintained web applications and pages aligned with organisational and campaign objectives.
• Created and updated site content and layouts, ensuring consistent, visually appealing user experience.
• Worked with designers and stakeholders to implement changes quickly while preserving quality and brand consistency.