London Area, United Kingdom
Java Backend Engineer (7+ years) focused on building reliable systems using Spring Boot and microservices. I’m neurodivergent, which means I tend to approach problems differently. I focus on understanding how systems behave, spotting patterns, and identifying potential issues early — including edge cases that are often overlooked. This way of thinking helps me anticipate issues early and think through different scenarios before implementing solutions. I’ve worked in production environments where reliability and clean system design are important. I value simplicity, clarity, and building systems that are easy to understand and maintain. More recently, I’ve been working in a freelance, client-facing environment, delivering projects end-to-end. This strengthened my ability to handle ambiguity, communicate clearly and take full ownership of outcomes. I’m now fully focused on returning to backend engineering roles, where I can contribute to building reliable systems, keep improving, and work on meaningful problems. 👉 My GitHub: https://github.com/franciscoreinalondon
Built and managed a freelance client services business within the creative industry, delivering end-to-end projects across multiple clients while developing strong ownership, stakeholder management and delivery skills. • Managed full project lifecycle from requirements gathering to delivery and post-service support, working directly with clients. • Delivered consistently under tight deadlines, ensuring reliability and quality in high-pressure environments. • Translated client needs into clear deliverables, iterating quickly based on feedback. • Worked independently, handling ambiguity and making decisions with incomplete information. • Applied structured workflows and process discipline to improve efficiency and consistency. • Built strong client relationships through clear communication and ongoing support. Transferable Skills: Ownership, Stakeholder Management, Requirements Gathering, End-to-End Delivery, Communication, Problem Solving, Time Management, Process Optimisation
Worked as a backend engineer in the Incentive Team, building and scaling microservices powering promotions, rewards and customer activity across multiple European markets and US states. Contributed to the evolution from monolithic systems to microservices architecture, improving performance, reliability and scalability. • Contributed to developing and maintaining 10+ microservices using Java 17 and Spring Boot, supporting high-volume system related to promotions, rewards and customer management. • Implemented UK compliance logic to dynamically exclude users from promotions based on real-time activity (Kafka event streams). • Contributed to microservices migration initiatives, improving scalability, resilience and system performance. • Built and enhanced a reward system serving millions of daily users, contributing to increased customer retention. • Developed notification services handling hundreds of thousands of daily messages across multiple channels. • Designed and implemented REST APIs using a contract-first approach (OpenAPI). • Worked with CI/CD pipelines (GoCD) enabling frequent and reliable deployments. • Containerised services using Docker and contributed to orchestration with Kubernetes. • Monitored and analysed production systems using Splunk and Dynatrace dashboards. • Created and maintained technical documentation to support knowledge sharing across teams. Tech: Java 17, Spring Boot, Microservices, REST APIs (OpenAPI), Kafka, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD (GoCD), Splunk, Dynatrace
Worked on backend services for the British Airways mobile platform, contributing to the migration of legacy SOAP services to REST APIs within a microservices architecture, and the delivery of new features in a high-traffic production environment. • Designed and developed RESTful services using Java and Spring, supporting mobile application functionality. • Contributed to the migration from SOAP to REST, improving system flexibility and maintainability. • Refactored and optimised existing components, resolving defects and improving performance and code quality. • Implemented and maintained automated tests (JUnit, Mockito, WireMock, SoapUI), achieving ~95% code coverage and improving system reliability. • Monitored and supported production systems using Kibana and Splunk, investigating and resolving issues. • Worked with CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins) and code quality tools (SonarQube). • Collaborated in Agile teams (Scrum/Kanban) using Jira. • Contributed to code reviews and documentation (Confluence). Tech: Java, Spring, REST APIs, Oracle, Jenkins, Kibana, Splunk, JUnit, Mockito, WireMock
Worked on large-scale energy and billing systems for Enel Group, contributing to the development of backend services handling complex business logic and high-volume data processing. • Developed and maintained a self-consumption billing platform aligned with Spanish Royal Decree 900/2015. • Designed and implemented backend logic using Java, Spring and Hibernate, integrating with Oracle and PostgreSQL databases. • Optimised core data processing workflows (file ingestion and transformation) achieving up to 30× faster execution. • Contributed to a greenfield migration project, exposing REST APIs and supporting frontend integration (Angular). • Worked with CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins) to ensure reliable deployments and fast feedback cycles. • Participated in production support and troubleshooting in a high-demand enterprise environment. Tech: Java, Spring, Hibernate/JPA, REST APIs, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Jenkins, ETL (Pentaho, SQL*Loader)