Senior Full-Stack / Backend Engineer

Ricardo Zanardo Junior

I design, build, and scale distributed systems and cloud-native platforms. Over the last 15+ years I've led the modernization of legacy systems, built microservices and event-driven architectures, and helped teams ship reliable software at scale.

  • Backend focus: Java/Kotlin & Node.js/TypeScript
  • Microservices, CQRS & event-driven systems
  • AWS & Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform
  • Remote collaboration with global, cross-functional teams
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Snapshot

Location: Campinas, Brazil · Open to remote opportunities.

Focus: Backend-heavy full-stack, distributed systems, cloud.

Recent roles: Senior Engineer at X-Team / Riot Games, Ci&T, Kaffa Mobile.

Values: ownership, reliability, pragmatic architecture, mentorship.

Background

About me

I'm a Senior Full-Stack / Backend Engineer with over 15 years of experience shipping software for companies in gaming, consulting, utilities, and healthcare.

I enjoy taking complex domains, breaking them down into maintainable services, and making sure the systems we build are observable, reliable, and easy for teams to work on long-term.

I've worked closely with product, design, and QA stakeholders, and I like being involved from discovery and architecture all the way to rollout, incident handling, and continuous improvement.

My day-to-day stack tends to be Java/Kotlin + Spring Boot or Node.js/TypeScript on the backend, with React on the frontend when needed, running on AWS or Azure with Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines.

Key strengths

  • Designing and evolving microservice architectures.
  • Moving legacy systems toward modern, cloud-native setups.
  • Owning observability, incident reduction and reliability.
  • Mentoring engineers and improving team practices.

Languages

  • Portuguese: Native
  • English: Advanced / Fluent
  • Spanish: Intermediate

Career

Experience

Senior Full-Stack Software Engineer

X-Team / Riot Games · Remote

Jan 2022 – Present

  • Designed and maintained localization microservices supporting all Riot titles, using Java 17/21, Spring Boot, Node.js and event-driven workflows (Kafka/SQS).
  • Reduced localization turnaround time by 30% and improved uptime during peak release cycles.
  • Architected AWS infrastructure (EKS, Lambda, API Gateway) with Terraform/Terragrunt, implementing blue/green deployments and zero-downtime rollouts.
  • Led observability initiatives with Datadog and SonarCloud, cutting incident detection time by 50% and reducing critical incidents by 40%.
  • Built React-based internal tools to streamline localization workflows for global teams.

Tech: Java, Spring Boot, Node.js, TypeScript, Kafka, AWS (EKS, Lambda, API GW), Terraform, Datadog, SonarCloud, React

Senior Full-Stack Engineer / Tech Lead

Ci&T · Brazil / Remote

Dec 2020 – Apr 2024

  • Led development of scalable microservices (Java 17, Spring Boot) backed by MongoDB and Redis.
  • Introduced Kafka/RabbitMQ to decouple workloads, reducing processing time for critical workflows by 25%.
  • Designed and optimized data-integration pipelines across multiple ERP providers, reducing sync errors by 40%.
  • Managed Azure DevOps pipelines and AKS blue/green deployments, cutting release lead time by 50%.
  • Served as Tech Lead for a squad of 6 engineers, improving code quality and reducing defect rates.

Tech: Java, Spring Boot, MongoDB, Redis, Kafka, RabbitMQ, Azure (AKS, API Management), Azure DevOps, New Relic, React, Next.js

Senior Software Developer

Kaffa Mobile · Brazil

Aug 2017 – Dec 2020

  • Engineered microservices in Java/Kotlin to ingest and normalize GIS/Smallworld datasets (5–10M+ records nightly).
  • Built high-throughput ETL pipelines in Node.js/TypeScript, reducing sync errors by 25% and accelerating data refresh cycles by 40%.
  • Developed React dashboards for electrical network visualization, increasing user adoption by 20%.
  • Raised automated test coverage from ~50% to ~85% and revamped GitLab CI/CD pipelines.

Tech: Java, Kotlin, Spring Boot, Node.js, TypeScript, GIS/Smallworld, SAP, React, GitLab CI/CD, Redis

Software Development Specialist

Daitan Group · Brazil

Nov 2016 – Aug 2017

  • Improved internal operational and financial systems built with Java and Ruby on Rails.
  • Developed React components for internal dashboards, improving usability and reducing support tickets.
  • Integrated backend services with Microsiga and SAP to automate invoicing and planning workflows.

Tech: Java, Ruby on Rails, React, REST APIs, SAP, Microsiga

Java EE Developer

Vector Informática · Brazil

Jun 2014 – Nov 2016

  • Maintained Java-based hospital management system, optimizing SQL routines to improve performance by over 30%.
  • Built RESTful services and integration frameworks reducing sync failures by 40%.
  • Integrated PayPal REST API for secure online billing, increasing online payment adoption.

Tech: Java EE, Hibernate, REST, Oracle, SQL optimization, PayPal REST API

Delphi Developer & Junior Systems Analyst

Earlier roles · Brazil

2011 – 2014

  • Developed and maintained Delphi-based systems with Oracle, Firebird, Informix and SQL Server backends.
  • Implemented integrations and internal tools that reduced manual processes and improved data accuracy.

Tech: Delphi, Oracle, Firebird, SQL Server, DataSnap, HTML reporting

Stack

Skills & technologies

Backend & Languages

  • Java (7–21), Kotlin
  • Spring Boot, Quarkus, Micronaut
  • Node.js, TypeScript, Express
  • Python (Django, Flask)

Architecture & Patterns

  • Microservices, distributed systems
  • CQRS, event-driven architectures
  • Domain modeling, API design
  • C4/UML, system decomposition

Cloud & DevOps

  • AWS: EKS, Lambda, RDS, API Gateway, S3, CloudWatch
  • Azure: AKS, API Management, Functions, Front Door
  • Docker, Kubernetes
  • GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, Jenkins
  • Terraform, Terragrunt

Data, Messaging & Observability

  • PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server
  • MongoDB, CouchDB, Redis, Apache Ignite
  • Kafka, RabbitMQ, SQS/SNS
  • Datadog, New Relic, SonarCloud

Impact

Selected highlights

Riot Games

Localization at scale

Redesigned localization services and data flows used by multiple game teams, cutting turnaround time by 30% and reducing critical incidents by 40%.

Ci&T

Microservices & ERP integrations

Led the migration of core workflows to microservices backed by Kafka/RabbitMQ, reducing processing time by 25% and integration errors by 40%.

Kaffa Mobile

High-volume ETL for utilities

Built ETL pipelines handling 5–10M+ records per run for electrical grid data, improving data freshness and adoption of analytics dashboards.

Next step

Let’s work together

I'm open to remote positions where I can help design and build backend-heavy systems, evolve architectures, and improve reliability and observability.

If you think my experience could be a good fit for your team, feel free to reach out with a short description of the role, stack and expectations.

LocationCampinas, São Paulo · Brazil
Emailricardo.zanardo@gmail.com
LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/ricardo-zanardo-545a2781
Phone+55 (19) 98290-7079