Andrei Railean

Principal Engineer | Platform Architect | Engineering Mentor | B2B SaaS | Fintech

linkedin.com/in/andreirailean – Ocean Shores, NSW Australia

Software engineer with experience building SaaS platforms, advertising-driven web properties, content management systems and e-commerce shopfronts. I love working with the full stack: from databases and servers to frontend ui and analytics. I work well within high-velocity teams building complex software. Always learning something new.

Skills

• Programming Languages: TypeScript, JavaScript, Rust, PHP, Ruby, Python, Bash, C
• Frameworks & Libraries: React, Next.js, Apollo, NX, Zod, Rails, Webpack, TailwindCSS
• Backend APIs: GraphQL, REST, Webhooks, Worker Queues, WebSockets
• Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, ElasticSearch, Redis, SQLite, Neo4j
• Online Platforms: Shopify, Mailchimp, Intercom, Stripe, Xero, Amplitude, Google Analytics and Ads.
• DevOps: CI/CD, Docker, GitHub Actions, CircleCI, DNS, AWS (S3, Route 53, CloudFront, EC2, IAM), Kubernetes, Cilium, SystemD, Caddy Web Proxy, Nginx, Cloudflare.
• People: Leadership, management, mentoring, collaboration, hiring (and firing), training, developer events and team building. Stakeholder management. Performance assessments.
• Org Support: Production planning. Prioritisation. Interaction with vendors. “build vs buy” considerations. Liaison with suppliers. Tech support.
• Other: SEO/SEM, analytics and tracking, A/B Testing, page speed, AI-assisted code and content generation. API integrations.

Work Experience

Work Gap. Time off

Took a break from full-time employment to focus on family and business, explore advancements in AI and acquire new skills.

Personal projects

Oct 2024 - Current

• Using AI-assisted coding technologies like Cursor AI, GitHub Copilot and Anthropic’s Claude to enhance productivity and streamline development workflows.
• Built a multi-tenant CRM application using Next.js, TailwindCSS and PostgreSQL focusing on scalability, tenant isolation, and access control based on Google Zanzibar for fine-grained auth.
• Explored AI technologies: Agents, RAG, Vector databases and platforms for data governance and testing of agents.
• Built AI agents while participating in HuggingFace hackathons using smolagents, llamaindex and langgraph Python frameworks.
• Built Clide - tool for running isolated dev environments inside docker. Written in bash
• Built Clocktop - an interactive terminal clock widget. Written in Rust
• Built Sum of Good - Shopify online store for my family business and helped establish retailer relationships for wider distribution of products
• Set up a home lab with 3 Proxmox nodes and a TrueNAS node for running multiple VMs and containers. It is used for experimenting with Kubernetes and for building a local mini data center with redundant and highly available services. Lots of work with Linux networking, setting up subnets and configuring systemd services.

Ignition

SaaS fintech platform processing billions in payments. Ignition is helping professional service providers engage clients and get paid. I served in various roles within the product engineering team and was with the company as it grew from 20 people to over 200. I have seen many phases of this startup’s growth and funding.

Principal Software Engineer

Jul 2021 - Oct 2024

Streamlined software delivery and platform architecture, enabling Ignition to rapidly deliver complex solutions.

Projects: Analytics instrumentation, real-time communication framework (WebSockets & GraphQL Subscriptions), in-app notification system, MYOB integration, and AI content generation infrastructure.

Technical: React, Apollo, NX, Zod, TypeScript. Optimized CI pipelines, created reusable components, automated GraphQL types, established code quality standards.

Leadership: Developed hiring processes, evaluated contributions, facilitated collaboration, mentored staff, and organised hackathons.

Lead Frontend Engineer

Jan 2017 - Jun 2021

Revamped the frontend with React.js to enhance interactivity, accelerate development, and simplify maintenance. Led a team of frontend engineers while actively contributing and reviewing code.

Responsibilities: Managed hiring, onboarding, and training; set frontend strategy; led component library development; owned deployment platforms; established coding standards.

Achievements: Boosted team efficiency by separating frontend and backend roles, converted 95% of the UI to React.js, and introduced e2e testing with Puppeteer and Cypress.

RateCity

Senior Software Engineer

Jun 2014 - Dec 2016

Built full-stack business platform with Node.js, React.js and ElasticSearch. Created search tools, calculators, APIs, and dashboards with server-side SEO. Tech: React, Rails, JavaScript, jQuery, HTML/CSS, REST, PostgreSQL.

AnyPrice

Co-Founder and Frontend Engineer

Jul 2013 - May 2014

Built a price comparison engine collecting web data to simplify online shopping. Tech: JavaScript, Rails, CSS, jQuery, Analytics, AdSense, SEO.

ProductReview.com.au

Australia’s leading online publisher of consumer feedback

Engineer, General Manager

Aug 2010 - May 2013

Advanced from engineer to business manager at ProductReview.com.au. Introduced git, scheduled releases, and analytics. Tripled revenue, grew team from 3 to 12, and formed key business partnerships with leading Australian brands. Tech: PHP, JavaScript, Analytics, AdSense, AdWords, SEO.

PaintAccess.com.au

Co-founder and Technical Director

Aug 2009 - Jun 2012

Founded PaintAccess.com.au, an early Shopify adopter for trade painters. Built custom themes, managed suppliers, shipping and inventory, and optimized marketing. Tech: Liquid, JavaScript, Ruby, jQuery, HTML/CSS, SEO/SEM.

Yahoo! Australia

Software Engineer

Jul 2007 - Aug 2009

Built user-generated content infrastructure and APIs for Yahoo’s global team. Tech: PHP, Perl, JavaScript, bash, REST.

Squiz.net

Software Engineer

Aug 2004 - Jul 2007

Developer on MySource Matrix (v3) Enterprise CMS. Tech: PHP, JavaScript, jQuery, PostgreSQL, MySQL, bash.

Education

University of NSW (UNSW), Sydney, Australia

Bachelor in Computer Science (Mar 2001 - Dec 2004)

Academy of Economic Studies (ASE), Chisinau, Moldova

Bachelor in Banks and Stock Exchanges (Sep 1996 - Feb 1998)

Recommendations

You can read many recommendations I have received on LinkedIn. I can help you contact any of the people who left recommendations or anyone else I have worked with upon request.