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About

Intro

Software engineer with a background in theoretical physics who specializes in scalable software architecture, performant API’s and beautiful user interfaces. Out of the box thinker who is fluent in a number of programming languages and frameworks and comfortable with both frontend and backend development. Autodidact who learns quickly and is intrinsically motivated to get things done. Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written. Willing to take the initiative when working both individually and as part of a team. Proven track record of delivering well executed solutions in high performance environments. Passionate about space travel, big questions, creativity and the fabric of reality. Applies string theory to guitars and pianos.

Skills

  • Advanced
  • Proficient
  • Intermediate
  • Basic

Languages

  • Dutch
  • English
  • French
  • German

Programming

  • TypeScript
  • JavaScript
  • Node.js
  • HTML/CSS
  • React Native
  • SQL
  • Python
  • Ruby
  • Java
  • C#
  • PHP

Software Architecture

  • API Design
  • Web Development
  • TDD
  • Microservices
  • AWS
  • NoSQL
  • Serverless
  • Database Design
  • Kafka
  • RabbitMQ

Mobile Applications

  • Fastlane
  • Push Notifications
  • Analytics
  • Release pipelines
  • React Native bridging
  • Android Studio
  • XCode
  • Mobile SDK’s

Frameworks

  • Koa.js
  • Express.js
  • React.js
  • React Native
  • Styled Components
  • GraphQL
  • Socket.io
  • D3
  • Thrift

Data Stores

  • Redis
  • S3
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • DynamoDB
  • ElasticSearch
  • Neo4j
  • RethinkDB

DevOps

  • Git
  • Docker
  • Mocha
  • Jest
  • Gitlab CI/CD
  • Jenkins
  • CircleCI
  • DataDog
  • Kubernetes

Work

Senior Software Engineer May 2020 - Febr 2021

Nokia Bell Labs is the world-renowned industrial research arm of Nokia, having invented many of the foundational technologies that underpin information and communications networks and all digital devices and systems.

I joined the team that created the World Wide Streams platform. I mainly focused on the transition of this platform from research to a service offering. This included a rethink of the architectural design of the platform and the rewrite and introduction of some (new) services. Examples include a new Gateway API with request validation, a new TypeScript CLI that communicates with this API, a shared logger library and an authentication service. I created an end to end pipeline shared across all components that enforces a standard way of versioning, testing and releasing. I also introduced sprint plannings to the team so the agreed roadmap could be delivered in time with small incremental steps.

Freelance Software Engineer Apr 2020 - May 2020

You can find more info here.

Senior Full-Stack Engineer Apr 2018 - Mar 2020

Sentiance is a data science company turning IOT sensor data into rich insights about people’s behavior and real-time context. Sentiance context intelligence enables solutions for lifestyle based insurance, contextual marketing & commerce, smart mobility, connected health, smart home, smart city and connected car.

I led a team of full stack engineers to create a new fandom centric social network. I was responsible for delivering a brand new mobile app (TypeScript, Redux, Apollo) and a public graphQL API (TypeScript, Koa, Apollo) backed by a Neo4j graph database. In both frontend and backend projects we attained 100% code coverage and a continuous CICD pipeline delivering multiple automated deploys every day. This way our team was consistently able to support an ever growing feature set (social login, friending, commenting, picture upload, notifications, …). The project resulted in a new company Aaqua.

I initiated a complete rewrite of the Sentiance demo app (Journeys) which embeds their proprietary tracking SDK. Therefore we bridged the native SDK’s for android and iOS to React Native. We then created a brand new app (React Native, Redux, Redux Saga) and added animated interactive map views (Mapbox) together with custom animations and data visualisations, powered by a GraphQL API interface. I also created a CI/CD pipeline that automated distributing multiple flavors of their app (and sdk) while enforcing 98% test coverage.

Small Town Heroes

Full Stack Hero May 2012 - Apr 2018

Small Town Heroes is a Ghent based startup that provides software tools and services for broadcaster and publishers with a focus on mobile video experiences and user interactions.

I was responsible for the design and implementation of scalable backend services, high traffic websites, API’s and CMS interfaces for a variety of (live) TV shows. I took care of the full release cycle of the services - from concept to production releases - with an eye for quality, detail and user experience. My area of expertise essentially covered their complete technology stack ranging from architectural design to server deploys and UI tweaks. While continuously and actively learning I gained expert knowledge of and hands-on experience with Amazon Web Services, Node.js and its ecosystem, serverless architectures, RESTful dockerized web services, SQL and NoSQL data stores and a plethora of frontend development frameworks like backbone.js, react.js and react-native.

I was a major contributor on most API’s and mobile applications for major brands and television shows like ‘Ketnet’, ‘Studio 100’, ‘Blokken’, ‘Eurosong’, ‘Ook Getest Op Mensen’, ‘The Passion’, …

R&D Engineer Jan 2012 - May 2012

iMinds is Flanders’ digital research & entrepreneurship hub. We drive digital innovation for society and economy, through strategic and applied research on key digital technologies.

R&D Engineer Jan 2009 - Jan 2012

VRT-medialab was the technological research department of VRT, Flanders’ public service broadcaster. VRT-medialab carries out research into the creation, management and distribution of media content. Its focus is on the Flemish media market, but VRT-medialab pursues collaboration on a European and worldwide level.

I was part of the development team that launched one of the first second-screen applications (Ruby, Redis, PostgreSQL) for a live TV show in Flanders. In the hours before going live on air I fixed a critical performance issue.

I wrote and presented an IEE publication for SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers): “Taking File-Based Workflows to the Next Level: Project and Timeline Based Integrations.”

Application Tester Sep 2007 - Dec 2008

SmartPhoto is one of the leading providers of photo service in Europe; and is dedicated to making beautiful Photo products. Our intuitive web platform helps you share your pictures, and create stunning Photo products.

As an application tester I reviewed the code and database queries and gained hands-on experience with an international e-commerce platform coded in .NET #C and MS SQL. I also developed an internal tool in C# for validating photo orders.

Education

Applied Information Technology [UGent]

Master of science Oct 2006 - Aug 2007

Physics [UGent]

Master of science Oct 2002 - Jun 2006

References

Ilja is a gifted Full Stack Engineer and brought lots of maturity to the team. He has a deep understanding of the whole software development lifecycle and set out to build a solid exemplary pipeline. He should not only join your team, he should lead it. ~ Filip Van Titelboomworked together in different teams as Infrastructure Lead at Sentiance

Ilja & I built the Full Stack Engineering team at Sentiance. He was highly involved in hiring and mentoring engineers, introducing best practices, making sure our software standards were excellent, setting up software architecture, and successfully shipping several products. Ilja is exceptionally skilled in JavaScript, which allows him to apply this knowledge on multiple layers of software architecture. I can only conclude that Ilja is truly one of the best Full Stack Engineers I’ve ever worked with. ~ Jiri Crispeynworked together in the same team as Senior Full Stack Engineer at Sentiance

Ilja is the canonical example of “Mens sana in corpore sano”. He gracefully lived through the rough times of an early startup: designing scalable architecture, developing it and … also running it. Over the years I’ve seen him evolve to a professional cloud native with a great hunger for new things but with enough pragmatism to deliver your product without the worries. Allrounder skilled in AWS, Mobile, Modern Web and data algorithms, I can only recommend him and envy you when you hire him. ~ Patrick Deboismanaged Ilja directly as CTO of Small Town Heroes

I’ve had the pleasure of studying for my M. Sc. in physics together with Ilja, including many group assignments, and having his sharp mind and inspiring creativity around consistently made it more pleasant to Get Things Done ~ Wouter SmetStudied physics with Ilja at UGent

Interests

Music

  • Piano
  • Guitar
  • Music production

Sports

  • Cycling
  • Running
  • Snowboarding
  • Soccer
  • Chess

Fun

  • Live music
  • Ted talks