What I Do

I develop and architect web applications, services, and databases for a diverse set of clients and consult with companies on creating and optimizing software development processes. This work includes architectural decisions, coaching and mentoring engineering teams and engineers, designing release processes, and consulting leadership.

My previous experience includes working with startups, as well as large tech companies. I have helped these companies build and scale from their first user to millions.

2023 – nowStaff Engineer

Readwise

At Readwise, I specialize in developing AI-driven products to enhance reading experiences. My work focuses on tackling text and natural language processing challenges, leveraging a combination of classic computer science techniques, machine learning, and large language models. This involves creating and optimizing algorithms that understand, interpret, and generate human language, ultimately improving the functionality and user experience of our apps and software.

Projects

2019 – nowAdjunct Lecturer

University of Applied Sciences Salzburg

I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of Web Development & Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Salzburg. In addition to teaching, I have contributed to developing the MSc curriculum, supervised BA/MA theses, and organized events and meetups for students and the local developer community.

Events

Talks

  • FullStack London
  • JSUnconf Hamburg
  • OTSConf Dortmund

Undergraduate courses

  • Frontend Development I
  • Frontend Development II
  • Web Operations

Graduate courses

  • Client-side Web Engineering
  • Continuous Delivery
  • Scalable Web Architectures

2022 – 2023Staff Engineer

GitLab

Real-time collaboration (Multiplayer) for GitLab.

Projects

2018 – 2022Engineering Manager & Staff Engineer

Co-founded and led the core team that built all the new infrastructure for Shopify’s large-scale search and recommender systems. Including streaming pipelines, feature stores, and developer tooling.

Projects

  • SSO (Single sign-on), Multi-shop & Organizations
  • Admin Search
  • Co-founded and led Shopify’s Disco(very) team

2013 – 2018Software Engineer

Die Netzarchitekten

Engineering Services

  • General Purpose APIs (Node.js and Rails. Especially JSON:API & recently GraphQL)
  • Back Office Systems (Dashboards w/ Angular, Ember & React/Redux)
  • Apps, Hybrid Apps and PWAs (React Native, Cordova)
  • Architecture (Reactive systems, Microservices & Message Queues)
  • Continuous Delivery Pipelines (Jenkins, Zero Downtime, Monitoring & Testing)
  • Containerization of infrastructure (On Premise, PaaS and Cloud Computing → AWS, Azure)

Consulting Services & Coaching

  • Coaching & training for dev teams
  • Declarative and functional programming
  • Agile project management for software engineering teams
  • Modernization of complete dev stacks (Continuous Delivery, Automization, Frameworks)

Technology

One of the greatest aspects of web development is the continuous opportunity to learn new tools, libraries, paradigms, and even programming languages with each project. However, I have several years of project experience with the following technologies:

  • JavaScript for clients w/ Ember, Angular and React
  • JavaScript for tooling and on servers w/ Node.js
  • Web APIs, Standards and Methodologies

You can find my open source projects at: eliias

Project: Red Bull Content Pool

Red Bull Content Pool

The Red Bull Content Pool is the global B2B self-service media & news platform for press, journalists and business partners. The content portfolio ranges from high-quality photos to HD videos about the latest news & stories relating to sports, culture & lifestyle.

2013 – 2018Co-founder “cnuddl”

cnuddl

I cofounded and developed the pet sitting platform “cnuddl”. We were part of the academic founders program BCCS (Business Creation Center Salzburg GmbH) and pitched the project on national television.

About

cnuddl was a comprehensive web application designed to cater to pets and their owners. We aimed to solve a common problem for pet owners: the stress-free search for reliable pet sitters.

cnuddl connected pet sitters with pet owners, allowing them to easily find and book trusted sitters in their neighborhood. Customers could also select add-on packages such as additional insurance and pick-up services, and complete their payment directly on the platform.

2004 – 2013Early career

Game Developer

In my first full-time role at PICS and elements, I developed online games in Flash. This involved creating various innovative technical solutions, including side-scrollers, Mario Kart-like racing games, isometric 2.5D puzzle games, and much more.

Software Developer

At Freshminds, a business development company focused on online entertainment solutions, I began as a full stack developer and quickly progressed to the lead developer role in my second year. During my tenure, I was responsible for the conceptualization, development, and maintenance of two large-scale websites, an asset management system, and various system-critical infrastructure. I also hired, built, and led a team of three developers.

Key Technologies & Services:
  • Zend Framework (including custom extensions)
  • MySQL Cluster (Master-Slave configuration)
  • Caching Proxy (Varnish)
  • Multi-channel payment solutions
  • Asset management (transcoding large media assets)
  • Backoffice solutions

Lecturer and Trainer at WIFI

WIFI

My first experience as a lecturer and coach began at WIFI, one of Austria’s leading adult education institutes. Hired as a contractor for the Advertising Academy (WDA) course program, I taught Flash and web development. This experience ignited my passion for teaching, and I later expanded my courses to include web design and web development.

Courses
  • Web Development
  • Web Design
  • Flash