MONSTREY TECHNOLOGIES
Senior Backend Developer · Freelance · Belgium
Senior Backend Developer with 15+ years of experience. I design and build the distributed cloud backend behind an industrial-robotics SaaS platform, moving real-world device data to customers under latency pressure. I run hundreds of telemetry events/sec from a production robot fleet and a multi-terabyte-per-month pipeline handling tens of thousands of inspections/week, and I match protocols to the shape of the traffic: event fan-out over RabbitMQ, gRPC streaming for bulk transfer, GraphQL at the edge. Security-rooted (ex-pentester), designer-minded.
Currently booked, always open to talk
Soft Skills
- Communication Clear documentation, async-first collaboration, transparent status updates
- Problem-solving Breaking down complex challenges, creative solutions, pragmatic trade-offs
- Self-directed Independent work, minimal supervision, proactive about roadblocks
- Client collaboration Requirements gathering, API design reviews, technical decision documentation
- Mentoring Knowledge sharing, code reviews, guiding junior developers
Work Style
- 80% remote preferred, occasional travel/office OK
- Flexible timezone (UTC±2 currently)
- Async-first communication
- Long-term projects preferred
Tools & Environment
Languages
- Dutch native
- English fluent
- French conversational
ARCHITECTURE
API & PROTOCOLS
SECURITY
LANGUAGES & RUNTIME
FRAMEWORKS
DATABASES & MESSAGING
CLOUD & DEVOPS
AI TOOLING
Senior Backend Developer & Distributed Systems Engineer
Senior backend developer on a team of 4, working across the distributed cloud platform that links a production robot fleet, customer frontends, and AI skills. Own the core API, data-ingestion pipelines, and cross-service infrastructure: hundreds of telemetry events/sec from the fleet and a multi-terabyte-per-month pipeline handling tens of thousands of inspections/week (high-resolution images plus drone video). Drove the migration of AI-skill data flow from direct REST with base64-encoded payloads to RabbitMQ event fan-out with gRPC streaming for bulk transfer. Refactor Python AI prototypes into production services, own customer-facing API documentation, and mentor 1 developer on the team.
Central GraphQL API connecting frontends, devices, and AI workloads, serving hundreds of telemetry events/sec from a production robot fleet via real-time subscriptions.
End-to-end pipeline handling tens of thousands of inspections/week (high-resolution images and drone video, multi-terabyte-per-month): ingestion, cloud storage, and background processing.
Drove the migration of AI-skill data flow from direct REST with base64-encoded payloads to RabbitMQ event fan-out with gRPC streaming for bulk data, decoupling event delivery from transfer and enabling back-pressured, independently-scaling skills.
RBAC/CASL permission resolution at the GraphQL API gateway, with inter-service authentication migrating from one-time-passwords to token exchange for stronger service identity.
Refactored Python AI prototypes into production services with structured logging, clean service boundaries, and event-driven execution the team can build on.
Full Stack Developer
Full stack development for the Flemish government via Monstrey Technologies. Primarily frontend-focused, building Vue applications on a .NET backend. Set up authentication flows and kickstarted multiple projects, guiding them to maturity before handoff.
Built and maintained Vue.js applications for government-facing platforms, handling component architecture, state management, and UI/UX consistency across projects.
Developed and maintained .NET backend services, building APIs and business logic layers consumed by frontend clients.
Designed and implemented authentication and authorization flows, integrating identity providers and securing access across frontend and backend layers.
Worked within Azure DevOps pipelines for automated builds, testing, and deployments across staging and production environments.
Implemented BFF services using Express to tailor backend responses to frontend needs, reducing coupling between UI clients and core backend services.
R&D Software Engineer
R&D software engineering focused on Android platform development for healthcare environments. Worked on Android kernel modifications to improve network reliability of devices used indoors in healthcare facilities. Developed a new Android application for real-time alerting purposes.
Modified Android kernel networking stack to improve wireless reliability of devices operating in indoor healthcare environments.
Developed a new Android application for real-time alerting in healthcare facilities.
Pentester
Penetration testing and security assessments at PwC. Conducted black-box penetration tests, vulnerability assessments, and security audits for clients across various industries. Identified security weaknesses through systematic testing, documented findings with risk assessments, and provided remediation recommendations.
Conducted comprehensive penetration tests from an external attacker perspective, identifying vulnerabilities in network infrastructure, applications, and systems.
Performed vulnerability scanning and analysis to identify security weaknesses, assess their severity, and prioritize remediation efforts.
Conducted security audits and documented findings with detailed risk assessments and actionable remediation recommendations for clients.
- Backend Architecture & Development
- API Design (GraphQL, gRPC, REST)
- Microservice Design & Implementation
- Data Pipeline & Event-Driven Systems
- AI Tooling & LLM Integration
- DevOps & Containerization