Available for Senior / Lead roles

Luis
Fernando
Cifuentes.

Senior Backend Engineer · Python & Go · Distributed Systems

Building high-performance backend systems with +8 years of experience. Strong focus on Python/FastAPI and Go for architecture-driven APIs, with end-to-end ownership from design to production.

View projects LinkedIn → Request Python CV Request Go CV
~ engineer.go
$go run engineer.go
> loading: distributed systems
> stack: Go · K8s · Redis · AWS
> status: ● production ready
> exp: +8 years
> lang: Python + Go
> arch: event-driven · microservices
70K+
users served
80%
latency drop
62K+
records managed
About

Who I am.

Backend Engineer with +8 years building distributed systems and high-performance APIs in Python and Go. I specialize in FastAPI services, event-driven architectures, async processing with workers and queues, and production observability.

I take full ownership of problems from design to production. My track record includes rebuilding systems with critical design flaws, working directly with clients to arrive at the right solution. A key example: an authentication system rebuilt from scratch, now serving 70K+ users across 5 platforms with zero incidents post-launch.

I have built and technically led marketplace, fintech and SaaS platforms deployed on AWS and Azure over Kubernetes with CI/CD. I design solutions oriented around availability, latency and cost, and mentor teams to scale delivery without sacrificing quality.

I am a balanced and composed problem-solver, especially in high-pressure project situations. In leadership roles, I naturally act as a mediator and adapt quickly to changing constraints. I consistently mentor teammates and bring a meticulous, detail-oriented, and analytical mindset to architecture and delivery.

70K+
Users served by Auth Manager, rebuilt from scratch with zero post-launch incidents
80%
Response time improvement after migrating services to Go + FastAPI
62K+
Records managed in a centralized admin platform (28K maintenance + 34K investigations) with background notifications
8K
Registered users on NomadOS with ~2K active or historical memberships
Technology

My stack.

Python Backend
Python FastAPI Pydantic SQLAlchemy Alembic PostgreSQL Async workers REST APIs
Architecture
DDD Clean Architecture Microservices Event-Driven OAuth 2.0 SOLID TDD Contract-first APIs
Polyglot Backend
Go goroutines channels Node.js TypeScript PHP Laravel
Cloud & DevOps
Kubernetes AWS Docker Azure GitLab CI/CD Infra-as-Code
Data & Observability
Redis PostgreSQL MongoDB MySQL Workers Queues Structured logging SLA monitoring
Featured work

Professional projects.

Production · Full Ownership
Auth Manager

Took full ownership after identifying critical design flaws in the previous version. Rebuilt from scratch working directly with the client — defining architecture, versioned REST contracts and data model. Zero authentication incidents post-launch.

70K+
Users
5
Platforms
0
Incidents
GoRedisSQL ServerDDDDockerCI/CD
API Gateway
Auth Service
→
User Service
Queue · Workers
SQL Server
·
Redis
Admin Platform · Private Client
Centralized Admin Platform

Unified scattered admin modules into a single panel, defining the internal standard for admin module development. Automated flat-file record loading, eliminating hours of manual work per cycle.

28K
Maintenance
34K
Investigations
GoRedisSQL ServerDocker
SaaS · Online Learning
NomadOS

Online learning and workflow automation platform. Cloud integrations on AWS with end-to-end continuous deployment. Active user base with paying memberships.

8K
Users
~2K
Memberships
GoLaravelNode.jsAWSPostgreSQLGitLab CI/CD
Automation · AI Operations
X-Grow AI Orchestration API

Built Python services for AI-driven automation flows, exposing internal APIs for chatbot orchestration, validation and downstream integrations with queue-driven workloads.

24/7
Runtime
Low
Latency
PythonFastAPIWorkersRESTN8N
Healthcare API · Private Client
Prepaid Medicine API 2024

Built the complete backend from scratch for a prepaid healthcare client: data model design with DDD architecture, database migrations, and REST APIs for memberships, policy holders, and beneficiaries. Established the project technical foundation with Clean Architecture and FastAPI + Pydantic for strict contract validation, ensuring scalability from day one.

2024
Delivery
DDD
Architecture
PythonFastAPISQLAlchemyAlembicPostgreSQLDDDDocker
Side work

Personal projects.

Front-end experiments, tools, and side projects built on my own time.

Terminal Portfolio screenshot
Frontend
Terminal Portfolio

Interactive portfolio built as a terminal emulator. Features multi-language support, custom hooks, and multi-theme switching — all built with React + Vite and SCSS.

React 19ViteSCSSi18nCustom Hooks
Live GitHub
Email Indexer screenshot
Full Stack
Email Indexer

Full-stack email search engine. Indexes large volumes of emails using ZincSearch, exposes a REST API with Go + Chi, and provides a Vue 3 frontend with dark/light theme and Swagger docs.

GoChiZincSearchVue 3TypeScriptDocker
GitHub
Go Redis Lock screenshot
Backend
Go Redis Lock

Reference implementation of a distributed lock system using Redis to prevent duplicate job executions. Useful pattern for cron jobs and background workers in concurrent environments.

GoRedisDocker
GitHub
Go SOLID screenshot
Backend
Go SOLID

Study project documenting SOLID design principles implemented in Go. Each principle (SRP, OCP, LSP, ISP, DIP) has its own directory with practical examples and explanations.

Go
GitHub
Career

Experience.

Tech Lead — X-Grow AI
WACO Services · Remote
  • Defined Go backend architecture exposing REST APIs and MCP servers consumed by LLM agents and automation flows (N8N).
  • Designed async chatbot interaction processing to sustain traffic spikes without latency degradation using workers and queues.
  • Established observability standards (structured logs, metrics, alerts) and team onboarding documentation.
Oct 2025 — Present
Senior Backend Engineer
WACO Services · Remote
  • Designed and implemented microservices in Go and Node.js for internal and third-party integrations, prioritizing concurrency, high availability and low latency.
  • Built a prepaid healthcare backend from scratch using Python, FastAPI, SQLAlchemy and Alembic under DDD and Clean Architecture principles, delivering strict API contracts for memberships, policy holders and beneficiaries.
  • Built CI/CD pipelines on AWS and Azure with GitLab, significantly reducing deployment time and eliminating recurring manual errors.
  • Led architecture decisions, standardized integration templates and mentored the team in Go and FastAPI, improving response times by 80%.
Aug 2020 — Present
Software Developer
Oktal Desarrollos Tecnológicos · Cali, Colombia
  • Took full ownership of a legacy PHP 5.3 to 7.0 migration end-to-end, improving response times by 90% and eliminating tech debt blocking new features.
  • Designed PHP/Laravel web services integrated with external APIs, optimizing critical queries and processes.
Sep 2016 — Aug 2020
Contact
Let's talk.

Open to Senior Backend Engineer and Tech Lead roles — remote or Colombia. Especially interested in high-scale, distributed systems challenges.

[email protected] LinkedIn GitHub