Ali Karademir

Senior/Lead/Staff Software Engineer / Solutions Architect with 26+ years of experience designing, architecting, and delivering large-scale distributed systems and cloud-native backend platforms. Over the past decade, specialized in building highly available, scalable, resilient, secure, and high-performance systems using Java, Spring Boot, Apache Kafka, Kubernetes, AWS, and modern cloud-native technologies. Proven track record of designing and delivering microservices based, event-driven, and API-first solutions for global organizations, including Mastercard, Lululemon, Palo Alto Networks, Sun Life Financial, Best Buy Canada, Western Union, Broadridge Financial Solutions, TELUS Telecommunications, and HSBC Bank.

Strong expertise in distributed systems, cloud-native architecture, Java, Spring Boot, Design Patterns, Kafka, Kubernetes, RESTful APIs, CI/CD, test automation, observability, and performance optimization. Recognized for solving complex technical challenges, modernizing legacy platforms, and improving system scalability, reliability, security, and performance. A hands-on engineer who provides technical leadership, mentors developers, promotes engineering best practices, and collaborates with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality, business-critical software solutions at enterprise scale.

Senior Backend Engineer - Mastercard - Vancouver, Canada

(2025-11 - 2026-06)

As a Senior Software Engineer within the Marketing Services organization, designed, developed, and enhanced cloud-native backend services powering enterprise marketing platforms. Collaborated with architects, product owners, and engineering teams to deliver scalable, event-driven solutions while improving code quality, system reliability, and engineering productivity.

• Designed, developed, and maintained high-performance backend services and application features using Java 17, Spring Boot 3, and Spring Framework 6 for commercial products in marketing domain.
• Built and enhanced RESTful APIs and event-driven components using Apache Kafka, enabling reliable communication across distributed microservices.
• Implemented clean, maintainable, and testable solutions by applying object-oriented design, SOLID principles, and established software design patterns.
• Participated in technical design sessions and code reviews, contributing to scalable and reliable architectures, consistent coding standards, and long-term maintainability.
• Collaborated closely with product managers, QA engineers, and cross-functional development teams to translate business requirements into high-quality production software.
• Investigated and resolved complex application issues, improving system stability, performance, and overall application reliability.
• Mentored junior engineers through code reviews, technical guidance, and knowledge sharing, promoting engineering best practices across the team.
• Leveraged modern development tools, including GitHub Copilot, to improve development efficiency while maintaining high standards of code quality.

Technical Architect / Dev Lead - Lululemon - Remote, USA

(2023-06 - 2025-10)

Served as the Solutions Architect and Lead Software Engineer for the Order Processing platform, leading the design, development, and modernization of cloud-native Java micro-services supporting mission-critical order services domain. Worked closely with software engineers, architects, product managers, and platform teams to deliver scalable, secure, and resilient backend solutions deployed on cloud. As solutions architect for API Gateway Modernization efforts for Order Services domain, designed enterprise scale solution to modernize and migrate API Gateway implementation from AWS API Gateway to Apigee Edge.

Drove end to end delivery of API gateway modernization from initial inception, solution and development phases to testing, release and production maintenance phases.

• Led the design and development of cloud-native backend services and application features using Java, Spring Boot, Apache Kafka, and Kubernetes, delivering scalable and highly available micro-services for enterprise order processing.
• Collaborated with cross-functional engineering, security, and product teams to translate business requirements into secure, maintainable, and production-ready software solutions.
• Modernized event-driven micro-services by implementing standardized resiliency, retry, exception handling, and fault-tolerance patterns, improving the reliability and maintainability of the distributed system.
• Designed and enhanced RESTful APIs and asynchronous messaging workflows to support scalable integration across enterprise applications.
• Evaluated and implemented secure authentication and authorization solutions using Spring Security, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), AWS API Gateway, and Google Apigee.
• Performed code reviews, mentored software engineers, and promoted clean architecture, object-oriented design, SOLID principles, and engineering best practices across the development team.
• Contributed to technical planning, estimation, backlog refinement, and Agile delivery while remaining a hands-on contributor throughout the software development lifecycle.

Senior Staff Engineer - Palo Alto Networks - Remote, USA

(2022-03 - 2023-06)

Contributed as a senior software engineer to the SaaS Inline Security and SaaS API Security products, designing, developing, and enhancing cloud-native Java micro-services that deliver enterprise-grade cybersecurity solutions. Collaborated with product, platform, and security engineering teams to build secure, scalable, and highly reliable backend services running on Kubernetes.

• Designed, developed, and enhanced Java and Spring Boot micro-services enhancing and supporting enterprise SaaS security products in a cloud-native Kubernetes environment (Google Kubernetes Engine).
• Implemented security enhancements to achieve FedRAMP compliance, including introducing mutual TLS (mTLS) for PostgreSQL interactions and remediating application and third-party library vulnerabilities.
• Developed reusable Apache Kafka producer and consumer libraries, improving code consistency, maintainability, and event-driven communication across multiple microservices.
• Built and maintained containerized deployments using Kubernetes, Helm, and Docker, supporting reliable application delivery across development, testing, and production environments.
• Enhanced CI/CD pipelines using GitLab CI/CD and Jenkins, improving deployment automation, release efficiency, and software quality.
• Investigated and resolved complex production issues through root cause analysis, debugging distributed applications, and implementing long-term corrective solutions.
• Participated in technical design discussions, code reviews, and Agile ceremonies while promoting clean architecture, object-oriented design, and engineering best practices.
• Collaborated with cross-functional engineering teams to deliver secure, scalable, and high-performance backend services.
• Evaluated and implemented secure authentication and authorization solutions using Spring Security, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), AWS API Gateway, and Google Apigee.
• Performed code reviews, mentored software engineers, and promoted clean architecture, object-oriented design, SOLID principles, and engineering best practices across the development team.
• Contributed to technical planning, estimation, backlog refinement, and Agile delivery while remaining a hands-on contributor throughout the software development lifecycle.

Senior Software Engineer - Western Union - Remote, USA

(2021-10 - 2022-02)

Contributed as a Senior Software Engineer within the Identity and Access Management (IAM) team, designing and developing secure Java-based micro-services and authentication solutions supporting enterprise identity platforms. Worked closely with engineering teams to deliver secure, maintainable, and well-tested backend services using modern identity standards and cloud-native development practices.

• Designed and implemented a reference application using Java, Spring Boot, Spring Security, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), and OKTA, demonstrating modern authentication and authorization patterns for enterprise microservices.
• Developed reusable implementation guidelines and sample code that accelerated developer onboarding and promoted consistent adoption of security best practices across engineering teams.
• Built end-to-end API integration and automation tests using the Karate framework, improving validation of authentication workflows and increasing confidence in microservices integration.
• Developed and enhanced secure RESTful APIs while applying object-oriented design principles, clean architecture, and modern software engineering practices.
• Collaborated with software engineers to troubleshoot authentication and authorization issues, providing technical guidance on Spring Security, OAuth 2.0, OIDC, and secure API development.
• Participated in technical design discussions, code reviews, and Agile delivery activities, contributing to high-quality, maintainable, and production-ready software.

Senior Software Engineer - Best Buy Canada - Burnaby, BC

(2019-06 - 2021-10)

Played a key role in the development of Sales Hub, Best Buy Canada's enterprise integration platform connecting next-generation Point-of-Sale (POS) systems with e-commerce, finance, inventory, accounting, and other core business applications. As the team's senior backend engineer, helped shape technical solutions while delivering scalable, event-driven microservices that supported high-volume retail operations.

• Engineered cloud-native Java and Spring Boot microservices powering enterprise integration workflows between POS, order management, inventory, finance, and fulfillment systems.
• Designed event-driven messaging solutions using RabbitMQ and Spring Cloud Stream, enabling reliable asynchronous communication and loose coupling across distributed services.
• Delivered secure, high-performance REST APIs using Spring Boot, Spring Data JPA, and Hibernate, simplifying system integration and supporting business-critical retail capabilities.
• Served as the primary technical contributor for complex backend initiatives, evaluating implementation approaches and delivering scalable, maintainable solutions using modern software engineering practices.
• Facilitated design reviews and technical discussions that improved code quality, encouraged knowledge sharing, and promoted consistent implementation patterns across the development team.
• Strengthened platform reliability through containerized deployments with Docker, OpenShift, and Kubernetes, while contributing to automated build and release pipelines using Jenkins.
• Worked closely with product owners, QA engineers, solution architects, and cross-functional teams to deliver features in an Agile environment while balancing performance, maintainability, and delivery timelines.
• Mentored developers through code reviews, technical guidance, and collaborative problem-solving, fostering engineering excellence and continuous improvement.

Senior Software Engineer - Broadridge Financial Solutions - Vancouver, BC

(2018-11 - 2019-06)

Delivered key capabilities for INFORM, an enterprise investment account onboarding platform supporting complex workflows, document processing, and third-party service integrations. Contributed across backend and frontend components, with primary responsibility for building secure, maintainable Java services and automated business processes in an Agile environment.

• Built enterprise backend services and RESTful APIs using Java 8, Spring Boot, Spring Data JPA, and Hibernate to support investment account onboarding workflows.
• Automated role-based business processes with Flowable BPM, improving the orchestration and lifecycle management of customer applications.
• Integrated the platform with external eSignature, printing, and document-management services, enabling end-to-end digital onboarding capabilities.
• Implemented scheduled processing and background tasks using Quartz Scheduler to support time-sensitive business operations.
• Increased software quality and release confidence by developing unit and integration tests with JUnit, Mockito, Spring Test, and H2.
• Extended the web application using Vue.js, BootstrapVue, and modern JavaScript, collaborating across the stack to deliver cohesive user-facing features.
• Contributed to design discussions, code reviews, troubleshooting, and sprint delivery while coordinating closely with product, QA, and engineering teammates.
• Supported automated builds and deployments through GitLab and Jenkins, helping maintain a reliable CI/CD workflow.

Senior Software Engineer - Best Buy Canada - Burnaby, BC

(2012-12 - 2018-07)

Played a central role in modernizing Best Buy Canada's enterprise Order Management System by introducing cloud-native, event-driven microservices supporting e-commerce, payments, fulfillment, inventory, and enterprise order processing. Worked across the full software development lifecycle to deliver scalable backend services, enterprise integrations, and reusable platform components for high-volume retail systems.

• Drove the modernization of a legacy monolithic platform by building Java and Spring Boot microservices that improved scalability, maintainability, and long-term platform evolution.
• Delivered business-critical capabilities including PayPal integration, Ship From Store, Delivery Promise, Fraud Management, and Marketplace, enabling new omnichannel retail experiences.
• Developed secure RESTful APIs and backend services using Spring Boot, Spring Data, Hibernate, and MyBatis, integrating enterprise applications with internal platforms and third-party systems.
• Built asynchronous messaging solutions with RabbitMQ and Spring Cloud Stream, increasing system resiliency and enabling loosely coupled communication across distributed services.
• Created reusable integration components and shared libraries that accelerated feature delivery while improving consistency across multiple development teams.
• Implemented SOAP UI mock services to simulate external vendor systems, allowing parallel development, reducing integration dependencies, and improving testing efficiency.
• Contributed across backend, integration, and frontend layers, delivering production-ready software while collaborating closely with product owners, architects, QA engineers, and cross-functional Agile teams.
• Improved deployment reliability by supporting Docker, OpenShift, and Jenkins-based CI/CD pipelines, helping streamline application delivery across environments.
• Participated in solution design, estimation, code reviews, and technical mentoring, promoting clean architecture, object-oriented design principles, and engineering best practices throughout the team.

Solutions Architect / Senior Developer - TELUS Communications - Burnaby, BC

(2007-10 - 2012-12)

Served as Technical Lead and Senior Backend Engineer for enterprise order management and service integration initiatives supporting TELUS business and consumer platforms. Led the design and development of mission-critical backend services while providing technical leadership, mentoring, and solution design across multiple enterprise projects.

• Delivered business-critical capabilities including PayPal integration, Ship From Store, Delivery Promise, Fraud Management, and Marketplace, enabling new omnichannel retail experiences.
• Developed secure RESTful APIs and backend services using Spring Boot, Spring Data, Hibernate, and MyBatis, integrating enterprise applications with internal platforms and third-party systems.
• Built asynchronous messaging solutions with RabbitMQ and Spring Cloud Stream, increasing system resiliency and enabling loosely coupled communication across distributed services.
• Created reusable integration components and shared libraries that accelerated feature delivery while improving consistency across multiple development teams.
• Implemented SOAP UI mock services to simulate external vendor systems, allowing parallel development, reducing integration dependencies, and improving testing efficiency.
• Contributed across backend, integration, and frontend layers, delivering production-ready software while collaborating closely with product owners, architects, QA engineers, and cross-functional Agile teams.
• Improved deployment reliability by supporting Docker, OpenShift, and Jenkins-based CI/CD pipelines, helping streamline application delivery across environments.
• Participated in solution design, estimation, code reviews, and technical mentoring, promoting clean architecture, object-oriented design principles, and engineering best practices throughout the team.

Senior Software Engineer - HSBC Bank - Burnaby, BC

(2004-04 - 2007-10)

Served as a Senior Software Engineer designing and developing enterprise banking applications supporting retail banking, commercial banking, and financial services operations across multiple global markets. Contributed to enterprise application architecture, reusable platform components, and technical leadership while collaborating with distributed development teams.

Java/J2EE Architect & Consultant - CoreTech IT Services - Istanbul, Turkey

(2002-01 - 2003-12)

Contributed to the architecture and development of enterprise web applications for logistics and transportation clients, designing reusable application frameworks and implementing Java/J2EE-based solutions using object-oriented design principles, MVC architecture, and Oracle databases.

Senior Software Engineer - Yeditepe University - Istanbul, Turkey

(2002-01 - 2002-12)

Developed enterprise software development tools and business applications focused on rapid application development, workflow automation, and role-based enterprise systems.

Programmer Analyst - Arcelik AS - Istanbul, Turkey

(1998-01 - 2001-12)

Contributed to the development of enterprise ERP and e-business platforms supporting sales, distribution, inventory, billing, and supply chain operations.

Bachelor of Science - Computer Science - Bilkent University