Fatai Lawanson

Senior Software Engineer with 10+ years of experience building scalable cloud systems on GCP and AWS, with a focus on AI-driven applications and end-to-end product development. Skilled in designing retrieval-augmented pipelines, distributed data systems, and React-based user interfaces that transform complex, unstructured data into real-time, user-facing insights. Proven track record delivering secure, high-performance applications across both enterprise and startup environments, with the ability to take products from concept to production.

Technical Founder - Discovamore Media Group Inc.

(2025-03)

Selected for the North Forge Founders Program to support market validation and commercialization of an AI-driven analytics platform

• Built and deployed a multi-tenant analytics platform on GCP, transforming unstructured media into structured, queryable insights at scale (Cloud Run, BigQuery, Cloud Storage)
• Developed LLM-powered retrieval-augmented (RAG) pipelines and vector search systems for real-time, contextual querying and interactive AI features
• Designed and implemented clustering and behavioral analysis models to identify content patterns, audience signals, and recommendation opportunities
• Built user-facing applications using React to surface complex analytics as intuitive, real-time insights for creators
• Delivered production-ready backend services and APIs (FastAPI, Docker, Cloud Run) supporting subscription-based, multi-brand deployments
• Architected secure cloud infrastructure using IAM, Workload Identity Federation, and Cloud Armor, enforcing least-privilege access and service isolation
• Established CI/CD pipelines, observability, and infrastructure-as-code to enable reliable deployment and scalable operations

Lead Application Developer - Wawanesa Insurance

(2023-11 - 2025-03)

• Contributed to technology roadmap planning, aligning cross-functional teams on identity, security, and customer platform modernization initiatives
• Led resolution of critical production incidents, coordinating across SaaS vendors and identity providers to restore service stability and minimize user impact
• Standardized application architecture and security patterns across distributed systems, improving scalability, maintainability, and compliance alignment
• Directed end-to-end migration of legacy applications to cloud-native architectures, improving performance, reliability, and operational resilience
• Collaborated with frontend teams to support delivery of user-facing applications, ensuring backend systems enabled responsive, secure, and scalable experiences
• Mentored developers and led code and design reviews, driving consistent delivery of production-ready features across multiple initiatives

Senior Application Developer - Wawanesa Insurance

(2022-06 - 2023-11)

• Designed and delivered a scalable customer enrollment platform, improving onboarding reliability, performance, and compliance for customer-facing systems
• Led migration and federation of legacy identity providers into a unified authentication architecture, ensuring seamless user continuity and stronger access control
• Built secure identity data migration pipelines, enabling transition across providers with minimal downtime and high data integrity
• Implemented SSO integrations using SAML, OAuth, and OIDC to support secure access across internal and external platforms
• Developed migration-supporting application features to maintain session continuity and consistent user experience during platform transitions
• Established frontend architecture standards and reusable component systems using Storybook, improving UI consistency, scalability, and development velocity

Consultant - Online Business Systems

(2020-07 - 2022-06)

• Designed and delivered cloud-native applications on AWS across multiple client environments, rapidly ramping up on unfamiliar technologies and client-specific environments to deliver production-ready solutions with minimal onboarding time
• Diagnosed and resolved complex build, dependency, and CI/CD pipeline failures, restoring development velocity and stabilizing production systems
• Architected and implemented a client-facing application platform, integrating distributed services to support real-time operational workflows
• Refactored React-based frontend architectures, improving component design, documentation, and maintainability, reducing onboarding friction for new developers

Backend Software Developer - Priceline Partner Network - Priceline Group

(2015 - 2019)

• Contributed to migration of a legacy API platform from Symfony to Laravel, introducing RESTful architecture to modernize partner integrations
• Developed and enhanced internal, partner-facing, and upstream APIs, enabling reliable data flow across distributed systems
• Worked across multiple product lines, supporting diverse integration requirements in a large-scale e-commerce environment
• Reduced technical debt through backend refactoring, improving maintainability and accelerating feature delivery

Software Developer (Co-op) - Richardson International

(2014-05 - 2015-01)

• Developed internal reporting tools using PL/SQL, supporting operational decision-making across enterprise data systems
• Built and maintained internal applications to improve cross-department efficiency and workflow visibility

Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) - Small Business Management & Marketing - University of Manitoba

College Diploma (Honors) - Business Information Systems - Red River College