Tech Lead & Software Architect · Fintech

I keep payment and business-critical systems reliable, compliant and moving forward.

20+ years building production software. Led a 12-engineer team on PayU's high-load payment platform — PCI-DSS processes, antifraud, payment APIs and modernization of a 20-year-old core.

Open to remote Tech Lead roles, relocation and B2B engagements · Based in Bangkok (UTC+7)

Aleksei Babak
Aleksei BabakTech Lead / Software Architect
20+years in production software
12+engineers led in fintech
20-year-oldpayment core modernized in production, no full rewrite
6,500+vehicles sold through a platform built from MVP
200+cities covered by that platform
Core Expertise

Engineering depth across leadership, architecture and production software

My work sits at the intersection of technical leadership and hands-on software engineering. I focus on systems where reliability, architecture, business logic and long-term maintainability matter.

01

Engineering Leadership

Technical direction, team leadership, delivery processes, mentoring and engineering quality for software teams working on real production systems.

02

Fintech & Payments

Payment processing, payment APIs, antifraud integrations, PCI-DSS development processes and high-load software in security-sensitive environments.

03

Software Architecture

Architecture reviews, system evolution, APIs, integrations, microservices and technical decision-making for complex software products.

04

Legacy Modernization

Incremental modernization of long-lived production systems without unnecessary full rewrites or disruption to the business.

Two ways I can help

I work both as an engineering leader inside product teams and as a senior technical partner for companies building or modernizing software.

For Employers

Hiring an Engineering Lead?

You get a lead who still reads and writes code: someone who can own architecture, run Scrum delivery and pass a PCI-DSS audit with the team.

For Business

Senior technical ownership for systems you can't afford to break

Start small, with a clear scope:

  • Architecture & Legacy Audit — a written report with risks, priorities and a modernization roadmap. Fixed scope.
  • Payment Integration Review — providers, antifraud, PCI-DSS readiness.
  • Fractional Tech Lead — architecture and delivery ownership for your team, part-time.

NDA on requestReply within 24 hoursB2B contract

Leadership

Engineering Leadership

I combine hands-on engineering with technical and organizational leadership.

At PayU Russia, I built and led a SCRUM development team of 12+ engineers working on a high-load payment platform.

Leadership, delivery & engineering quality

Team Leadership

Building and coordinating engineering teams, distributing responsibility, supporting developers and establishing predictable development processes.

Technical Direction

Architecture reviews, technology decisions, system evolution and translating business requirements into technical solutions.

Delivery

Agile/Scrum development, planning, prioritization, coordination and maintaining focus on production results.

Engineering Quality

Internal functional controls, monitoring, CI/CD practices, code quality and development processes suitable for security-sensitive systems.

Compliance & Security

Experience with software-development processes operating under PCI-DSS requirements, including successful local development-process audits.

Production Problem Solving

High-load systems, legacy software, third-party integrations, payment infrastructure and technically complex production environments.

Fintech

Fintech & Payment Systems

Fintech is one of the strongest areas of my engineering background.

From 2022 to 2026, I worked as Team Lead Developer at PayU Russia, formerly part of the international PayU group.

I joined the company to help adapt high-load software development and operational practices from the European parent organization and led a team of 12+ developers.

The environment combined high transaction criticality, security requirements, legacy components and continuous production development.

  • Payment platform development and evolution
  • Architecture audit
  • Integration of a new antifraud system
  • Integration of new payment methods
  • Client API development
  • User interface updates
  • Internal controls and monitoring
  • PCI-DSS development-process compliance
  • CI/CD and production engineering practices
PHP 8JavaJavaScriptMySQL / PerconaRabbitMQGitLabJenkinsSonarQubeDockerMicroservices
Experience

Selected Experience

A selection of roles and systems that best represent my engineering, product and leadership background.

2022–2026

PayU Russia

Team Lead Developer

Built and led a team of 12+ SCRUM developers working on a production payment platform, including incremental modernization of a 20-year-old legacy core.

My responsibilities covered engineering leadership, architecture, delivery processes and hands-on development.

Key contributions
  • Built and led a 12+ developer SCRUM team
  • Delivered an architecture audit
  • Integrated a new antifraud system
  • Connected new payment methods
  • Expanded the client API
  • Improved interfaces
  • Established internal functional controls and monitoring
  • Passed the company's first local software-development process audits under PCI-DSS
  • Introduced modern AI tools into engineering workflows
FintechPaymentsTeam LeadershipHighloadPCI-DSS
2016–2021

Ingosstrakh / Total01

Lead Developer

Wrote the core service code and supervised other developers for an automotive auction platform used by one of Russia's largest insurance companies.

The product evolved from an MVP into an operational platform with an API and complex buyer/seller workflows.

Over 4.5 years, more than 6,500 cars and commercial vehicles across 200+ cities were sold through the platform.

Product DevelopmentArchitectureAPIsBusiness Workflows
2019–2020

Globus Ltd

Full-Stack Developer

Worked as an outstaffing developer for a large Russian fintech corporation as part of an Agile team using Gitflow CI/CD and two-week sprints.

Migrated a legacy PHP CRM system from Zend Framework 1.0 to Symfony.

FintechLegacy ModernizationSymfonyAgile
2009–2016

Bridge Media

Lead Developer

Developed and supported company websites and internal software, including CRM, reporting and newsletter services, and online broadcasting tools.

Also built the company's iOS and Android mobile application using React Native.

Full-Stack DevelopmentInternal SystemsMobile
Earlier experience · 2001–2008
2004–2008

AYACO

Project Manager

Managed web and software projects for small businesses, including e-commerce websites, corporate websites and CRM systems.

Managed a team of four programmers, developed the company's first corporate PHP framework and its documentation, and introduced a bug-tracking system across projects.

Project ManagementTeam LeadershipWeb Development
2001–2004

DAXX

Linux Administrator

Supported test and production servers for developers at a Moscow-based European outsourcing company.

This infrastructure background became the foundation for my later work in software engineering.

LinuxInfrastructureProduction Systems
For Business

Software Engineering for Business

I work with companies that need experienced technical ownership rather than only implementation of isolated development tasks.

Complex Web Applications

Production systems with business workflows, user roles, integrations, APIs and substantial backend logic.

Business Platforms

Custom internal and customer-facing software for automating operational processes and connecting different parts of a business.

Payments & Integrations

Payment providers, external services, APIs, data exchange and integration-heavy systems.

Legacy Modernization

Incremental modernization of existing production software while preserving business continuity and reducing technical risk.

MVP → Production

Architecture and development from an initial working product through production operation and continued evolution.

Technical Leadership & Consulting

Architecture reviews, technical strategy, modernization planning, engineering processes and hands-on technical leadership when a project needs senior ownership.

AI-Native

AI-Native Engineering

I use AI agents as part of the software engineering workflow rather than as an isolated productivity tool.

My current workflow covers the full agent-assisted development lifecycle — from specification and prompt design to implementation, testing, deployment and monitoring.

I work with tools including Claude Code and Codex in day-to-day engineering and have introduced modern AI tooling into engineering team workflows.

My focus is practical: improving engineering throughput while maintaining architecture, reviewability and production quality.

AI is a multiplier of engineering discipline, not a replacement for it.

Technology

Technology Stack

My technological expertise spans backend engineering, web and mobile applications, data platforms, integrations and production infrastructure. Years of hands-on work across different languages and architectures help me evaluate trade-offs, understand unfamiliar systems and choose technologies that fit the product, the team and its long-term operation.

I bring practical knowledge for working within PCI-DSS requirements and the security standards relevant to banking and payment systems. My experience includes payment-processing development, antifraud integrations, internal controls, monitoring and software-development process audits — connecting engineering decisions with security-sensitive production environments.

details

Backend

Java · Spring · PHP · TypeScript

Frontend & Mobile

JavaScript · React · Angular · React Native

Data & Messaging

PostgreSQL · Oracle · MS SQL · MySQL · Percona · RabbitMQ · Kafka

Engineering & Infrastructure

Linux · Containers · GitFlow · Jenkins · CI/CD

Architecture & Processes

Microservices · APIs · BPMN · UML · Agile / Scrum · PCI-DSS · Payments and Banking · Security standards

AI Engineering

Agentic Development · Claude Code · Codex · Local LLM Tooling

Continuous Learning

Selected Certifications

Selected certifications supporting my work across engineering, architecture, management and digital transformation.

  • 2025 · Management
  • 2025 · Remote Teams Management
  • 2024 · CDTO: Digital Transformation Officer
  • 2024 · IT Project Management
  • 2024 · Product Owner
  • 2024 · UML
  • 2023 · DevOps: Infrastructure as Code
  • 2022 · BSC & KPI
  • 2022 · Java Spring Framework
  • 2021 · BPMN 2.0
  • 2020 · React JS
  • 2019 · Symfony
  • 2003 · Linux Administration
View all certificates
About

Engineer first. Leadership built on hands-on experience.

I have worked with software and infrastructure since 2001 and in commercial software development since 2004.

My background spans Linux administration, full-stack development, project management, product development and engineering leadership.

Over the years, I have worked on payment systems, business platforms, internal software, mobile applications, CRM systems, legacy modernization and production infrastructure.

Today I focus on engineering leadership, fintech and payment systems, complex business software, architecture and AI-native development workflows.

English — B2Russian — NativeRemote worldwideRelocation availableB2B contract available
Contact

Let's talk

Looking for an Engineering Lead?

If you are hiring an Engineering Lead or Team Lead with strong hands-on engineering experience, a fintech background and experience leading production development teams — download my CV or contact me directly.

Have a software project?

Tell me briefly about the project, the current situation and the technical challenge.

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