Engineering Leadership
Technical direction, team leadership, delivery processes, mentoring and engineering quality for software teams working on real production systems.
Aleksei Babak / Engineering LeadershipTech Lead.
Tech Lead.
Fintech.
Software Architect.
20+ years in commercial software development — from hands-on engineering and software architecture to leading engineering teams and delivering business-critical production systems.
I have led a team of 12+ engineers in a high-load payment environment and worked hands-on with payment processing, PCI-DSS development processes, antifraud, APIs, legacy modernization and complex business applications.
Available for full-time remote roles, relocation and B2B engagements.
20+Years in commercial software development
12+Engineers led
6,500+Vehicles processed through a production platform
200+Cities covered by the platform
10-year-oldLegacy system modernized in fintech
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.
Fintech & Payments
Payment processing, payment APIs, antifraud integrations, PCI-DSS development processes and high-load software in security-sensitive environments.
Software Architecture
Architecture reviews, system evolution, APIs, integrations, microservices and technical decision-making for complex software products.
Legacy Modernization
Incremental modernization of long-lived production systems without unnecessary full rewrites or disruption to the business.
Business Software
Web applications, internal platforms, CRM systems, workflow automation and software that supports real operational processes.
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.
Engineering Lead / Team Lead
I combine hands-on software engineering with engineering leadership.
My background includes leading a 12+ person development team in fintech, architecture and delivery responsibility, Agile/Scrum processes, PCI-DSS development controls, legacy modernization and more than 20 years of production software development.
Software Engineering for Complex Projects
I help companies build, modernize and evolve business-critical software systems.
I can work both as a hands-on technical lead and as an engineering partner responsible for architecture, development and technical delivery.
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, the former Russian branch of the international PayU payment system.
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
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.
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
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.
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 10-year-old legacy PHP CRM system from Zend Framework 1.0 to Symfony.
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.
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.
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.
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
A broad hands-on stack built over years of production software development, with the strongest emphasis on backend systems, integrations, business applications and engineering infrastructure.
Backend
Java · Spring · PHP
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 · SonarQube
Architecture & Processes
Microservices · APIs · BPMN · UML · Agile / Scrum
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 · Remote Workforce Management
- 2024 · IT Project Management
- 2024 · Product Owner
- 2024 · UML
- 2024 · CDTO: Digital Transformation
- 2023 · DevOps: Infrastructure as Code
- 2022 · Java Spring Framework
- 2021 · BPMN 2.0
- 2020 · React JS
- 2019 · Symfony
- 2003 · Linux Administration
View detailed sertificates
Management ↗ (opens in a new tab)
BSC & KPI ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Java Spring ↗ (opens in a new tab)
BPMN2 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Java ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Java SE ↗ (opens in a new tab)
React ↗ (opens in a new tab)
DevOps ↗ (opens in a new tab)
SQL ↗ (opens in a new tab)
JavaScript ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Symfony ↗ (opens in a new tab)
PHP 7 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Postgre SQL ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Android ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Linux OS ↗ (opens in a new tab)
C ↗ (opens in a new tab)
C++ ↗ (opens in a new tab)
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.
Contact
alexey@alexbabak.comLet's Talk
Looking for an Engineering Lead?
If you are hiring an Engineering Lead or Team Lead with strong hands-on engineering experience, fintech background and experience leading production development teams, let's discuss the role.
I am available for full-time remote work worldwide or relocation.
Have a Software Project?
If you need to build, modernize or evolve a business-critical software system, tell me briefly about the project, the current situation and the technical challenge.
B2B / contractor engagement is available.