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║ joseph gitau chege ║
║ backend systems · identity · notifications ║
║ nairobi, kenya ║
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name: Joseph Gitau Chege
title: "Senior Software Engineer"
superpowers:
- Designing notification systems that actually deliver
- Keeping 99.9% uptime without selling my soul
- Explaining distributed systems without putting you to sleep
- Automating everything except my coffee break
currently: Building auth & notification infra @ Steadfast Academy
vibe: "Systems thinker who ships"| Area | The deal |
|---|---|
| Notifications & Identity | Push, in-app, multi-channel delivery · Password & biometric auth · Real-time messaging & presence · Security signals & account lifecycle |
| Backend & Distributed Systems | C#, Python, JS/TS, C++, Java Spring Boot · Queue-based architectures · High-availability service design · PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Firebase |
| Cloud & DevOps | Azure (primary), GCP (upskilling) · Docker · Kubernetes · CI/CD · Bash automation · Proxmox · Keeping cloud bills in check |
| Reliability & Live-Site | Incident triage & escalation · Post-incident reviews · Monitoring & health checks · Enterprise SLAs · SOPs that people actually read |
| Networking & Hardware | LAN/WAN, VLAN, patch panels, firewalls, server hardware, structured cabling — yes, I've pulled cable in a ceiling too |
Engineering Team Lead & Head of IT — Steadfast Academy (Apr 2025 – Present · Nairobi)
Notification & Identity Infrastructure
- Built notification delivery capabilities in an in-house ERP — push, in-app alerts, multi-channel across mobile & web. Basically my own mini Firebase.
- Implemented password login + on-device biometric auth, keeping 10,000+ student records safe.
- Built a real-time chat subsystem with presence, delivery, and read receipts. Because WhatsApp shouldn't be the only option.
Platform & Backend Engineering
- Architected a full-stack ERP consolidating student records, attendance, finance, and communication.
- Cut deployment errors by 45% and reclaimed 15h/week with Bash automation & CI/CD pipelines.
- Optimised Azure infra and cut cloud costs by 20% — management was happy, my wallet was indifferent.
Reliability & Live-Site Ops
- 99.9% uptime delivered through proactive monitoring, maintenance, and incident response that won't make you cry.
- Containerised with Docker + Kubernetes — 50% better uptime, 30% lower latency.
- 10TB+ high-availability storage on TrueNAS with redundancy & failover. RAID is my love language.
- Ubuntu Server & Debian administration — service config, log analysis, OS-level debugging.
Leadership
- Led cross-functional engineering team; primary bridge between engineers and stakeholders.
- Built on-prem server & network infra from scratch — cabling, switches, asset tracking. Yes, I have the scars.
Software Consultant — Gituamba Girls (Jan 2024 – Mar 2025 · Kenya)
- Solo-devved a full-stack school management system (C#, Python) — records, finance, attendance, academic reporting.
- Built RESTful APIs and DB schemas (PostgreSQL/MySQL) that power daily operations.
- Saved staff 4h/week with automation scripts. They bought me chai. Worth it.
- End-to-end deployment & maintenance on cloud/on-prem.
Software Engineering Intern — VisionFund Kenya (MicroFinance) (Oct 2023 – Dec 2023 · Kenya)
- Built internal automation tools in C# and Node.js; refactored MySQL schemas — 15% faster queries on critical financial reports.
- Maintained live production financial systems — learned to make careful, well-documented changes in a high-accountability environment.
| Project | What it is |
|---|---|
| In-House ERP — Steadfast Academy (2024–2025) | Full-stack ERP with notifications, messaging, and auth serving the entire institution |
| Notification & Auth Infrastructure — Steadfast Academy (2025) | Real-time push/in-app notifications + password/biometric auth for hundreds of daily active users |
| BetterFarm — AgriTech Platform (2024) | Cloud-native backend on Azure with real-time data pipelines and high-availability design |
| Category | Stack |
|---|---|
| Languages | C#, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, C++, Bash, Kotlin |
| Backend & Data | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Firebase, REST APIs, schema design, query optimisation |
| Cloud & DevOps | Azure, GCP (upskilling), Docker, Kubernetes, Proxmox, CI/CD |
| Reliability & Ops | Linux (Ubuntu/Debian), incident response, monitoring, HA design, SLAs, SOPs |
| Networking & Hardware | LAN/WAN, VLAN, patch panels, firewall config, server hardware, structured cabling |
B.Sc. Computer Science — Umma University, Nairobi (2021–2024) DSA · DBMS · Network Security · Operating Systems · Computer Architecture
"Automation is love. Automation is life. Also, always have backups of your backups."