Waldo Ibarra
Hands-On Software Architect | Applied AI Engineer
Summary
I've been building production systems for startups and SaaS products for 11+ years. I believe software should solve a real problem, solve it well, and be written with care. I've led engineering teams of 55+ while staying close to the code — and I intend to keep it that way.
Skills
Applied AI Engineering
- RAG Pipelines
- LLM Agents
- Prompt Routing
- Context Engineering
- QLoRA Fine-tuning
- Eval Frameworks
- Spec-Driven Development (SDD)
Software Architecture
- System Design
- Domain-Driven Design (DDD)
- Clean Architecture
- Architectural Patterns
- Microservices
- Serverless
- SaaS Platforms
Backend & APIs
- Node.js
- TypeScript
- Python
- NestJS
- REST APIs
- ETL
Frontend
- Web Standards
- React
- JavaScript
- CSS
Cloud & DevOps
- AWS
- Docker
- Terraform
- CI/CD
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
- Serverless Framework
- Grafana
Databases
- PostgreSQL
- MongoDB
- Redis
- Elasticsearch
- MySQL
- RabbitMQ
Engineering Practices
- Test Driven Development (TDD)
- Clean Code
- Design Patterns
- Agile / Scrum
- Code Review
- Mentoring
Work Experience(5)
- TypeScript
- Node.js
- NestJS
- React.js
- Python
- AWS
- Terraform
- PostgreSQL
- MongoDB
- Redis
- CI/CD
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
- Machine Learning
- Software Architecture
- Event Storming
- C4 Model
- SaaS Architecture
Independent consulting across AI engineering, software architecture, and full-stack development for companies including WGSN (global trend forecasting), Spark Cooperative (hospitality SaaS platform), and Uniko (gift SaaS platform).
At WGSN: Built an AI-driven recommendation engine delivering user-specific content based on item interaction signals; standardized architecture using Event Storming and C4 model.
At WGSN: Automated infrastructure provisioning using Terraform and CI/CD pipelines, reducing manual ops overhead.
At Spark Cooperative: Architected and shipped a UI-driven template editor that eliminated manual YAML file creation and script execution, significantly reducing developer setup time.
At Uniko: Architected and shipped multiple scalable SaaS APIs in TypeScript/Node.js using NestJS, designed for high availability and long-term maintainability.
At Uniko: Optimized PostgreSQL queries and introduced a Redis caching layer, improving API response times and lowering operational costs.
Established architecture patterns, coding standards, and engineering best practices across all engagements.
- TypeScript
- AWS
- Serverless Architecture
- CI/CD
- Domain-Driven Design (DDD)
- Software Architecture
- Systems Design
- Architectural Patterns
- DevOps
- Team Leadership
- Mentoring
- Test Driven Development
Joined as founding engineer and grew into leading the full engineering org — ultimately overseeing 50+ engineers, 8 tech leads, and 3 architects across a multi-product SaaS ecosystem.
Architected and scaled a SaaS API from scratch using Serverless Architecture, DDD Layered Architecture, and Ports & Adapters pattern.
Scaled and led an engineering org of 50+ engineers, 8 tech leads, and 3 architects, driving system design, mentoring, code reviews, and hiring.
Designed an evolutionary architecture across the product ecosystem focused on scalability, testability, and observability.
Established Agile and TDD practices as the engineering foundation, improving delivery consistency and code quality.
Delivered internal talks on C4 model documentation, clean code, design patterns, and DevOps practices org-wide.
- Node.js
- PostgreSQL
- Elasticsearch
- Microservices Architecture
- Architectural Patterns
- PCI Compliance
- Scripting
- Fintech
Full-stack engineer on a B2B payments platform, delivering microservices, a monolith-to-microservices migration, and compliance-grade data tooling.
Migrated core components from a monolithic architecture to microservices, improving system flexibility, scalability, and independent deployability.
Built a PCI-compliant data import script to securely migrate bank and card payment data from Authorize.net, ensuring regulatory compliance.
Implemented multi-schema search with Elasticsearch, significantly improving search performance and user experience across the platform.
Developed accounts receivable and payable microservices, expanding core payment features for B2B clients.
- Node.js
- Elasticsearch
- MongoDB
- MySQL
- MSSQL
- Docker
- CI/CD
- ETL
- Software Architecture
- Scripting
- Automation
- Search Optimization
Contract engagement across architecture and backend engineering for a major retail company, delivering high-performance APIs, search infrastructure, and internal tooling adopted org-wide.
Reduced e-commerce search response time by 90% by implementing Elasticsearch with optimized search algorithms, directly improving customer experience and platform engagement.
Built a Node.js ETL synchronization system between MongoDB and MSSQL, improving data accuracy and cross-system integration.
Designed and built high-performance Node.js APIs, improving system efficiency across multiple internal teams.
Automated development workflows using Shell scripts, Node.js CLIs, and Jenkins pipelines, reducing manual operational overhead.
Directed POC projects for CA API Gateway, RedHat OpenShift, Docker, and Jenkins to guide informed technology adoption.
Led security compliance initiatives for internal APIs, strengthening security posture and meeting industry standards.
- Node.js
- CI/CD
- ETL
- ERP Integration
- Electron
- C#
- Entity Framework
- Automation
- E-invoicing
- SAP B1
Full-stack engineer on a multi-product ERP ecosystem, delivering microservices, system integrations, compliance features, and a 95% reduction in deployment time.
Reduced deployment time by 95% by implementing CI/CD automation with Gulp and GitHub webhooks, enabling faster and more reliable releases.
Implemented real-time bi-directional data sync between the in-house ERP and SAP B1 via a Node.js microservice, improving data accuracy and operational efficiency.
Delivered Peru's SUNAT-compliant electronic invoicing integration into the ERP, ensuring regulatory compliance.
Built Node.js microservices for mail delivery and push notifications via FCM, improving system reliability and user engagement.
Developed a centralized download and update hub for desktop applications, streamlining feature delivery across the user base.
Projects(3)
- AWS
- Terraform
- CI/CD
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Personal site built infrastructure-first — fully automated deployment pipeline before a single line of UI.
Designed and provisioned cloud infrastructure on AWS using Terraform, with fully automated deployments via CI/CD.
Intentionally IaC-first: infrastructure was production-grade before the frontend existed.
- ATR
- Ticks
- TradingView
- Pine Script
- Technical Analysis
A TradingView indicator that displays ATR volatility in ticks or points with multi-timeframe support.
Implemented multi-timeframe analysis by allowing a different timeframe than the active chart.
- Node.js
- API
- OpenAPI
- Swagger
- Documentation
A plugin that auto-generates OpenAPI Specification documentation for Actionhero APIs with a Swagger UI.
Built an auto-documentation layer for Actionhero APIs conforming to OpenAPI Specification (OAS/Swagger).
Contributed fixes and features to the Actionhero core repository as part of this work.
Volunteer(1)
Active open source contributor focused on improving developer tooling and framework ecosystems.
Fixed a bug in angular-ui/ui-date, improving date handling reliability for Angular applications.
Fixed a bug and shipped a new feature in the Actionhero core repository, improving framework capabilities for Node.js API developers.
Education(2)
- Software Architecture
- Domain-Driven Design (DDD)
- Clean Architecture
- CI/CD
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
- Applied AI & ML
- Blockchain
Ongoing independent study focused on applied engineering and emerging technologies.
▪ System design, Clean Architecture, and Domain-Driven Design (DDD)
▪ Cloud infrastructure: Docker, Terraform, CI/CD, AWS
▪ Applied AI/ML: LLM systems, RAG, fine-tuning, blockchain
- Algorithms & Data Structures
- Databases
- Operating Systems
- Cryptography
- Neural Networks
- Software Engineering
Completed core coursework in software engineering, algorithms, databases, operating systems, cryptography, and neural networks.
Languages(4)
Spanish 🇲🇽
English 🇺🇸
Chinese 🇨🇳
Japanese 🇯🇵
Interests(4)
Mind-body practices
- Yoga
- Meditation
Philosophy
- Metaphysics
- Ontology
- Epistemology
- Taxonomy
Finance & Economics
- Investing
- Trading
Open Source
- Operating Systems
- Developer Tooling
- AI & Data Infrastructure
References(4)
“Waldo is an incredible generalist. He tried to challenge me technically in some projects and I learnt a lot for his high level. I wish I work with he in another organization as co-workers. I think It's a most impactful engineer I ever know, and as a person, I think I found a great friend, too.”
“Waldo is a really professional and capable guy. He likes to learn new stuff, he's always learning new technologies, methodologies or anything in general, he always want to know more. He's also really responsible and always finishes what he started. He's also always helping people to improve and be better, he likes to teach and really smart in general.”
“Waldo it's a professional with really good skills. He persuaded me and inspired me to work on the best way through good practice and professionalism. Waldo it's a co-worker who is always willing to help others co-workers and prepare them to grow professionally in many ways. I found Waldo a very great person and an example to follow technically and personally.”
“Waldo supported me and encouraged me to grow beyond engineering skills. He has a human part which allowed him to give me life tips. I really enjoyed the time we spent working and talking about life. He is the smartest person I have met, I am grateful for that.”
Notes(2)
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