Curriculum Vitae
André
Figueira
Principal Engineer & Technical Consultant. Enterprise-grade systems, AI integration, and technical leadership that work in production.
Profile
I've been building software and architecting systems for two decades, focused on high-performance, scalable solutions that solve real business problems. At a leading retail technology company, I led the design and implementation of core systems that now handle over 7 billion transactions a year, optimised for low latency, reliability, and long-term maintainability.
Alongside my enterprise work, I've independently delivered AI-driven platforms and mission-critical software for brands like TrapMusicMuseum, CopywritingForRecruiters and WideZike. I build systems that actually ship, scale, and solve problems, whether it's trading automation, lead generation, or backend infrastructure.
While my main tools are Go, Python, and PHP, I'm stack agnostic. I use what works best for the problem and team. What matters to me is clean architecture, performance, and code that people enjoy working with, now and years down the line.
Experience
Principal Engineer
Spearheaded initiatives to align development practices with industry standards, improving code quality, system reliability, and team efficiency.
- —Designed and scaled an event processing system handling 7B+ annual transactions with 99.99% uptime, implementing robust queue workers connecting to providers like Google Pub/Sub
- —Spearheaded initiatives to align development practices with industry standards, improving code quality, system reliability, and team efficiency by 40%
- —Developed comprehensive notifications system to manage recipients, templating, and filtering, enabling the delivery of customised event payloads across various integration methods
- —Contributed to the design and implementation of scalable multi-tenant platforms, supporting seamless management of customer-facing features and integrations
- —Played a key role in architecting and enhancing the centralised platform dashboard, ensuring efficient system operations and adaptability to evolving requirements
- —Led migration to microservices architecture, improving developer productivity and reducing time-to-market for new features
Founder & Consultant Engineer
Founded consultancy providing specialised technical solutions for businesses across various industries.
Mitchs.ai (2023 — Present)
- —Collaborated with Mitch Sullivan, a renowned copywriter in the recruitment industry who has worked with the BBC, ASDA, HISCOX, House of Commons, and McLaren
- —Developed an AI-powered SaaS platform that guides users through generating job adverts matching the style and tone taught in Mitch's courses
- —Achieved exceptional quality through advanced prompt engineering and fine-tuned models trained on high-quality data developed with the client
Trap Music Museum (2022)
- —Worked directly with Technical Director Brandon Wynn to develop their online presence and solve complex technical challenges
- —Built custom ticketing and waiver systems that replaced several costly third-party solutions
- —Developed ticket generation system that maintained all functionality while drastically reducing operational costs
Senior Software Engineer
Played a key role in maintaining a legacy codebase while simultaneously designing and building a new platform from scratch.
- —Maintained legacy codebase while simultaneously designing and building a new platform from scratch
- —Integrated payment providers including Adyen and implemented MAM functionality with PayPal to streamline transactions
- —Developed popup newsletter system with built-in discount functionality to boost user sign-ups and engagement
- —Designed and implemented dynamic promotional discount algorithm, enhancing flexibility and precision in product pricing strategies
- —Led the responsive redesign of the website, optimising user experience across all devices and increasing mobile conversions
- —Spearheaded development of a modern platform built on a new tech stack, including custom CMS, Admin system, CRM, WMS, and EPOS, ensuring seamless integration and scalability
Lead Engineer
Lead engineer for Agent Provocateur (one of Prism DM's largest clients), managing the entire development lifecycle for complex projects.
- —Championed adoption of best practices, including transitioning to Git-based version control using GitFlow to enhance collaboration
- —Implemented CI/CD pipelines using Capistrano to automate deployments for faster, more reliable releases
- —Collaborated with DevOps to automate environment provisioning and server configurations using Ansible and Docker
- —Led development of new CMS on Zend Framework 2 (ZF2), delivering a scalable solution for managing client content
- —Integrated Givex gift card systems (used by brands like Nandos and Costa) into multiple e-commerce platforms
- —Developed robust systems connecting Point of Sale (POS) with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), enhancing stock control through real-time data synchronisation
- —Contributed to high-profile work for clients including Warner Brothers, Oliver Sweeney, and Long Tall Sally
Lead Software Engineer
Worked at a startup social network designed to compete with platforms like Facebook and Twitter. While Holla@Me ultimately didn't succeed, it was an invaluable experience that taught me everything about building social media platforms.
- —Fully immersed in development of a complex social media platform from concept to implementation
- —Gained comprehensive knowledge of social network architecture, user engagement mechanisms, and scalability challenges
- —Developed core platform features including user authentication, content sharing, notification systems, and social graphs
Software Engineer
This role served as the foundation for my technical career, exposing me to a broad range of technologies and client challenges. Working with MintTwist gave me wide exposure to the general services industry in the UK.
- —Exposed to diverse web technologies while building bespoke systems for clients across various industries
- —Developed custom solutions addressing unique client challenges in the UK services sector
- —Developed a bespoke content management system that provided MintTwist with a system that was re-sold multiple times providing substantial revenue boost
- —Established strong foundation in technical development and client-focused solution delivery
Technical Expertise
AI/ML Engineering
17 skillsBackend Development
23 skillsCloud & Infrastructure
19 skillsData & Databases
19 skillsFrontend & UI/UX
21 skillsTesting & Quality
18 skillsSecurity & Compliance
15 skillsBusiness & Domain
16 skillsNotable Products
JSONEditor.io
Professional JSON editing and validation platform
DownOrNot
Instant website availability checker service
Helix CMS
AI-first enterprise platform with integrated POS and ticketing
Education
Level 3 Diploma
Information & Computer Systems
Barnet College, 2008
Level 2 GNVQ
Information & Computer Systems
Southgate College, 2006
Interested in working together?
Download my CV or get in touch directly.