Bio
Alex Yang
Senior software engineer
Summary
I want:
- 100% remote
- 4-day work week
- Relaxed delivery schedules
In return:
- I architect and build maintainable, scalable, secure, and well-tested systems.
- I support and unblock team members and mentor junior developers.
- I'm a pretty nice colleague.
Recruitment preferences
No l33tcode-style code test
Importance: 10No probationary period
Importance: 7Highlighted projects
Kubernetes platform
Organisation:
Period: 2024 - 2024
Description
I played a lead role with a small team (between 2 to 10 depending on availability) to develop an internal platform because they needed to reduce reliance on AWS for Swedish national security purposes.Challenges
Challenge 1
We were quite new to k8s and its ecosystem, and because it was for national security we had special needs. E.g., we had to avoid vendor lock-in. So we had to do a lot of research and write detailed proposals that we peer reviewed for every component. This was complicated by the fact that a lot of purported open source software hide crucial things like High Availability behind enterprise tiers and use marketing talk and other methods to hide them.Solution
We did deep research and allocated time for peer review.Challenge 2
Pulumi documentation was not very good, and coupled with Go’s not very intuitive way of announcing errors, we spent a ton of time just trying to figure out exactly what the error messages were trying to tell us.Solution
We spent extra time reading source code and community forums to decipher error messages and improve our troubleshooting process.Stack
Point pricing engine
Organisation:
Period: 2024 - 2024
Description
The loyalty programme at SAS is a key part of the business. Because KLM bought SAS, it had to transition its loyalty programme from Star Alliance to Sky Team. This was one of top three priorities for SAS in 2024. I played a lead role in building the point pricing engine that backs this programme. Essentially, it integrates with several different systems, including Customer Resource Management platforms and fraud check systems, to provide customers with the best possible price for their points.Challenges
Challenge 1
Complex system that requires a lot of coordination between different teams and systems.Solution
Lots of talking with different teams, lots of diagrams, referring back to the docs, and lots of tests.This project is bringing in a lot. NDA. But it is a lot.
Stack
Scandic partnership with SAS
Organisations:
Period: 2024 - 2024
Description
I led development of a partnership between SAS and Scandic Hotels where we integrated our systems via APIs to allow a variety of features, such as being able to link your SAS and Scandic accounts, match tiers between them, and transfer points between them. This project was considered one of top three priorities for SAS in 2024.Challenges
Challenge 1
Both teams did not trust each other and there was a lot of friction between the two teams. This was exacerbated by the fact that we were both working on different systems and had different priorities.Solution
I took the initiative to set up co-working days where both teams could work side by side. This allowed us to chat casually and build trust, and to see each other as equals and real human beings. I also made sure to include both teams in the decision-making process and to listen to their concerns. This helped to build trust and improve communication between the two teams.Project expected to bring in a sum I cannot divulge but that would pay for a highly priced Stockholm apartment several times over.
Built good relationship with Scandic, and they are now a good partner of SAS
Stack
Experience
Senior software engineer
Organisation:
Period: 2024 - Present
I am a senior software engineer at SAS, where I lead on a variety of projects.Stack
Senior software engineer
Organisation:
Period: 2020 - 2023
I worked for different clients in different industries, including Internetstiftelsen (which controls the .se and .nu TLDs), Nokia, and Stora Enso.Stack
Software engineer
Organisation:
Freelance consultant
Period: - - 2020
I built a variety of projects for different clients, including Moij, a boutique Dutch tech consultancy; and Biodiversity Connections, a Southeast Asian scientist network based in Singapore.
