Salih Cagdas Derya

+447463500885scderya@gmail.com

Education

First Class Honours in Computer Science with AI specialism from Brunel University

Technical Skills

AI/ML: Vector embeddings, semantic search, RAG systems, prompt engineering, agent orchestration, LLM optimization

Frontend: TypeScript, React.JS, Next.JS, Micro-frontends, Module Federation • Backend: Node.JS, Python, FastAPI

Infrastructure: AWS (Lambda, ECS, S3, SNS, SQS), Docker, Terraform, CI/CD pipelines

Databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis, Vector databases • Tools: Git, GitHub Actions, Bitbucket Pipelines, TeamCity, Azure DevOps

Employment History

Senior Software Engineer/Tech Lead - BlackRock

March 2024 – Present
  • Leadership under pressure: Assumed responsibility for Insights business unit following restructuring, managing workload of 3 developers. Delivered all projects ahead of schedule despite unchanged deadlines.
  • AI/ML production systems: Built semantic search using vector embeddings and proximity-based retrieval to replace Contentful's default search, improving report discoverability. Contribute to agent orchestration and tool integration.
  • AI optimization: Worked on prompt engineering to reduce token usage, improve accuracy, and decrease latency.
  • Modern frontend architecture: Frontend development for AI team using React and micro-frontends. Led migration from Module Federation v1 to v2, dockerizing applications and implementing Terraform pipelines.
  • User-centric product development: Conducted user interviews with financial professionals to design dashboards and widgets. Leveraged analytics to deprecate underutilized features, focusing resources on customer value.
  • Backend modernization: Converted legacy .NET APIs to Python FastAPI, improving performance and maintainability.
  • Team growth & mentorship: Grew team from 1 to 3 engineers, mentoring junior developers on full-stack development, AI integration, and production best practices.
  • Technical ownership: Proactively challenged design and technical decisions. Resolved multiple critical incidents across unfamiliar codebases, demonstrating debugging skills and system understanding.
  • Knowledge sharing: Delivered presentations on cybersecurity best practices and SDLC processes.
  • Evaluation & iteration: Implemented automated test suites for semantic search, validating results against most-used search terms and adjusting embedding weights for performance.

Senior Developer/Tech Lead - Perlego

February 2021 – February 2024
  • Next.JS & TypeScript: Re-engineered offline book pages with Next.JS, improving Lighthouse score from 10 to 95 on first production release.
  • Full-stack ownership: Designed and built new B2B platform with React.JS and Node.JS, replacing legacy jQuery/PHP system. Grew B2B user base from 0 to 60k+ MAU over 3 years.
  • Microservices & AWS: Architected microservices using Lambda, Express.JS, Node.JS, MySQL, Redis, ECS, S3, SNS, and SQS with RESTful APIs.
  • Engineering leadership: Led team of 5 engineers, delivering enterprise features including SSO, interoperability, and data reporting that enabled seven-figure deals.
  • Cybersecurity: Identified and resolved critical vulnerabilities, advising leadership on security enhancements across digital systems.
  • CI/CD & Infrastructure: Migrated deployment strategy using AWS tools and implemented low-code internal tooling, enabling commercial teams to self-manage customers.

Mid Developer - Metricell

November 2019 – November 2020

Junior Developer - Online Fuels

August 2018 – November 2019

Intern Developer - AND Digital

September 2016 – August 2017