Farhat Abbas

Engineering Leader | Full Stack Developer - Berlin - Germany

I'm Farhat Abbas - Computer Science Graduate from NED University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan. I have over 15+ years of experience in software engineering and management, research and development, leadership and mentoring.Expert at analyzing and solving the most complex problems using leading-edge technologies. My Cloud-Based Tracking and Business Intelligence platforms have saved 100’s of lives and helped several clients including Governments, Defence, Media, Logistics, NGOs, and others to achieve operational excellence in 150+ countries across the globe.

In addition to my extensive experience, I have played a crucial role in promoting engineering excellence at Wayfair and I am currently contributing to the success of Delivery Hero by exploring new business opportunities globally. Through my leadership and guidance, I help organizations navigate challenges, foster innovation, and ensure continuous growth and success. With a deep understanding of the industry and a passion for driving technological advancements, I strive to empower teams and deliver impactful solutions that propel organizations forward.

Hands-on Secure Software Development, RESTful APIs, Global Satellite & GSM Tracking, IOS/Android Tracking, Fleet Monitoring, Journey Management, Driver & Passenger Safety, Vehicle Safety & Maintenance, Personnel Tracking, Location Intelligence, Big Data Aggregation, Data Visualization, Information Security & Data Privacy, Advanced Communication, Raster & Vector Mapping, Default & Custom Routing, Geofencing and Geocoding.

Worked on Python, PHP, Go, Laravel, CodeIgniter, Node JS, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Apache Brooklin, Apache Druid, Kafka, Hadoop, Apache Superset, B2B Integrations, Leaflet, OpenLayers, Mapbox GL, OSRM (Routing Machine), OSM (OpenStreetMap), DevExtreme, Highcharts, JavaScript, Bootstrap, ES6, JQuery, MobileIron (Mobile Device Management), Google DataStudio, QlikView Enterprise (Business Intelligence), Adobe Creative Suite, Balsamiq, Gliffy, and Ionic (Hybrid App Development Framework)

Experience

Senior Software Engineering Manager

  • Working with business, product, and engineering leaders to define and execute quarterly initiatives.
  • Maintained understanding of architectural challenges and driving strategic decision-making.
  • Leading diverse engineering teams, QA professionals, to deliver high-quality software iteratively, with regular feedback sessions.
  • Proactively coordinate with other EMs, Team Leads, PMs, stakeholders to ensure OKR delivery.
  • Conducting performance reviews, one-on-one, supporting professional growth plans & career aspirations.
  • Improved developer productivity and efficiency through essential dev metrics,streamlined workflows,tooling, & improved docs.
  • Utilising Peakon surveys to enhance overall work experience for individual/teams.
  • Leading Display Ads globalisation, onboarded APAC, ME, EU, & LATAM regions, driving revenue growth.
  • Integrated & Launched Display Ads into MENA (10 countries) and LATAM (15 countries) platforms within 6 months.
  • Proposed and Implemented vendor analytics across APAC, ME, EU, & LATAM regions within 3 months.
  • Leveraged metrics and KPIs for data-driven decision-making, driving product adoption and usage.
  • Leading key tribe-level initiatives, app/infra security, observability, improving reliability across 20+ services.
  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams AMs, PMs, and EMs to optimize communication processes.
  • Oversaw hiring, onboarding, and mentoring of engineers, focusing on process improvement.
Nov 2022 - Present

Lead - Senior Software Engineer

  • Won Wayfair Hackathon 2020 - Built a real-time order visibility & prediction solution in Python
  • Built a comprehensive test plan & automated real-time Data movement from on-prem to GCP
  • Hadoop Storage Management & Automation for 400+ nodes cluster and saved $2M
  • Built Streaming services for real-time processing using Apache Druid, Kafka
  • Improved performance of existing ETL processes and SQL queries
  • Identify, collect, analyze, and visualize development metrics for 3000+ Engineers
  • Create actionable insights and recommendations based on development metrics
  • Cleared performance bottlenecks for large-scale deployments for a codebase with over 10M LOC
  • Implement recommendations and provide tools to improve cross-team collaboration for 100+ teams
  • Create guidelines and best practices to improve developer efficiency
  • Enable transition towards decoupled applications environment using VMs, Docker, Kubernetes
  • Collaborate closely with DevOps, Data Engineering and Data Science teams
  • Maintain and continuously improve agile delivery and engineering practices.
  • Lead collaborative design and architecture discussions
Nov 2018 - Nov 2022

Lead - Senior Software Engineer

  • Drive vision, strategy & implementation of integrated web-based real-time monitoring platforms
  • Use Agile for Software Development Life Cycle using JIRA/Confluence
  • Rapid Application Development and Prototyping for Potential Business Opportunities.
  • Manage a diverse team of 12 Software, Hardware, iOS, and Android Engineers
  • Collaborate closely with Product, Business Development and Marketing teams
  • Work with technology partners to ensure application and infrastructure security
  • Represent my team to senior leadership including stakeholders and business owners.
  • Handling recruitment, mentoring and performance review of team members.
Jul 2015 - Sep 2018

Co-Founder - Lead Software Engineer

INQUIRON - Dubai, UAE - acquired by Track24
  • Worked with other teams and customers directly to define requirements.
  • Translated business requirements into technical solutions.
  • Involved in detailing of Requirements and Project Deliverables to Developers.
  • Drove continuous improvement to processes, systems, and workflow.
  • Worked with vendor/partners (Godaddy Inc, Rackspace, Context) to resolve production issues.
  • Handled recruitment, mentoring and performance review of team members.
  • Technical presentations and demo to customers and investors.
Jul 2012 - Jul 2015

Software Engineer

  • Building Various Reports using Business Intelligence Tool (QlikView Enterprise) for customers
  • Automated Data Collection and Intelligence report generation using PHP, MySQL and JQuery
  • Developed an Online Election Scorecard System for IRI (International Republican Institute)
  • Developed Security Compliance application using LAMP, JQuery, Google Maps for Shell & CNPC.
Jan 2010 - Jul 2012

Software Engineer

  • Analysis & Design of web-based projects & maintenance/support for existing web projects.
  • Maintenance & support for Document Archiving System (ArcMate Enterprise)
  • Customization / maintenance & support of Intranet Portal (Microsoft Sharepoint Server 2007)
  • Website customization / maintenance & Support (Microsoft CMS)
  • Building Various Reports using Business Intelligence Tool (QlikView Enterprise) for Sales & Marketing, Operations and Finance Department.
  • Macromedia Flash MX Development & Flash Scripting
May 2008 - Jan 2010

System Analyst / Developer

  • Analysis & Design of web based projects
  • Web design/Development and Deployment (Both Static & Dynamic)
  • Macromedia Flash MX Development & Flash Scripting
  • 3d Architectural Visualization using 3D Studio Max (modeling & animation)
  • To Guide & Coordinate with other team members on different Projects
  • Maintenance and support for existing web projects.
Dec 2006 - Apr 2008

System Analyst / Developer

  • Business Application Development and Customization
  • Application Interface designing (UI/UX design)
  • Website Design & Development using Joomla and Wordpress
Feb 2006 - Dec 2006

Web Developer / Designer

  • Web Design using Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Flash
  • Web Development using Joomla, Wordpress osCommerce, osDate
  • Macromedia Flash Animation & Scripting
  • Basic Hosting & Server Management
Oct 2005 - Feb 2006

Web Developer / 3D Artist

  • 3d Architectural Visualization (modeling & animation)
  • Design and Analysis for web based projects
  • Web design/Development & Integration (Both Static & Dynamic)
  • Macromedia Flash MX Development & Flash Scripting
Jan 2004 - Feb 2005

Education

NED University of Engineering & Technology, Pakistan

Bachelor's - Computer Science & Information Technology
Karachi, Pakistan

Grade: Overall Percentage 79%

2000 - 2005

Cadet College Petaro, Pakistan

HSE - Higher Secondary Education
Hyderabad, Pakistan

Grade: Overall Percentage 81.11%

1998 - 2008

Cadet College Petaro, Pakistan

SSC - Secondary School Certificate
Hyderabad, Pakistan

Grade: Overall Percentage 89%

1996 - 1998

Skills

  • Leadership
  • Time-Management
  • Communication
  • Creativity
  • Teamwork
  • Self-Motivation
  • Software Development
  • Data Integration
  • Data Visualization
  • Location Intelligence
  • Big Data
Programming Languages & Tools
  • PHP
  • Python / Flask
  • HTML / CSS
  • Javascript
  • Bootstrap
  • JQuery
  • VueJS / ReactJS
  • AngularJS
  • Laravel
  • CodeIgniter
  • Wordpress
  • Joomla
  • Clean Code
  • SOLID Principles
  • MySQL / PostgreSQL / PostGIS
  • Apache Druid / Kafka / Hadoop
  • REDIS
  • RESTful APIs
  • Homestead / Valet
  • Docker / Kubernetes
  • Git / Github / Gitlab
  • Composer / NPM
  • Apache / Nginx
  • Linux / MacOS
  • Mapbox
  • Leaflet
  • OpenLayers
  • Agile Development & Scrum

projects

Adtech - Display Ads​

Display Ads Services facilitates AMs to book display campaigns for advertisers, encompassing vendors, chains, and external partners. Our platform empowers these advertisers to foster brand awareness through premium advertising across multiple platform screens. We have an end-to-end offering, providing back-office solutions for campaign booking and management, endpoints for ad requests, and monitoring the campaign's performance. Our service supports various ad formats such as banner, video, and search displays, to drive business growth for verticals such as restaurants, partners, and shops. We've successfully integrated and launched Display Ads on 4 major platforms across APAC, MENA, EU, and LATAM regions, covering around 45 countries.

Technology Stack: GCP, Google Big Query, Google Pub/Sub, Kevel, Github, Go Lang, Redis, PostgreSQL, React Framework, Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker, Datadog

DMerchant App - Restaurant Supply Chain​

The restaurant supply chain app, built using Flutter and a Python backend deployed on Kubernetes, is a robust solution that efficiently manages restaurant supply chain operations. It provides a seamless user experience across multiple platforms with its Flutter front end. By leveraging Kubernetes for container orchestration, the app ensures scalability, reliability, and efficient handling of high volumes of data and user requests. With a global user base of 5000+ vendors, the app simplifies ordering, inventory management, and logistics coordination, enabling vendors to effectively manage their supply chain processes and ensure timely delivery of food and ingredients.

Technology Stack: AWS, RDS PostgreSQL, Python Flask, Flutter Framework, Google Big Query, Kubernetes, Docker, Graphana, Kibana, ReactJS, CSS Bootstrap

Vendor Analytics​

Vendor Analytics is a comprehensive, customized analytics solution specifically designed for vendors operating across APAC, ME, EU, & LATAM regions in the restaurant industry. The tool enables deep analysis of vendor and supplier data, providing valuable insights into performance, inventory management, pricing, and more with 0 licensing cost. This powerful tool empowers vendors to gain valuable business insights, optimize their strategies, and make data-driven decisions.

Technology Stack: AWS, RDS PostgreSQL, Redis, Apache Superset, Google Big Query, Kubernetes, Docker, Graphana, Kibana, ReactJS, CSS Bootstrap, OAuth Keymaker

Accouting Integration​

The Proof of Concept (PoC) account integration feature in the restaurant supply chain app enables vendors to seamlessly connect their accounts with external platforms like XERO, QuickBooks Online, SQL Accouting, and FreshBooks, unlocking new monetization opportunities for their business. By integrating with popular accounting systems like Xero, QuickBooks, or FreshBooks, vendors can streamline their financial processes, automate data synchronization, and gain real-time visibility into their financial performance. This integration empowers vendors to efficiently manage invoices, track payments, and reconcile transactions, leading to improved cash flow management and enhanced profitability.

Technology Stack: AWS, RDS PostgreSQL, Python Flask, Kubernetes, Integration with XERO, QuickBooks, SQL Accouting, Freshbooks, Stripe Payments

WayTrans - Wayfair Hackathon 2020​

An order lifecycle transparency, aggregated network statistics, and real-time exception prediction solution for WayFair Supply Chain Management using Big Data Engineering and Machine Learning Models. I turned an idea into a working solution in just 48 hours. The project has been taken over by the SCM Team and will be implemented to save ~$10 Million/year in carrier operations.

Technology Stack: Python Flask, Jupyter Notebooks, MSSQL, Google Big Query, Hadoop, Kubernetes, Docker, Jenkins, Graphana, Kibana, VueJS, CSS Bootstrap

Hadoop DAS Storage Management Automation​

At Wayfair, we deal with very large amounts of data in a Hadoop cluster, often ranging over multiple petabytes with several dozens of terabytes of data arriving on a daily basis. I came up with a project plan and implemented an interactive solution to constantly monitor storage capacity, identity usage patterns, estimate storage requirements, and facilitate potential data migration to cloud (GCP) for existing business users to ensure business continuity.

Technology Stack: Python Flask, MariaDB, Apache Kafka, Hadoop, Google DataStudio, Kubernetes, Docker, Jenkins, Graphana, Kibana, LDAP, Puppet, Terraform

Data Engineering

Improved existing ETL processes and developed an infrastructure (distributed) that works well with any event-oriented, clickstream, time-series, or telemetry data, especially streaming datasets from Apache Kafka. This system enables teams to ingest and query large volumes of data without compromising performance. I have also set up and enabled an intuitive interface for engineers and business users to explore and visualize their datasets to make data-driven decisions.

Technology Stack: Apache Druid, Apache Superset, MariaDB, Apache Kafka, Hadoop, Hive, SQL, Presto, Python, Kubernetes, Docker, Jenkins, Graphana, Kibana, LDAP, Puppet, Terraform

Codeownership Engine

I built an API-driven Flask application handling over 100,000 calls per month performing at 90% cache efficiency to collect metrics associated with Github and Gitlab code reviews to cater code ownership and enable code quality reviews to reduce technical debt. I cleared several performance bottlenecks for large-scale deployments for a codebase with over 10M LOC (lines of code)

Technology Stack: Python, Flask, MSSQL, Redis, RESTful APIs, Kubernetes, Docker, Jenkins, Github/Gitlab Integration, Graphana, Kibana, Puppet

Information Management System

I built an online geospatial analytical platform to access relevant information with powerful visualization options to help security experts, researchers, data analyst and journalist for decision-making. I manage to convert time-consuming manual data collection and reporting processes into an easy to use online system to collaborate then disseminate information with colleagues and executives with just a click of a button.

Technology Stack: CodeIgniter, PHP, HTML, CSS, Javascript, JQuery, MySQL, PostgreSQL, OpenLayers, Highcharts, DevExtreme Charts, RESTful APIs, Twitter API, Gmail Integration, Intelligence Fusion API, G4S API, ACLED API

Fraud Detection & Visualization

A web-based project with one of the major Bank in UK to help them visualize and detect Fraudulent Credit Card Transactions across UK. The project was a great success as we visualized ~1.5 Million transactions at once on the map using some advanced mapping techniques.

Technology Stack: CodeIgniter, PHP, Bootstrap, JQuery, MySQL, PostgreSQL, ETL, OpenLayers, TileStache, Mapproxy, MorrisJS Charts, RESTful APIs, Geofencing, Geocoding

Geospatial Servers & APIs

A collection of RESTful APIs to support geospatial data processing and mapping server similar to Google/Mapbox to visualize information. I built & setup in-house mapping technology stack including mapping, routing, elevation, and geocoding servers to help us process, aggregate and visualize big data at no or minimal cost.

Technology Stack: Laravel, PHP, Bootstrap, JQuery, MySQL, PostgreSQL, OpenStreetMap, OSRM (open source routing engine) Osmosis, Imposm3, GDAL, OpenLayers, Leaflet, DevExtreme Charts, RESTful APIs, Routing, Geofencing, Geocoding, Elevation

Journey Management System

I built a web-based application that makes journey management easy. It helps customers to plan and schedule journeys, dispatch resources, monitor movement and review the use of resources. Ultimately, It helps customers make their journey management more efficient while helping to keep their employees safe.

Technology Stack: Laravel, PHP, Bootstrap, JQuery, MySQL, PostgreSQL, OpenLayers, DevExtreme Charts, RESTful APIs, Routing, Geofencing, Geocoding

Personnel Monitor

A secure cloud based application to help large organisations to track their people in frontier regions to ensure safety and used of various Data Science techniques to combine multiple data sources and Algorithms to help executives answer difficult questions on demand at minimal cost and time.

Technology Stack: CodeIgniter, PHP, Bootstrap, JQuery, MySQL, PostgreSQL, ETL, OpenLayers, D3.js, NvD3, RESTful APIs, International SOS integration, Geocoding

Grid

A web-based real-time monitoring platform to visualise mission critical information with options to collaborate and respond to real time alerts triggered by people operating in remote locations. GRID has saved 100’s of lives of people operating in High-Risk regions.

Technology Stack: NodeJS, Sockets, MySQL, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, Redis, OpenLayers, RESTful APIs, GPS Feeds, Satellite Feeds, Routing, Geofencing, Geocoding

Smart24

An Smartphone App that let our customers locate their staff when it matters, enabling a quick and effective response, and keeping their team safe. SearchLight our recent development in response to the unpredictable incidents/disruptions we are seeing across Europe & the US.

Technology Stack: Laravel, PHP, MySQL, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, GPS Tracking, RESTful APIs, ZenDrvie Integration, Twilio API

Fleet Management System

A platform that gathers data from vehicle sensors and telematics devices to monitor Fleet Movement and Drivers’ Behaviour where every vehicle and driver receives their own DriveSafe score allowing organisations to monitor improvements in safety over time.

Technology Stack: Laravel, CodeIgniter, PHP, Python, Pandas, MySQL, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, Bootstrap, Zurb Foundation, DevExtreme, D3.js, OpenLayers, RESTful APIs, GPS Feeds, Routing APIs, Geocoding APIs