vknyvz-workstation — zsh — 80×22
</ Volkan Yavuz
$ work experience_
PlanetArt LLC
1/2019 - Present
LEAD SOFTWARE ENGINEER
Los Angeles, CA (full-time)
  • Led a distributed team of 8 to deploy a company-wide LLM system with a Vue.js frontend connected to Node.js/Express and Python/Flask microservices via a GraphQL API, enabling efficient data flow for Pinecone-powered prompt management. The project reduced reliance on customer service personnel by 50% and significantly cut operational costs.
  • Directed a remote team in developing a unified RESTful API (custom Laravel-Symfony backend) to power all 4 company applications across iOS and Android. Personally contributed to core backend development, eliminating redundant code and ensuring consistent functionality across Apple and Google Play Store apps.
  • Developed and maintained a scalable CMS for the company's call center operations using Vue.js with TypeScript, Laravel backend, and GraphQL API, deployed on AWS Fargate to minimize infrastructure management while ensuring reliability and auto-scaling capabilities.
  • Served as both Lead Backend Developer and Manager for the successful launch of ‘FreePrints Gifts’ on iOS and Android. Oversaw API development, deployment, and post-launch optimizations and maintenance.
  • Ensured 24/7 availability of critical systems, maintaining AWS infrastructure with Docker containers and Jenkins CI/CD pipelines. Proactively managed deployments, monitoring, and troubleshooting to ensure uptime %99.
  • Maintained 50+ company websites across different regions, handling AWS infrastructure, updates, and performance optimizations to ensure maximum uptime and fast page load times.
Internet Brands, Inc.
2/2018 - 1/2019
LEAD SOFTWARE ENGINEER
Los Angeles, CA (full-time)
  • Spearheaded the modernization of lawyers.com, boosting page load speeds by 40% (measured via Google Lighthouse) by migrating legacy Angular components to Vue.js, enhancing UX and reducing bounce rates.
  • Optimized the SEO-critical application’s codebase, improving search rankings and organic traffic. Reduced API response times by 50%+ by refactoring inefficient code and implementing Redis caching, enhancing scalability close to million monthly users.
  • Engineered a Docker-based local development environment that reduced onboarding time by 70% and minimized works on my machine issues by mirroring production.
  • Automated CI/CD pipelines via Jenkins, cutting deployment times from 15 minutes to under 5, while integrating QA test suites, increasing test coverage.
  • Authored comprehensive technical documentation on Confluence, reducing knowledge gaps and accelerating feature delivery by 20%.
  • Mentored 5+ developers, conducted code reviews, and contributed to hiring decisions, improving team efficiency and code quality.
Forbes Media, LLC.
12/2012 - 12/2017
SENIOR PLATFORM ENGINEER
Jersey City, NJ (full-time)
  • Designed, developed, and maintained the company’s mission-critical Editorial Tools platform, ensuring 99.999% uptime for hundreds of editors, contributors, and producers publishing thousands of articles monthly. Built on a high- performance stack: Custom Zend Framework (PHP), MongoDB, and Java API backend
  • Licensed the platform to external publishers, validating its scalability and commercial viability.
  • Led the full-stack modernization of Editorial Tools v2, replacing Zend components with Laravel for 40% faster backend performance and improved developer productivity.
  • Migrated the frontend to AngularJS, delivering a 50% faster UI response time and a more intuitive editor experience.
Globalworks Group, LLC.
6/2011 - 12/2012
SENIOR ENGINEER
New York, NY (full-time)
  • Key role in the redesign of the next-generation web application for a Fortune 500 Company’s extranet, intranet, and public-facing website. Sole developer responsible for coding & implementation of client CMS using Zend Framework The principal role of post launch hot bug fixing whenever needed
  • Created a RESTful API that communicates with the client’s DAL server as well as cronjobs that run daily for up-to-date transactional data
  • Developed functions for Magento Enterprise platform to make use of client RESTful APIs
  • Responsible for managing production servers on a load-balanced Linux environment
  • Configuration and maintenance of Git on all servers and implemented Memcached on production and staging servers Writing of technical specifications and guidelines for training front-end developers
  • Versatility to assist other developer teams with building standalone campaign pages in a .NET environment using C#.
Avatar New York, LLC.
1/2010 - 06/2011
WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPER
New York, NY (full-time)
  • Key contributor in architecting and developing the company’s next-generation Zend Framework-based platform, delivering high-performance, scalable solutions for core business operations.
  • Modernized and standardized the software development lifecycle (SDLC), reducing technical debt through systematic refactoring of legacy systems.
  • Optimized application performance, achieving 30% faster response times by improving inefficient code and architecture bottlenecks.
  • Engineered clean, well-documented, and maintainable code, establishing best practices that elevated overall team output quality and reduced bug rates.
MyBuilding.org
1/2009 - 01/2010
WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPER
New York, NY (full-time)
  • Architected and scaled the company's flagship SaaS solution for property management firms, adopted by 50+ commercial buildings across NYC.
  • Led migration from legacy PHP to Zend Framework, boosting system uptime while reducing maintenance overhead through standardized architecture and comprehensive documentation.
  • Pioneered developer efficiency by implementing standardized CI/CD pipelines and automated testing coverage.
volkan@portfolio ~ %   cat work-experience.txt|
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