Berislav Babic

Engineer, cyclist, budget philosopher, fixing problems and making stuff run on the web.

Me, obviously

Writing about yourself is hard, isn’t it?

I’ve been doing computer stuff since 1994, but I started programming in 2004. First with little PHP/MySQL, then came .NET and Java, then the Oracle years, and now I’m settled in the land of Ruby, JavaScript, and dev-ops for the foreseeable future.

I’m a consultant who loves to work on interesting things, even more if they can help other people. I like learning about anything and everything. That is design, philosophy, and human psychology lately, but I’m interested in business, marketing, sales, and a healthy dose of fiction.

I like writing. I believe it’s one of the best ways you can learn to express yourself. It can boost your conversation skills, meaning you become a better speaker while becoming a better writer. In my free time I also enjoy cycling alongside the beautiful Croatian coast, as well as swimming in the sea during the summer.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

SessionLab | Senior Engineer / SRE

May 2021 – Present Remote
  • Managing end-to-end backend and cloud infrastructure, achieving 99.98% system availability over the last 4.5+ years.
  • Developing day-to-day features using Ruby on Rails, including maintenance work on React.js components.
  • Working closely with the CTO on designing the backend architecture and server infrastructure.
  • Collaborating on big data migrations and performing their execution.
  • Documenting and automating DevOps processes.
  • Handling micro-service integrations and SSO provider integrations.
  • Serving as one of technical escalation points for high-priority issues, joining customer calls to resolve complex challenges.
  • Full ownership of infrastructure planning and execution.
  • Technologies, tools and methodologies used: Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, React.js, PostgreSQL, Docker, AWS, Terraform, Kamal, Linux, ShapeUp, Scrum.

INTUO | Senior Engineer / SRE

February 2016 – April 2021 Remote
  • Developed day-to-day full stack features using Ruby on Rails and Ember.js.
  • Worked closely with the CTO on designing the architecture and infrastructure.
  • Managed infrastructure and achieved an uptime of 99.995% over a 24-month period.
  • Migrated the whole infrastructure from EC2 instances to Kubernetes deployment
  • Planned and executed the migration of all services from AWS to Azure with only 15 minutes of total downtime.
  • Wrote integrations with external services and SSO providers, developed plugin systems, and handled microservice integrations.
  • Handled high level support and pre-sales calls with enterprise customers
  • Served as the primary technical escalation point for high-priority issues, joining customer calls to resolve complex challenges.
  • Technologies, tools and methodologies used: Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, Ember.js, PostgreSQL, AWS, Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, Ansible, Kanban, Scrum.

BetterDoc | Senior Engineer / SRE

May 2013 – July 2018 Remote
  • Designed the infrastructure and handled day-to-day full stack feature development using Ruby on Rails and Ember.js.
  • Designed the deployment stack and collaborated with other senior engineers on implementing DevOps processes.
  • Migrated infrastructure from EngineYard to CenturyLink.
  • Maintained infrastructure and systems reliability.
  • Technologies, tools and methodologies used: Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, Ember.js, PostgreSQL, EngineYard, CenturyLink, Linux, Kanban.

Independent Software Consultant | Contract Senior Engineer / SRE

November 2012 – Present Remote
  • Delivered bespoke web applications, backend integrations, and infrastructure load-testing suites for various international startups and clients.
  • Consulted for Kala on client projects including itshospitality.com and chimani.com using Ruby on Rails and Sinatra.
  • Designed and implemented a patient management solution and integrated subscription payment processing for medical practice startup Doutore.
  • Engineered high-concurrency traffic and data load testing solutions (SpotBe) and built custom proximity-based matching engines (HyeDating, Carona).
  • Technologies, tools and methodologies used: Ruby on Rails, Sinatra, PostgreSQL, MySQL, JavaScript, Load Testing Tools, Payment Gateways (Subscriptions), Linux, Kanban.

Infolink | Developer / Consultant

July 2006 – July 2013 On Site
  • Developed an ERP system using Oracle technologies.
  • Documented and automated provisioning and deployment processes
  • Physical server provisioning, assembly, and installation at customers’ locations.
  • Technologies, tools and methodologies used: Oracle, SQL, PL/SQL, Linux, Windows, Hardware Provisioning.

Intesa-Sanpaolo Bank of Bosnia & Herzegovina | Consultant

February 2007 – July 2013 InfoLink premises
  • Optimising and migrating application code and procedures from client machines to the database.
  • Implementing card processing features.
  • Implementing automated blacklisting feature.
  • Writing ETL procedures for a CRM and Credit Scoring application.
  • Writing custom reporting in Oracle PL/SQL and C#.
  • Technologies, tools and methodologies used: Oracle PL/SQL, C#, ETL, SQL, Banking Systems.

EDUCATION

  • BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN ECONOMICS (2011) Faculty of Tourism and Rural Development, Požega, Croatia.
    Major: Marketing.

TECHNICAL STRENGTHS

Category Details
Languages Ruby, JavaScript, SQL, Bash
Frameworks Ruby on Rails, Ember.js, React.js
Databases PostgreSQL, Oracle, Redis, MySQL
DevOps Docker, Kamal, Kubernetes, Ansible, Terraform
Cloud AWS, Azure
OS macOS, Linux, Windows
Methodologies ShapeUp, Kanban, Scrum

LANGUAGES

Language Proficiency
English Full professional proficiency
Croatian Native or bilingual proficiency

You can also download my CV in PDF format

If you have any other questions or want to hire me, you can email me.