Product builder with 15+ years of experience in end‑to‑end SaaS, web and mobile apps, rapid MVP delivery, clean and maintainable code, pragmatic architecture, database optimization, leading small, high‑output teams.

Vlad Balan

Product builder with 15+ years of experience in end‑to‑end SaaS, web and mobile apps, rapid MVP delivery, clean and maintainable code, pragmatic architecture, database optimization, leading small, high‑output teams.

Available to hire

Product builder with 15+ years of experience in end‑to‑end SaaS, web and mobile apps, rapid MVP delivery, clean and maintainable code, pragmatic architecture, database optimization, leading small, high‑output teams.

See more

Experience Level

Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Intermediate
Intermediate
See more

Language

English
Fluent
Romanian, Moldavian, Moldovan
Fluent

Work Experience

Co-Founder & Product Lead at Space Magic
June 1, 2020 - Present
Led product strategy and end-to-end development for a mindfulness-focused app. Built mobile app, admin dashboard, website with landing pages, invitation services, testing suite, analytics, crash reporting, and release automation. Implemented AI-powered cross‑source article summaries with automated keyword-triggered email alerts; developed POC for YouTube playback control and a virtual DJ chatbot for playlist automation, Q&A, and recommendations using davinci-003. Led architecture across Meteor, React, Flutter, Node.js, Next.js, Gatsby, MongoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch, CI/CD, and cloud deployments (AWS, GCP, Vercel). Responsible for P&L, contracts, budgeting, invoicing, and compliance for a Romanian LLC.
Lead Architect at Glyphic Software / Blackmarker
January 1, 2020 - October 3, 2025
Led a small development team; owned onboarding, guidance, and code reviews for new engineers. Researched, proposed, and enforced engineering standards (Git Flow, coding style). Built AI-powered document redaction SaaS on a microservice architecture; worked with Meteor, React, Redux, AWS (S3, SQS), SASS, Git, npm.
Application Developer at Useful IO, LLC
March 1, 2016 - October 3, 2025
Worked at one of the top Meteor-focused companies; maintained and shipped features for Meteor packages used across client work; supported global Meteor hackathon participants. Tech stack included Meteor, React, Redux, AWS (S3, SQS), SASS, Material Design, Git, npm.
Consultant / Freelance Software Developer at Freelance (Upwork)
June 1, 2020 - October 3, 2025
Delivered projects for startups, SMEs and non-profit development; built and maintained production Meteor, React, Flutter and CodeIgniter apps; integrated Node.js backends and third-party APIs. 5,000+ hours across 31 Upwork jobs; set up CI/CD, coding standards, automated quality checks, and team onboarding. Delivered cross‑platform MVPs with fast iteration cycles based on real user feedback.
Co-Founder & Product Lead at Current Mental Health App
July 1, 2024 - Present
Co-founded a mental health app focused on mindfulness, meditation, breathwork, and journaling; responsible for product strategy, UX, growth marketing, business development, and release automation. Built mobile app, admin dashboard, website with landing pages, invitation services, testing suite, analytics, crash reporting, and release automation.
Founder & Principal Engineer at Space Magic
January 1, 2017 - Present
Founded and operate a Romanian LLC; own P&L, legal/contracts, budgeting, invoicing and compliance. Led architecture and development across Meteor, React, Flutter, Node.js, MongoDB, Redis, AWS and more; implemented AI-powered content features and cross-source article summarization.
Meteor Application Developer at Useful IO, LLC
March 1, 2016 - October 6, 2025
Maintained and shipped features for Contributor Meteor packages; supported global Meteor hackathon participants. Technologies included Meteor, MongoDB, LESS/SASS, CSS, Git, npm.
Senior Full-Stack Engineer at Space Magic
January 1, 2017 - Present
Product builder with 15+ years of experience in end-to-end SaaS, web and mobile apps; rapid MVP delivery; maintainable code and pragmatic architecture; database optimization; led small high-output teams.
Consultant / Freelance Software Developer at Freelance / Self-employed
June 1, 2020 - October 6, 2025
Projects delivered for startups, SMEs, and nonprofit development; deployment and maintenance; built and maintained production Meteor, React, Flutter and CodeIgniter apps; integrated Node.js backends and third-party APIs; 5,000+ hours and 31 Upwork projects; set up CI/CD, coding standards, automated quality checks, and onboarding; delivered cross-platform MVPs based on user feedback.
Lead Developer at Net Rom
April 1, 2014 - October 6, 2025
Led development for the company’s web app division; delivered B2B PHP (CodeIgniter, CakePHP, WordPress), JavaScript (AJAX, jQuery, Backbone.js), MySQL, PostgreSQL, API integrations, Photoshop.

Education

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science at Technical University of Civil Engineering, Bucharest (UTCB)
January 1, 2006 - January 1, 2010

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Software & Internet, Professional Services, Media & Entertainment