Senior Backend Engineer with over 10 years of experience designing and delivering scalable, cloud-native systems. Strong expertise in Python, GCP, Kubernetes, CI/CD, and data infrastructure. Proven track record in backend architecture, infrastructure as code, and mentoring engineers.

Daniel Cardinha

Senior Backend Engineer with over 10 years of experience designing and delivering scalable, cloud-native systems. Strong expertise in Python, GCP, Kubernetes, CI/CD, and data infrastructure. Proven track record in backend architecture, infrastructure as code, and mentoring engineers.

Available to hire

Senior Backend Engineer with over 10 years of experience designing and delivering scalable, cloud-native systems.
Strong expertise in Python, GCP, Kubernetes, CI/CD, and data infrastructure. Proven track record in backend architecture,
infrastructure as code, and mentoring engineers.

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Experience Level

Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
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Language

English
Fluent

Work Experience

Backend Engineer (Contract) at Oxidian
July 1, 2025 - February 28, 2026
Contributed to cloud-optimized data processing workflows for Copernicus Earth observation data and supported AI development for competitive bids, including prototyping and solution design.
DevOps & Backend Engineer (Contract) at Future Clinic
March 1, 2025 - June 30, 2025
Bootstrapped DevOps and backend systems for a health-tech product, spanning across 3 major areas: DevOps & Infrastructure Automation; orchestrated deployment pipelines; created isolated Kubernetes namespaces; standardized IaC with Terraform; data platform migration.
Senior Backend Engineer at 80 Technologies / Umbrel
October 1, 2023 - March 31, 2025
Built a scalable and resilient backend for a pioneering UK home-insurance startup, shaping the company’s technical foundation with a robust stack and data-driven architecture.
Senior Software Engineer at GoCardless
July 1, 2021 - October 31, 2022
Led backend engineering efforts, focusing on scalable payments infrastructure, adopting best-practice software engineering processes and mentoring team members.
Software Engineer (Contract) at Sainsbury’s
January 1, 2021 - June 30, 2021
Contract software engineer contributing to backend services and data-oriented improvements, enhancing reliability and performance in retail platforms.
Automation Engineer at Inmarsat
December 1, 2017 - January 31, 2021
Collaborated with the Data Infrastructure team to automate repetitive tasks, monitor critical data pipelines, and contribute to mid-scale projects within a large satellite communications organization.
Backend Engineer at BaltTek
January 1, 2017 - November 30, 2017
Led backend development and implemented a robust backend system using Django, Celery, PostgreSQL, Docker, and AWS to gather agricultural commodities data from various sources and present it via a user-friendly interface.
Backend Engineer at Geniety
April 1, 2014 - December 31, 2016
Contributed to the algorithms team, developing systems to compute market prices for online sports bets using Python, internal web frameworks, and Oracle databases.
Backend Engineer at Oxidian, Remote
July 1, 2025 - February 1, 2026
Contributed to cloud-optimized data processing workflows for Copernicus Earth observation data at EUMETSAT, and supported AI development for competitive bids, including prototyping and solution design.
DevOps & Backend Engineer at Future Clinic, Remote
March 1, 2025 - June 1, 2025
3-month freelance contract to bootstrap DevOps and backend systems for a health-tech product; implemented GitHub Actions pipelines for CI checks, automated Kubernetes deployment workflows, provisioned isolated test environments, and built Terraform-based deployment pipelines for IaC-first development.
Senior Backend Engineer at 80 Technologies / Umbrella, London
October 1, 2023 - March 1, 2025
Pioneering UK home insurance startup; built a scalable backend and data architecture, selecting a stack (FastAPI, Redis, PostgreSQL, Pub/Sub), designed data models, and led CI/CD and data infrastructure initiatives.
Software Engineer (Contract) at Sainsbury’s, London
January 1, 2021 - June 1, 2021
Collaborated with stores and warehouse data/services using Python, Flask, Jenkins, Kubernetes, and Robot Framework; contributed to transforming a legacy monolith into a microservices architecture with Kafka-based event messaging.
Backend Engineer at BaltEk, London
January 1, 2017 - November 1, 2017
Led backend development using Django, Celery, PostgreSQL, Docker and AWS to collect agricultural commodity data from multiple sources and present via an intuitive UI.
Backend Engineer at Geniety, London
April 1, 2014 - December 1, 2016
Contributed to Algorithms team; developed algorithms and systems to compute market prices for online sports bets, using Python, internal web frameworks and Oracle databases.
Graduate Trainee at ESA ESTEC
January 1, 2011 - January 1, 2012
Graduate traineeship in the Mathematical Modelling Section.
Backend Engineer at Oxidian
July 1, 2025 - February 1, 2026
Contributed to cloud-optimized data processing workflows for Copernicus Earth observation data at EUMETSAT, and supported AI development for competitive bids, including prototyping and solution design.
Senior Backend Engineer at 80 Technologies/Umbrl
October 1, 2023 - March 1, 2025
Led backend engineering at a pioneering UK home insurance startup, shaping the tech foundation: selected and maintained a scalable backend stack (FastAPI, Redis, PostgreSQL triggers, GCP Pub/Sub); designed database architecture and implemented automated tests; established GitHub repositories, CI/CD, and Cloud setup; built data replication pipelines (Debezium, Pub/Sub, BigQuery); standardized event-driven architecture; led data orchestration with Airflow; mentored engineers and owned integrations.
Backend Engineer at Baaltek
January 1, 2017 - November 1, 2017
Led backend development and implemented a robust, scalable system using Django, Celery, PostgreSQL, Docker and AWS to gather agricultural commodities data from various sources and present it through an intuitive user interface.
Backend Engineer at Geneity
April 1, 2014 - December 31, 2016
Contributed to the Algorithms team, developing algorithms and systems to compute market prices for online sports bets using Python, internal web frameworks and Oracle databases.

Education

Master of Aerospace Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Lisbon, Portugal
September 1, 2005 - December 31, 2010
Graduate Trainee at ESA ESTEC
January 1, 2011 - January 1, 2012
Master’s in Aerospace Engineering at IST, Lisbon, Portugal
September 1, 2005 - December 31, 2010
Graduate Trainee at ESA ESTEC
January 1, 2011 - January 1, 2012
Graduate Trainee at ESA ESTEC
January 1, 2011 - January 1, 2012
Master’s in Aerospace Engineering at IST, Lisbon, Portugal
September 1, 2005 - December 31, 2010

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Software & Internet, Professional Services, Other, Media & Entertainment, Financial Services