Open to opportunities

Daniel Ishola

@danielishola1

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Engineering Manager and backend software developer building scalable APIs and automation with Python, Go, AWS.

Nigeria

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What I'm looking for

I’m looking to lead backend and cloud-focused teams to build scalable REST APIs and automation-heavy systems, improve reliability and performance, and turn ambiguous problems into pragmatic, measurable outcomes.

I’m a Software Developer turned Engineering Manager with 10+ years of experience building backend services, infrastructure systems, and automation-heavy tools across production environments. I’m known for taking ownership of ambiguous technical problems and shipping pragmatic, reliable solutions.

I’ve led teams using agile practices to accelerate delivery and improve engineering quality—spearheading 15+ engineers and instituting Test-Driven Development (TDD), which elevated code quality by 35%. I’ve also restored and modernized legacy systems using Laravel (PHP), Python, and Golang, delivering a 40% speed improvement through code modernization and database optimizations.

My work focuses on performance, resilience, and cost-aware scalability: I’ve engineered robust REST APIs to reduce downtime by 30% and infrastructure costs by 18%, and directed modernization projects that saved $150K annually by cutting maintenance overhead and unplanned downtime. I enhance AWS cloud architectures with automated scaling, monitoring, and resource tuning to boost reliability and scalability.

I also collaborate strategically with leadership to unify engineering initiatives—coordinating third-party API integrations, cloud right-sizing, and feature rollouts to reduce operational costs and improve service delivery metrics. From debugging complex distributed systems to mentoring developers on system design and debugging techniques, I consistently drive measurable outcomes.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Engineering Manager

Current

3io Studio

Apr 2023 - Present (3 years 2 months)

Spearheaded 15+ engineers using agile practices, accelerating feature delivery by 25% through cross-team sprint planning and retrospectives. Restored a government legacy system and modernized code/database layers, improving system speed by 40% and reducing production downtime by 30% while cutting infrastructure costs by 18%.

Agile REST APIs Laravel Python AWS EC2 Lambda CloudFormation PostgreSQL TDD Microservices CI CD

Current

Head of Technology

Current

Kiakia

Oct 2022 - Present (3 years 8 months)

Coordinated with the CTO on a strategic tech overhaul, unifying 4+ initiatives to integrate third-party APIs, improve efficiency, and reduce operational errors. Right-sized and automated cloud infrastructure across AWS and GCP to reduce operational costs by 27% while maintaining uptime, and improved backend reliability with Python/Node.js feature work that cut production error rates by 24%.

AWS GCP Python Node Mentoring Error Handling System Architecture

Backend Developer

Synergy

Aug 2022 - Oct 2023 (1 year 2 months)

Optimized PostgreSQL queries and added indexing strategies to reduce API response latency by 33% for high-traffic endpoints. Built and maintained backend services for a social app with Node.js/TypeScript, improving observability to troubleshoot quickly and sustaining 99.9% uptime while reducing error rates by 25%.

PostgreSQL Query Optimization Indexing Node TypeScript Observability Debugging REST APIs

Full Stack Developer

Cridde

Apr 2021 - Jul 2022 (1 year 3 months)

Built and maintained full-stack marketplace features using PHP (Laravel) and React/TypeScript, delivering end-to-end functionality for core workflows. Designed and integrated RESTful APIs and optimized MySQL database schemas/queries to support increasing platform traffic and feature complexity.

PHP (Laravel)React TypeScript REST APIs MySQL Database Schema Design API Integration Performance Tuning Version Control

Co-Founder & CTO

Safetrader

Jul 2018 - Dec 2021 (3 years 5 months)

Architected and built the platform backend using PHP and Python, covering user authentication, payment processing, and escrow workflows. Designed PostgreSQL schema and REST API layers to support secure peer-to-peer transactions and owned the full software lifecycle from requirements through deployment.

PHP Python PostgreSQL REST API Development Authentication Payment Systems Escrow System Architecture Deployment Software Development Lifecycle

Software Developer

Kiakia

Apr 2017 - Oct 2020 (3 years 6 months)

Developed and maintained backend services using PHP (Laravel) and Python, supporting core product features and third-party API integrations. Improved reliability by diagnosing production bugs via root-cause analysis, and collaborated cross-functionally to design and deploy new features.