Open to opportunities

Ray Ortiz

@rayortiz

Message

Senior software engineer specializing in Python async FastAPI microservices for AI search and grounded Q&A.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I’m looking for a backend engineering role where I can build async Python services with FastAPI, ship microservices safely, and apply hybrid retrieval + grounded LLM experiences for real search and AI Q&A impact.

I’m a Senior Software Engineer specializing in Python backend systems and microservices, focused on building async FastAPI services for search and AI Q&A. I design scalable systems that blend retrieval with generation to deliver accurate, grounded answers.

At AlphaSense, I led the migration to async FastAPI, reducing API latency by 30% while doubling throughput. At Hebbia, I built secure enterprise search and AI Q&A services, implementing hybrid retrieval with Azure AI Search and grounding responses via OpenAI and Gemini APIs.

I also bring strong delivery fundamentals—authentication/authorization with OAuth2 and OpenID Connect using Entra ID, plus CI/CD with GitHub Actions and Docker to cut release cycles by 40%. Earlier, I developed cloud-native backend platforms on AWS with Django, Django REST Framework, PostgreSQL, and event-driven microservices, with thorough testing using pytest and TDD.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Senior Software Engineer

Hebbia

Jun 2022 - Dec 2025 (3 years 6 months)

Designed and built FastAPI services for secure enterprise search and AI Q&A, leveraging REST APIs and microservices for scalability. Implemented hybrid retrieval with Azure AI Search and reduced release cycles by 40% through CI/CD improvements.

fastAPI Azure AI Search RAG OpenAI API Gemini API OpenID Connect OAuth

Software Engineer II

AlphaSense

Feb 2017 - Apr 2022 (5 years 2 months)

Optimized API performance by migrating to asynchronous FastAPI, improving concurrent request handling with robust validation and error handling. Built cloud-native backend services on AWS, streamlined ETL pipelines with pandas and PostgreSQL, and established CI/CD with automated testing.

fastAPI Django REST Framework PostgreSQL Docker Pytest

Full Stack Developer

Primer

Jun 2015 - Dec 2016 (1 year 6 months)

Developed RESTful APIs with Flask, implementing validation, asynchronous processing, and PostgreSQL-backed persistence. Built secure JWT-based role access controls and maintained high test coverage using pytest and TDD practices.

REST APIs Flask PostgreSQL JWT Role Based Access Control Pytest Docker Test Driven Development