Open to opportunities

Richard Lee

@richardlee3

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Experienced staff software engineer with a focus on scalable systems.

United States

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What I'm looking for

I am looking for a role that fosters innovation and collaboration, where I can leverage my skills to drive impactful projects and mentor the next generation of engineers.

I'm a seasoned software engineer with over 15 years of experience in delivering scalable backend systems, robust frontend interfaces, and cloud-native infrastructure. My journey has taken me through leading technology companies such as Atlassian, Shopify, and Snowflake, where I have honed my skills in core backend languages like Python, Java, Go, and Ruby on Rails, as well as modern frontend frameworks including React and TypeScript.

Throughout my career, I have made significant contributions to high-impact projects, such as the overhaul of Jira’s reporting system and the development of Shopify’s order routing engine. My work on Snowpark for Python has enabled secure in-database Python execution at scale, which is now adopted by over 200 enterprise customers. I am passionate about optimizing system performance and driving architectural transitions from monoliths to microservices, all while fostering a culture of collaboration and mentorship among my peers.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Staff Software Engineer

Current

Snowflake

Dec 2019 - Present (5 years 8 months)

Designed and delivered distributed data processing systems using C++, Go, Java, and Python. Contributed to Snowpark for Python, enabling secure in-database Python execution at scale. Co-developed Snowpark for Python, now adopted by 200+ enterprise customers, improving Python model deployment time by 70%.

C Go)Java Python React Streamlit Distributed Systems Data Processing Mentorship

Senior Software Engineer

Shopify

Feb 2015 - Nov 2019 (4 years 9 months)

Led development of high-scale features for the Shopify core platform, using Ruby on Rails and Go. Delivered a low-latency order routing engine in Go, cutting routing time from 500ms to <300ms and supporting millions of daily transactions for Shopify Plus merchants. Designed and built microservices/APIs for inventory, payments, and analytics.

Ruby on Rails Go)Microservices APIs CI CD Lighthouse Mentorship System Design Performance Optimization

Software Engineer

Atlassian

Aug 2009 - Jan 2015 (5 years 5 months)

Built RESTful APIs to support integrations and internal tools, contributing to Atlassian’s extensible plugin architecture. Developed custom automation scripts and infrastructure tools using Python, enhancing CI/CD pipelines and internal developer productivity. Spearheaded Jira’s reporting engine revamp, improving report generation speed by 45% and enabling 3rd-party integration via plugins, adopte

Ruby on Rails Go)RESTful APIs Python CI CD Java JavaScript React Jira Microservices

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

University of Washington

Bachelor of Science, Computer Science

2005 - 2009

Studied computer science fundamentals, including programming languages, data structures, and algorithms. Gained expertise in software development and system design.