Derrick Orare

Senior Software Engineer

I design, build, and scale mission-critical backend systems for fintech and enterprise SaaS.

Fintech Systems Distributed Architecture API Scalability

Senior Software Engineer with 11+ years of experience building scalable backend systems, APIs and fintech platforms.

Work Experience

Senior Software Engineer | Founding Developer

NdovuCloud Technologies

Aug 2018 — Present Nairobi, Kenya remote

Founded and led development of the company’s backend platform, designing and building the first production-ready APIs using Ruby on Rails with PostgreSQL and MongoDB.
Owned system architecture and data modeling from inception, designing core services including inventory management and transactional workflows.
Integrated mobile and card payment systems including M-Pesa and Visa, ensuring secure, reliable, and auditable transaction processing.
Defined engineering standards and best practices, conducting code reviews and setting quality benchmarks across the team.
Led hiring, onboarding, and ongoing mentorship of engineers, scaling the technical organization while maintaining a high engineering bar.

Built SaaS platform prototype Established engineering playbook ensuring system reliability

Key Technologies:

Ruby on Rails ★ Postgres

MongoDB ★

Docker ★

Kubernetes

MySQL Ruby

Software Engineer

ENGIE Energy Access

Nov 2022 — Jul 2023 Kampala, Uganda hybrid

Owned and delivered mission-critical backend systems supporting large-scale energy access operations, partnering closely with product, data, and operations stakeholders across regions.
Led technical design and implementation of backend services, ensuring high availability, scalability, and predictable delivery under strict timelines.
Drove architectural discussions, identifying systemic risks, performance bottlenecks, and long-term maintainability concerns, and implementing pragmatic improvements.
Designed, documented, and governed internal APIs consumed by multiple teams, establishing clear contracts and reducing cross-team integration friction.
Established strong testing practices through comprehensive unit and integration test suites, significantly reducing regressions and improving release confidence.
Provided technical mentorship through code reviews, pairing, and design guidance, raising the engineering bar and improving overall team effectiveness.
Acted as a technical owner for key services, proactively managing technical debt and operational risks before they impacted customers.

Supported energy distribution to 50k+ customers Reduced post-release bugs by 20% Built first cross-team APIs

Key Technologies:

Ruby on Rails ★ Postgres

Grape

Docker ★

MySQL Django

Python ★

Backend Software Engineer

Kwara

Oct 2021 — Aug 2022 Nairobi, Kenya hybrid

Designed and delivered core backend systems powering critical fintech workflows, operating with a high degree of autonomy and ownership.
Strengthened platform security, scalability, and performance through thoughtful API design, data modeling, and background processing strategies.
Contributed to system architecture and refactoring initiatives, improving long-term maintainability and reducing operational complexity.
Partnered with product and frontend teams to translate business requirements into robust, production-ready backend solutions.
Provided code reviews and technical guidance to junior engineers, reinforcing best practices and consistent engineering standards.
Diagnosed and resolved complex production issues, balancing rapid response with long-term corrective fixes.

Strengthened security and compliance Cut deployment time Increased test coverage

Key Technologies:

Ruby on Rails ★ Postgres

MySQL

React ★ DevOps Ruby

Software Engineer

Lipalater Limited

Nov 2019 — Oct 2021 Nairobi, Kenya hybrid

Designed and implemented scalable backend services supporting high-volume administrative and sales operations for a consumer finance platform.
Led refactoring of authentication flows, database schemas, and core controllers to improve system stability, security, and performance.
Built extensible notification and email services, improving internal communication and operational visibility.
Collaborated closely with product, operations, and frontend teams to deliver reliable solutions aligned with business needs.
Championed automated testing and code quality initiatives, achieving and maintaining over 90% test coverage across critical components.

Accelerated feature delivery by 40% Reduced production incidents by 35% Improved transaction latency by 15% Broke monolith application into micro-services

Key Technologies:

Ruby on Rails ★ Postgres

CoffeeScript

React ★ Ruby

Software Engineer - Founding Developer

Duara Systems - An Africa's Talking Laboratory

Mar 2018 — Jul 2018 Nairobi, Kenya hybrid

Designed and built foundational backend services using Ruby on Rails and MongoDB, establishing the core inventory platform.
Introduced containerization by dockerizing microservices, improving deployment consistency and development velocity.
Collaborated on infrastructure architecture and deployment using Kubernetes, Juju, and MAAS to support scalable distributed systems.

Improved query performance by 25% Reduced service provisioning from days to hours Built inventory service

Key Technologies:

Ruby on Rails ★ Postgres

Juju

Kubernetes

Docker ★ Linux

Bash Scala

Software Test Engineer Consultant

Central Logic(now AboutHealth)

Nov 2016 — Jul 2017 Nairobi, Kenya remote

Served as a software quality and testing automator, influencing product direction through deep technical and quality insights.
Designed and extended automated test libraries, modernizing legacy testing frameworks to improve reliability and coverage.
Analyzed complex test failures and system defects, partnering with engineering teams to drive root-cause fixes.
Helped establish testing best practices and quality standards across teams and projects.

Developed automated test framework Reduced manual testing effort by 60% Accelerated release cycles

Key Technologies:

Java ★

Maven

Selenium

Software Test Engineer in Test

Central Logic (now AboutHealth)

Jun 2016 — Nov 2016 South Jordan, UT onsite

Influenced product quality and design through early technical feedback and deep involvement in feature validation.
Developed and maintained reusable automated test suites using Java and Selenium within the existing framework.
Executed and analyzed comprehensive test runs, identifying high-risk defects prior to production releases.
Collaborated closely with developers and QA peers to ensure reliable delivery of new features and fixes.
Participated in product planning and review sessions, contributing to roadmap and quality decisions.

Key Technologies:

Java ★

Maven

Selenium

Software Quality Assurance Engineer

Dell EMC

Jun 2014 — May 2016 Pleasant Grove, UT onsite

Developed comprehensive test plans and cases aligned with functional, technical, and business requirements.
Executed automated and manual testing strategies to ensure reliability, performance, and release readiness.
Analyzed test outcomes and collaborated with engineering teams to drive systemic quality improvements.
Contributed enhancements to test automation frameworks, improving efficiency and long-term maintainability.

Conducted automated and manual testing Automated testing after every build release Improved system performance by 15% Ensured robust software quality across releases

Key Technologies:

Ruby

Bash