Tolga Atam

İstanbul · Turkey · +90 (555) 607-0976 · tolga.atam@beynex.com

I am experienced in all aspects of mobile/web engineering, most notably back end engineering, database/software architecture and API security.

I developed my own projects and many freelance projects between 2017 and 2020. I am proudly a co-founder of Beynex since 2020.

Skills

Programming Languages & Tools
  • Go: I am a strong user of Go (Golang). I develop performant back end applications in Go with Echo framework. I have my own micro closed-source packages for a lot of things; such as automatic error generation and session management.
  • NodeJS: Before switching to Go, I used NodeJS for 3 years and more than 10 projects. I used Express framework but experimented with Koa/Hapi/Fastify too. I had my own micro closed-source packages on NodeJS too; for session management, validation, financial calculations etc.
  • Relational Databases: Having also worked with NoSQL solutions, I generally prefer relational databases; because relational models fit the nature of most of the projects better. I have developed with MySQL and MariaDB so far. I am eager to try PostgreSQL; but its managed services are costlier, hence I preferred not to use it for my commercial projects until now.
  • NoSQL Databases: I developed a couple of projects with MongoDB. I utilize Redis for most projects as a cache layer, rate limiter and inter-server pub/sub. I have experience with ElasticSearch for free text search features.
  • Amazon Web Services (AWS): Apart from very small projects deployed on Heroku, I deploy all my services/applications on AWS. I use the following AWS products daily with great proficiency: S3, Elastic Load Balancer, Elastic Beanstalk, Lambda, EC2, EventBridge, SES, RDS, DynamoDB, CodePipeline, WAF&Shield, CloudFront, Route53, ElastiCache, ElasticSearch.
  • Docker: Docker and Docker Compose are wonderful tools that I utilize during CI/CD and deployments.
  • React (with NextJS): Starting from my summer internship in 2016, I have known and used React for web SPA development. In last year, I had a chance to work with NextJS, which made me possible to build more performant and SEO-friendly websites, unlike traditional SPAs. I naturally have a good command of HTML5, CSS3, JS.
  • React Native (with Expo): Starting from my first full-time employment in 2017 at Proente, I have known and used React Native for iOS/Android development. I am adept at developing React Native applications with advanced features like native animations, internationalization (i18n), complex routing etc. I am able to craft "serviceable" visual designs; albeit am I not a designer of any kind.
  • C++, Cuda-C++: During my bachelor and graduate studies, I got constantly involved in research projects. In those projects, I developed new algorithms/approaches for speed optimizations and implemented them in C++ for CPUs and Cuda-C++ for Nvidia GPUs. These implementations incorporated complex data structures and ran upto hundreds of thousands of threads in parallel with high efficiency.
  • Python: I have known Python since 2013 and taught it at Sabanci University between 2017 and 2021. I don't have full knowledge on some advanced features of the language; however I successfully use it for scripting, some machine learning, document creation, image processing and computer vision tasks.
Other Skills
  • Natural Languages: English: Full Professional Proficiency   Turkish: Native   German: Beginner
  • Music Production and Composition: As a former bass player, I have a strong music theory background. Thanks to this, I can compose musical pieces in few genres. As I do not own a studio and cannot record real instruments effectively, I produce the tracks by using software instruments in FL Studio and Garage Band.
  • Operating Systems: I use MacOS daily and like it for development work. I have used Windows and Linux for quite a long time, as well. I can work with and develop on any of these three major platforms.
  • Microsoft Office: I know and use Office applications (Word, Excel and Powerpoint) as much as I need them. I also like using Google Docs suite, too.
  • Driving: I hold B2 driving license (and like driving a lot).

Work Experience

Co-Founder

Beynex

Beynex is a mobile/tablet application that tracks the cognitive status of users and enhance their cognitive well-being by pointing out risky lifestyle choices continuously. I am responsible for back end development and overall technological decision-making. I assist development of AI/ML features and front-end work when needed. Additionally, I compose and produce musical pieces for well-being, meditation, sleep-aid parts of the application.

March 2020 - Present

Computer Science / Data Analytics Teaching Assistant

Sabancı University

I taught Computer Science undergraduate lab courses at the Facult of Engineering and Natural Sciences. Nowadays, I assist the teaching of Data Analytics education programs for professionals, whose lead instructor is İnanç Arın.

2016 - 2021

Co-Owner and Back end Developer

Laf App

Laf is an innovative poetry platform, where emotions of poems and users are reflected through colors to create a beautiful user experience, assisted by smart recommendation algorithms. It has debuted several times on Google Play Store and Apple App Store as "App of the Day". I developed the back end of Laf while Saim Emre Şahiner (who is also a co-founder of mine @Beynex) designed and developed the front end.

June 2018 - March 2020

Mobile Engineer and Founding Member

Proente

Proente is an IOT SaaS company that tracks, reports and optimizes automatized production processes in factories. During my employment of 3 months, I developed two separate mobile apps in React Native from scratch. I made most of the visual design decisions, as well.

June 2017 - September 2017

Projects

Following are the most notable projects that I have worked on so far. It is not a complete list of all my projects.
  • Beynex : Beynex has been the most comprehensive work I have ever been in. My main technical reponsibility at Beynex is back end development. I develop the back end mainly in Go, as a monolith. However, some other tasks are developed in Python/NodeJS as AWS Lambda routines. Examples for such tasks that I program as Lambda routines are: PDF Generation (Python, ReportLab), Neural Network based Prediction (Python, Tensorflow), Image Processing/Computer Vision (Python, OpenCV), Push Notifications (NodeJS, Expo Push Service), Payments (NodeJS, Iyzico), Image Resizing (Python, Pillow). Redis, MySQL, S3 and DynamoDB are used for temporary and stationary data/file storage. The API has around 100 public endpoints and around 15 background jobs run in the background periodically. The back end supports internationalization (i18n), timezone awareness and a centralized error handling. The system is integrated with IpApi, Google Maps, QuickChart, Iyzico and RevenueCat payment systems, and Expo Push Notification system. Media files are served through CloudFront CDN that is assigned to a custom subdomain.
  • Speak : A campus based university social media initiative.. I led the technological operations/decisions and back end development as a founding member. I developed the back end single-handedly and used the following technology stack: NodeJS, MongoDB, Redis, ElasticSearch. Deployments were done on Amazon AWS. The mobile front end was developed in React Native / Expo and I partially engaged in the development of it, as well. I developed a narrow web panel using React and BootStrap, too.
  • Akbank Hackathon 2020 : We won Akbank's Hackathon 2020 with our project "Merhaba Komşum" (Eng. "Welcome, my Neighbor"). The project aimed to detect bank customers who relocate and offer them discounts from the SME's of the new neighborhood. I participated in ideation and developed the machine learning technique for relocation detection.
  • Laf : I developed the back end application for Laf in NodeJS. I used Express for routing, MariaDB as the main database, Redis for caching and rate limiting. Deployments were done on Amazon AWS. I also developed an admin web panel using React and BootStrap within this project.
  • Dokuz8 Media Agency Mobile Application: We developed a software system for Dokuz8 Media Agency to collect reports/news from the field and publish it to social media in a fast pace. The system included a mobile application for reporters (developed with React Native) and a web panel for editors (developed with React/AntDesign). I developed the back end service for this system in NodeJS. The back end had to handle additional tasks such as image optimization and video processing. I used FFMpeg with a stable message queue for these extra tasks. On top of that, the application had one-way and two-way real time messaging features with role management requirements. I picked MySQL as the main database engine. Deployments were done on Amazon AWS again.
  • Augenland Hospital Mobile Application : We developed a software system for Augenland Hospital in Germany. The system included a mobile application for patients (developed with React Native) and a web panel for the secretariat (developed with React/BootStrap). I developed the back end service for this system in NodeJS, by the help of Parse Server and MongoDB. I also developed the web panel in this project.

Education

Sabanci University

Master of Science
Computer Science and Engineering
Full Scholarship

GPA: 3.91

2017 - 2020

Sabanci University

Bachelor of Science
Computer Science and Engineering
Full Scholarship

GPA: 3.84

2013 - 2017

Univerza v Mariboru

Erasmus+ Exchange Programme
2016

Hüseyin Avni Sözen Anatolian High School

High School (with English prep.)

GPA: 89 / 100

2008 - 2013

Awards & Achievements

  • Akbank Hackathon 2020 - 1st Place Winner
  • Sabancı University Bachelor Scholarship Programme - Full Scholarship
  • Sabancı University Masters Scholarship Programme - Full Scholarship
  • İstanbul Technical University Dijifikir Startup Contest 2017 - 1st Place (with our project: Speak)
  • Published 2 academic papers
  • TÜBİTAK Research Scholarship during my Bachelor study
  • Sabancı University Teaching Awards 2020 - Best Teaching Assistant 2nd Place
  • Sabancı University Teaching Awards 2019 - Best Teaching Assistant 2nd Place
  • PepsiCO Hackathon 2022 - 3rd Place Winner
  • Pasha Hackathon 2022 - 3rd Place Winner
  • 15 LinkedIn Skill Badges Earned
  • MUNIST 2015 - Outstanding Delegate Award
  • Jury Special Award at Kartal Drama Contest 2006

Interests

Apart from being a software engineer, I enjoy music the most. During high school and early university years, I used to play bass in rock bands and performed live many times. During late university years, I learned a little bit of DJ'ing and music production. Although I do not spare time for playing the bass anymore, I produce some music in my free time with software instruments, whose genre may range from Classical to Rock, and even to HipHop.

I see Pink Floyd, Camel and Rainbow as great influences to my life. I enjoy listening to most classical rock work from 70's and 80's. I owe my musical taste to David Gilmour's guitar playing.

At elementary and high schools, I attended theatre clubs of the respective schools and performed in plays, which were exhibited more than 30 times in total.

Although playing it for years on streets as a child, I did not have much talent and entusiasm in football. However, I found great excitement in basketball in high school years, which led me to attend a local club for training and a couple of formal matches. I still play it with my friends for fun and watch EuroLeague when I bump into on TV. I used to watch NBA regularly at high school, but I like EuroLeague more now. I am also taking golf lessons nowadays and quite liking it.

I broadcasted radio shows in our university radio club (RadyoSU). My shows mostly were about music and the history of rock bands. The last show I broadcasted featured the university professors, which became a big hit.

I attended Model United Nations (MUN) conferences during my Bachelor years. In my last conference (HASALMUN 2016), I was a member the organizing team as an academical writer and advisor.