Walid R. Rashed, a.k.a kurdi-dev
Kurdish Software Engineer
with a background in Cyber-Security, UX/UI Design, and Digital Marketing who spends a little too much time in the mountains.
What I Do
I specialize in creating digital solutions that drive business growth and enhance user experiences through cutting-edge technology.
Full-Stack Product Development
End-to-end development of custom web applications, from UI/UX design to scalable back-end architecture, using modern frameworks like Next.js and Node.js.
Data & AI Engineering
Building end-to-end data pipelines and developing custom AI/ML models to transform raw data into actionable business intelligence using tools like BigQuery and Power BI.
Strategic Technology Consulting
Providing expert guidance on technology roadmaps, technical leadership for complex projects, and strategic planning to align engineering with business objectives.
Cloud Engineering & DevOps
Architecting and managing scalable infrastructure on GCP & AWS. Specializing in Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, and automation to accelerate development cycles.
System Architecture & Design
Designing robust, scalable, and secure system architectures, including microservices and distributed systems, to meet complex business requirements and future growth.
Infrastructure & Cybersecurity
Implementing multi-layered security for cloud and on-premise infrastructure. Providing comprehensive security audits, network hardening, and threat mitigation.
Skills & Expertise
Technical proficiencies and tools I use to deliver exceptional results.
Programming Languages
Frontend Development
Design Tools
Backend Development
DevOps & Cloud
BigData & AI
About Me
As a Senior Software Engineer and Technology Consultant with over eight years of experience, I architect and build the complex, scalable systems that solve critical business challenges.
After graduating top of my class in software engineering, I built a broad technical foundation across diverse fields. I gained hands-on experience in full-stack development, UX/UI design, and cybersecurity while delivering solutions for industries ranging from e-commerce and telecom to academic research and FinTech. This broad exposure solidified my passion for tackling the most daunting challenges, leading me to specialize in architecting the mission-critical systems that others avoid.
I believe the most powerful solutions emerge from a deep understanding of both the business problem and the technical possibilities. As a consultant, I bridge that gap—translating strategic goals into robust technical roadmaps. My approach is hands-on and results-driven, focused on creating systems that are not only powerful but also secure, scalable, and maintainable.
When I'm not coding or consulting, you'll likely find me in the mountains - climbing, hiking, and drawing inspiration from nature's complexity and beauty, which often influences my approach to solving technical challenges.
Experience
Here is some information about my professional experience.
Lead Software Engineer, Payment Infrastructure
International Smart Card (Qi Card)
June 2024 - Present
Baghdad, Iraq - Remote
Current- Spearheading the end-to-end technical execution and deployment strategy for a new, high-volume payment switch and card management system.
- Architecting and overseeing a scalable, 30+ microservice ecosystem on Kubernetes, enabling robust Visa and Mastercard payment processing.
- Designing and orchestrating mission-critical, enterprise-grade Kubernetes clusters to ensure high availability and fault tolerance for payment services.
- Driving operational efficiency by developing bespoke automation scripts and CLI tools, significantly reducing manual overhead in deployment and system management.
- Acting as the subject matter expert for the payment ecosystem, mentoring engineering teams and fostering a culture of knowledge sharing.
Technical Project Manager
International Smart Card (Qi Card)
June 2023 - June 2024
Baghdad, Iraq - Remote
- Orchestrated the complete project lifecycle for key technical initiatives, from strategic planning and roadmapping to final delivery.
- Translated complex business needs into detailed technical requirements, standards, and actionable milestones for engineering teams.
- Provided technical leadership and direction to engineering teams, aligning daily operations with strategic project objectives.
- Led the technical evaluation and procurement process for enterprise hardware and software to inform strategic investments.
- Championed proactive risk management, identifying and resolving critical technical impediments to ensure on-time project completion.
Software Engineer & Technology Consultant
Freelancer @ kurdi-dev
January 2021 - Present
Remote
Current- Architected and delivered bespoke, full-stack enterprise solutions, including AI-driven systems and comprehensive management platforms for a diverse client portfolio.
- Provided strategic technology consulting to startups and established businesses, advising on architecture, scalability, and digital transformation.
- Engineered and managed secure, scalable cloud infrastructure and CI/CD pipelines, performing security audits to ensure system integrity.
- Designed and implemented end-to-end IoT systems for real-time data acquisition, processing, and visualization.
- Developed sophisticated data extraction and automation tools to solve unique client challenges and enhance operational capabilities.
Information Systems Security Engineer
Cyber Code Technologies FZE
May 2021 - December 2021
Dubai, UAE - Remote
- Engineered and fortified secure network and server infrastructure for enterprise clients.
- Designed and implemented multi-layered security protocols and monitoring solutions to safeguard critical digital assets.
- Conducted comprehensive threat modeling and risk assessments to define robust system security requirements and policies.
- Acted as a senior escalation point for complex cybersecurity incidents and provided expert technical guidance on security projects.
Software Engineer & Digital Marketing Specialist
Moonline Travel & Trade Ltd.
June 2019 - December 2020
As Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
- Spearheaded the ground-up development of a proprietary e-commerce platform and a logistics management system.
- Championed a user-centric design philosophy, leading the UX/UI redesign of a core B2B booking system to enhance user engagement.
- Increased operational efficiency by conceptualizing and building internal automation tools for marketing and operations.
- Leveraged data analytics to derive actionable insights, informing both software feature development and marketing strategy.
Junior Software Engineer
DotNet For IT Solutions
July 2018 - November 2018
As Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
- Delivered custom web solutions for local clients by developing and extending functionalities within PHP-based frameworks.
- Engineered and launched a full-featured e-commerce platform, handling both front-end and back-end components.
- Developed dynamic, map-based web applications by integrating third-party services like the Google Maps API.
Featured Projects
AI-Powered Research Scoring Pipeline
2025Engineered an end-to-end data pipeline on Google Cloud Platform to score global research papers using the proprietary SNAPR evaluation system. The project involved processing terabites of data, 50GB+ per-year from the OpenAlex's open-source dataset with BigQuery, developing a custom AI model to classify and validate papers, and visualizing complex research data and scores using Power BI.
Barw Research Publisher Website
2023Designed and developed a comprehensive website for Barw, a scientific research publisher. The platform serves as a digital hub for their publications, providing an intuitive interface for academics and researchers to access and submit scholarly articles for their journals.
KSCIEN Application System
2022Architected a polyglot, AI-powered system to automate scientific research processing. The platform integrates a Next.js web app with multiple microservices for ML-based data extraction (Java), web scraping (Python), and bibliography parsing (Ruby).
Asiacell DNS Security Enhancement
2021Executed a critical infrastructure project for a major telecom provider by installing and configuring physical security appliances across multiple data centers, enhancing the security and reliability of their core DNS services.
Nozhdar Clinic Management System
2021Developed a comprehensive clinic management system to streamline operations for cardiology clinics. The platform enhances efficiency in patient management, billing, and reduces manual workload for medical staff.
B-Donor UX Case Study
2021Conducted an in-depth UX case study for a mobile application designed to connect blood donors with recipients. The project focused on user research, empathy mapping, and prototyping to create a platform that raises awareness and simplifies the donation process.
