Nikola Bucić

– Offering B2B contracts to clients worldwide – Technical stack: PHP - Symfony - Laravel | MySQL - NoSQL - GraphQL | React - Next.js | CI/CD - Linux - AWS - Docker - Kubernetes

– Owned the end-to-end architecture of a complex PHP, AngularJS/Angular, and MySQL ecosystem, including the Apache SOLR search infrastructure. – Orchestrated the strategic migration of the platform to a modern tech stack (React, Next.js, OpenSearch), leading a team of 3 engineers. – Modernized the core from PHP 7.2 to PHP 7.4 to PHP 8.0, ensuring all migrated code had been covered with PHPUnit tests, significantly reducing technical debt and resolving critical security vulnerabilities. – Optimized complex SQL query, reducing query execution time by 83% (from over 60 seconds to under 10 seconds). – Accelerated the deployment lifecycle by migrating from legacy procedures to a modern GitHub Actions workflow, ensuring consistent and error-free releases, reducing release time by double, automating deployment ensuring new code is fully covered with tests before Pull requests could be accepted – Covered the existing code with PHPUnit tests up to 70%, maintained 100% coverage for the new code – Technical stack: Infra: AWS (EC2, S3, RDS, ECS, CloudWatch) | Docker | Linux DevOps: CI/CD (GitHub Actions) | Automation | Security Hardening Stack: PHP - Symfony | MySQL - Apache SOLR - OpenSearch | React - Next.js Api: Twilio - Postmark - Paypal

– Developed and implemented new e-fairs module during the Covid times for white-labels enabling them to host fairs they would normally do on site – Optimizing long-running MySQL queries significantly reducing load on web/database servers and improving site speed. – Technical stack: PHP 7 | MySQL - MongoDB - Apache Solr | Docker | Twilio API.

– Automated critical ETL pipelines from BI clusters to MySQL using PowerShell and ProFTPd, eliminating 30 hours of manual work per week (6 hours/day) and reducing data entry errors. – Designed a bidirectional synchronization framework using Google Apps Script to bridge MySQL and Google Sheets, prioritizing code maintainability by centralizing schema definitions. – Engineered a custom internal data application to enrich SQL datasets with external sources, streamlining complex data matching workflows via custom lookup tables. – Managed on-premise infrastructure (Windows Server 2012, MySQL, Power BI), acting as the primary technical liaison with corporate IT to secure network configurations and port forwarding.

– Conducted rigorous technical screenings as a domain expert, administering live coding exercises to evaluate candidates' problem-solving agility, architectural depth, and communication skills. – Evaluated comprehensive test projects (simulating 1–3 weeks of real-world work) to verify practical competence, ensuring applicants could "walk the walk" in terms of code quality, completeness, and maintainability. – Enforced elite quality standards ("Top 3%"), acting as a primary gatekeeper to ensure only candidates demonstrating the highest levels of professionalism, integrity, and technical thoroughness entered the network. – Assessed full-stack engineering capability through deep-dive code reviews, filtering for creativity and the ability to handle complex, bespoke requirements under strict deadlines. – Maintained the integrity of the talent pool by validating that every potential admission met the "Quality-First" benchmark required for high-stakes enterprise engagements.

– Architected the core SaaS infrastructure from the ground up, translating broad business requirements into a scalable, multi-tenant system for the travel industry. +1 – Orchestrated the product roadmap and engineering lifecycle, guiding a team of 5 developers through sprint planning and code reviews to maintain strict release deadlines. – Engineered critical business modules, including a custom booking engine and real-time analytics dashboards, directly solving operational pain points for tour operators.

– Slash server response times by 60% (from 1.0s to 0.4s) by refactoring core algorithms and optimizing database interaction paths, directly boosting user retention for viral content. – Automated content moderation using Google Vision AI, building a pipeline to detect and filter profanity/violence, drastically reducing manual review workload and ensuring brand safety. – Elevated code quality standards by driving test coverage to 90%, significantly reducing regression bugs and stabilizing the release cycle. – Engineered a real-time synchronization engine to distribute viral content rankings across a multi-site network, ensuring consistent user experiences across different domains. – Streamlined the operational workflow for content administrators, building a custom approval dashboard that accelerated the "time-to-publish" for viral assets.

– Orchestrated a seamless platform migration from legacy PHP 5.3/Symfony 2.3 to PHP 5.6/Symfony 2.8, achieving zero downtime and maintaining full feature parity through a rigorous testing strategy. – Engineered a revenue-critical reporting pipeline by parsing high-volume Nginx access logs to automate CPM invoicing, ensuring 100% billing accuracy. – Optimized Apache Solr indexing configurations, significantly reducing query latency and improving search relevance for complex datasets. – Developed a custom geospatial search algorithm for the London region, enabling precise postcode and region-based filtering for end-users. – Managed the full development lifecycle for three core web applications, ensuring high availability and consistent code quality.

– Developing new modules and fixing bugs for the Austrian bargain company Wogibtswas – Maintaining and optimizing Slovenian news portal

– Using ETL tools such as Oracle Workflow Builder and SAS Studio for extracting and transforming data from various sources to the warehouse – Using SAS Enterprise Guide for creating powerful analytics and reports