Unibuddy | Software Engineer II – Chat Systems Application

Candidate • Chris Dorward

Scalable chat architectures, real-time messaging, and agentic AI systems engineered for global student impact.

Software Engineer II – Chat Systems

Verified Match

Application for Kimeshan Naidoo (CTO), Diego Fanara (CEO) & the Unibuddy Engineering Team

Teamtailor Job #7606923

Role

Software Engineer II

Focus

Chat & Intelligence

Location

Remote Europe / UK

Right to Work

Dual UK & EU Citizen

Rather than submitting a static PDF CV into an ATS queue, this interactive proof-of-work demonstrates direct, production-level capability across Unibuddy's stack: TypeScript, NestJS, Python, GraphQL, MongoDB, AWS, and WCAG accessibility. Built autonomously with modern agentic AI workflows, highlighting systems-thinking over simple code-generation.

Download CV (PDF)

Engineering Focus & Architecture

Real-Time Chat Systems, Conversational AI & Scalable Microservices

Modern student decision-making requires ultra-reliable communication channels: peer ambassadors answering urgent campus questions, conversational AI assistants delivering accurate insights, and robust backend services scaling across global university cycles.

Real-Time Core

Real-Time Chat & Bidirectional Events

WebSockets, Subscriptions & Queues

Designing low-latency, bidirectional messaging systems that keep prospective students, university staff, and student ambassadors connected smoothly across web and native devices.

Low latency, message receipts, typing status & presence

AI Systems

AI Assistants & Intelligence Systems

Agentic Tooling & Grounded Context

Building conversational agents structured around systems-thinking: retrieval pipelines, deterministic schema enforcement, guardrails, and validation gates rather than unconstrained text generation.

Structured tools, evaluation benchmarks & university knowledge bases

Backend Microservices

Microservices with NestJS & GraphQL

Modular Architecture & High Concurrency

Production-hardened NestJS and Express services with strict dependency injection, typed GraphQL schemas, DataLoaders for N+1 prevention, and resilient MongoDB aggregations.

NestJS, GraphQL schemas, DataLoaders & MongoDB scaling

WCAG AA Standard

WCAG 2.1 AA Accessibility & Inclusivity

Products That Can Be Used by Anyone

Committed to accessible engineering from the ground up: keyboard navigation, high-contrast themes, screen-reader announcements (ARIA live regions for incoming chat), and accessible touch targets.

Inclusive chat UI, ARIA live regions & screen reader compliance

1:1 Stack Alignment

Direct Match with the Unibuddy Tech Stack

Zero ramp-up time. Every pillar of your stack matches daily, production-tested software delivery.

Backend Microservices

NestJS & Express

Modular architectural providers, dependency injection, middleware pipelines, custom guards, interceptors, and high-throughput REST/WebSocket gateways.

Core engine for scalable Node.js microservice architecture

End-to-End Type Safety

TypeScript

Strict TypeScript across backend schemas, GraphQL resolvers, shared monorepo packages, and UI state, catching regressions before runtime.

20+ years of software craft; everything delivered is typed & tested

AI & Intelligence Services

Python

FastAPI / Flask backends, data transformation pipelines, conversational embeddings, vector stores, and AI agent orchestration.

Active daily practice powering custom agent pipelines

Real-Time & API Layer

GraphQL & Subscriptions

Schema-first GraphQL, Apollo Server & Client, real-time WebSocket subscriptions, query complexity validation, and DataLoader batching.

Architected modern GraphQL interfaces for complex domain models

High-Throughput Storage

MongoDB & NoSQL

Document schema design, compound indexing, aggregation pipelines, replica sets, connection pooling, and change streams for reactive chat updates.

Deep experience with document databases & NoSQL scaling patterns

Cloud & Serverless

AWS Infrastructure

ECS Docker containers, AWS Lambda serverless functions, API Gateway, S3, CloudFront CDN, CloudWatch telemetry, and EventBridge.

Hands-on cloud architecture powering production workloads

1:1 Requirement Alignment

Direct point-by-point mapping between Unibuddy's published job description and candidate experience.

1. TypeScript & Python Proficiency

"Work across full stack with focus on backend services, web and native."

20+ years of software delivery. Daily mastery of modern TypeScript with strict compiler settings, paired with Python for conversational AI and data pipelines.

Public Nx monorepo (github.com/goldlabelapps/nx) with 100% strongly typed packages.

2. Scalable Backend Services & AWS

"Build scalable services & manage infrastructure across AWS stack."

Hands-on cloud architecture using AWS Lambda, ECS Docker containers, API Gateway, S3, CloudFront, and CloudWatch telemetry.

Production cloud deployments maintaining high uptime and snappy latency.

3. Microservices with NestJS or Express

"Performant, well-architected microservices in a distributed environment."

Modular architecture with dependency injection, clean domain separation, custom interceptors, and robust rate limiting/error handling.

Modular microservice patterns implemented in production-grade TypeScript.

4. GraphQL APIs & Real-Time Queries

"Experience building applications powered by GraphQL APIs."

Schema-first GraphQL with Apollo/Nest, real-time WebSocket subscriptions, type-generation, and DataLoader batching to prevent N+1 queries.

Cleanly structured GraphQL schemas and typed client integration.

5. MongoDB & NoSQL Solutions

"Understanding common design patterns, features, and limitations."

Extensive experience modeling document collections, compound indexes, aggregation pipelines, and reactive change streams for chat storage.

Optimized read/write patterns with document-oriented data persistence.

6. Robust Test Suites & Verification

"Comfortable building robust test suites."

Test-first engineering culture utilizing Vitest, Jest, and integration runners to guarantee zero regressions across releases.

Passing unit & integration test suites included in every listing deliverable.

7. AI Adopter & Systems-Thinking

"Navigate parallel pipelines, agentic tooling, and systems-thinking over code-gen."

Daily practitioner of autonomous multi-agent pipelines with schema validation, evaluation loops, and deterministic tool-calling workflows.

Built this entire application autonomously using custom multi-agent tooling.

8. Product-Minded & User-Obsessed

"True ownership of product upkeep, maintenance, performance, and bug resolution."

Treats user experience and bug resolution as personal pride. Shipped dozens of commercial apps with ongoing maintenance and performance optimization.

Proven 20+ year track record of enduring product craftsmanship.

9. Nice-to-Haves: Event-Driven, Serverless & WCAG

"Kafka/Kinesis, Serverless, React Native, and WCAG accessibility requirements."

Deep knowledge of event streams, serverless lambdas, mobile cross-platform patterns with React Native, and rigorous WCAG 2.1 AA accessible UI.

Accessible color contrast, keyboard-navigable drawer, and responsive mobile design.

10. Remote Europe Timezone & Right to Work

"Fully Remote - Europe."

Dual UK & German/EU citizen permanently based in London (UTC/BST). Unrestricted right to work in the UK and throughout the EU without visa sponsorship.

Official CV with verified dual citizenship status and immediate availability.

Dual UK & German/EU Citizen • Zero Visa Sponsorship Needed

Complete Professional CV & Background

20+ years of engineering leadership, commercial product architecture, and team mentorship. Permanently based in London, available for immediate start across European timezones.

Download CV (PDF)

Built & Shipped Products

Proven Delivery: Live Products & Open Source Code

Real products shipped to real users alongside public open-source code. Demonstrating high-velocity engineering, independent product ownership, and complete architectural transparency.

Commercial SaaS MVPVisit askleida.com

Leida

Rapid Founder-to-Production Velocity

Shipped a complete production application in a high-velocity 1-founder + 1-developer dynamic, turning an early prototype into a battle-tested commercial platform in under 3 months.

Architected scalable data models and modern server components

Engineered autonomous test pipelines preventing regressions

Delivered responsive, accessible customer-facing UX

Next.jsTypeScriptPostgreSQLVercelTailwind CSS

High-velocity delivery from founder vision into scalable production

Complex Real-Time GISVisit gpxroute.pro

GpxRoute

Data-Intensive Interactive Platform

Engineered an interactive mapping and trail platform processing high-density GPS track points, elevation calculations, and real-time route analysis.

Handled complex streaming spatial data and coordinate conversions

Designed high-performance canvas and vector rendering routines

Built with autonomous agentic workflows and automated verification

TypeScriptNext.jsGIS Spatial DataTailwind CSS

High-density real-time data processing and interactive visualization

Open Source InfrastructureView GitHub Monorepo

NX° Monorepo & Agent Layer

Inspect Real Production Code & Test Suites

The underlying open-source monorepo powering this application. Provides immediate, public access to inspect clean TypeScript architectures, component boundaries, and testing discipline.

Modular packages with shared TypeScript types and clean contracts

Comprehensive Vitest test suites running in CI/CD loops

Deterministic agent execution frameworks with schema validation

TypeScriptNx MonorepoVitestAgentic Pipelines

Verifiable proof of coding standards, type strictness, and automated testing

AI Systems-Thinking

Grounded Agentic Pipelines Over Blind Code-Gen

Navigating parallel pipelines, schema-driven tool calling, and automated validation gates.

AI-onboarded systems-thinking: architecture and validation first.

Moving beyond chat-completion copilot prompts to orchestrate multi-agent pipelines with schema validation, parallel subagent isolation, and continuous Vitest test enforcement.

Systems-Thinking First, Generation Second

True agentic velocity begins by designing strict domain schemas, state boundaries, and acceptance criteria before executing any generation step. Without system guardrails, code-gen degrades into technical debt.

Key Takeaway:Architecture, contracts, and type safety dictate generation boundaries.

Parallel Agent Workflows & Specialization

Deploying purpose-driven agents for isolated concerns: research, schema authoring, component design, and test suites. Parallel subagents operate in isolated workspaces, converging cleanly on verified code.

Key Takeaway:Role-specific agents produce higher quality than generalized monoliths.

Deterministic Testing & Evaluation Gates

Every generated artifact passes through automated verification gates: Vitest unit tests, typecheck analysis, and accessibility audits. Code is never considered shipped until verification passes cleanly.

Key Takeaway:Automated regression prevention is a mandatory agent loop requirement.

Full-Cycle Product Ownership

AI tooling accelerates each phase of delivery—from researching requirements to scaffolding components and monitoring production—freeing up mental bandwidth for user empathy and architectural polish.

Key Takeaway:Accelerated development cycles married to relentless product craftsmanship.

Why Unibuddy?

Empowering Students Worldwide Through Authentic Connection

The opportunity to work on high-scale chat, intelligent assistants, and impactful student journeys.

Peer-to-Peer Educational Impact

Choosing a university is one of the biggest life decisions a person makes. Connecting prospective students with real ambassadors provides authentic guidance that transforms futures.

Real-Time Systems & AI Scale

Chat, Assistant, and Intelligence products operate at the cutting edge of real-time messaging and conversational AI. Engineering systems that scale smoothly during peak university admissions is exhilarating work.

Engineering Culture of Trust & Learning

Unibuddy's philosophy of continuous personal development, showcasing new ideas, and teaching and learning alongside talented engineers aligns directly with my engineering mindset.

European Remote & Global Inclusivity

A diverse team of 50+ across the UK, Europe, and North America recognized for workplace culture, flexible workflows, and generous benefits.

Start the Conversation

Available for immediate discussion regarding the Software Engineer II – Chat Systems role.

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