The engineer behind the systems.
Ten years building production systems across AI/LLM, cloud, and security engineering. I like the problems that sit where those three meet.
Biography
Hi, I'm Raza Ali Poonja, a Solutions Architect with 10+ years of experience building secure, scalable, AI-powered systems. I work end to end: full-stack development, DevOps, LLM and RAG pipelines, and cloud-native infrastructure.
I've led the design and delivery of enterprise AI platforms, real-time streaming services, multi-cloud deployments, and privacy-first LLM infrastructure for clients across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the UK. Most of my work sits where backend engineering, automation, and security overlap.
I've orchestrated 25+ microservices with event-driven RabbitMQ workflows, deployed on-premise Llama 3.1 clusters, and earned bug bounties from Grammarly and Edmodo. I bring a builder's mindset and a security-first habit to the work.
I hold certifications in Kubernetes (CKAD), Prometheus (PCA), Google Cybersecurity, and DevOps on AWS, among others. If you're building something ambitious, let's talk.
satisfied clients
projects completed
Years of experience
Capability Map
Skills
AI & LLM
Backend
Frontend
Cloud & DevOps
Databases & Queues
Security & Compliance
Monitoring
Blockchain
Experience
- ROLE-01
Solutions Architect @ICS Arabia
Jan 2024 - PresentLed the development and deployment of FinBlade.ai, an innovative on-premise AI platform. Integrated LLMs, RAG pipelines, chatbots, and domain-specific summarization APIs to enhance document intelligence workflows. Built a scalable Django and MySQL backend deployed on AWS with Amazon S3, EFS, and Quadrant Vector DB for fast contextual search. Deployed privacy-first LLM infrastructure using Docker Compose with GPU support, bundling services like Llama 3.1, RabbitMQ, and Ollama for complete offline capability. Implemented end-to-end encryption, client-side key management, real-time Server-Sent Events (SSE) streaming features, and automated CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions to streamline deployments and ensure operational efficiency.
- ROLE-02
Senior Development Consultant @TGD Limited
Mar 2023 - Oct 2024Led the full redevelopment of critical business websites and internal platforms using Laravel, Livewire, MySQL, Tailwind, and Alpine.js. Enhanced the administrative backend with FilamentPHP, developed a custom WordPress blog, and streamlined deployments using Docker and Jenkins CI/CD. Successfully modernized legacy ERP systems by migrating from Perl to a custom PHP framework with Eloquent ORM, achieving a 7x performance improvement through optimization techniques including memory cleanup, dynamic pagination, Singleton patterns, and strict adherence to SOLID principles.
- ROLE-03
Principal Architect @Al Nafi
Feb 2022 - Feb 2023Designed and deployed multiple complex systems with a 3-Tier Architecture using Nuxt.js, Tailwind, Django, Laravel, and MySQL on AWS. Developed platforms including the Learning Management System (LMS), Association Management Software (AMS), and Al Nafi Stream (a real-time streaming service using Django Channels and Redis). Integrated payment gateways like Stripe, Easypaisa, and UBL IPG, secured systems with Cloudflare DDoS protection, and enabled browser-based Linux (BBL) environments via KASM. Built a data lake with AWS S3 and RDS, automated ETL processes using AWS Glue, and implemented real-time infrastructure monitoring with Grafana and Prometheus.
- ROLE-04
Blockchain Developer @Avanza Innovations
Oct 2021 - Jan 2022Developed and maintained Hyperledger Fabric-based portals using the MERN stack. Authored and modified chaincode with Golang, integrated RabbitMQ for transaction replication, and built dynamic real-time data visualizations using D3.js based on user-generated complex queries.
- ROLE-05
Independent Full Stack Developer @Freelance
May 2016 - Feb 2022Built multiple web applications including CMS, CRM, SEO-friendly blogs, and eCommerce systems using Laravel, CodeIgniter, Django, Nuxt.js, and MEVN Stack. Developed end-to-end automations using Python, Bash, and Expect Scripts for data scraping, cleaning, storage, and report generation. Built a web-based remote access and remote-control software using MEVN Stack with Socket.io and C#/C++/PowerShell for the client side. Developed multiple dApps using Bootstrap, Vue.js, Web3.js, and Solidity. Implemented a hierarchical referral system with D3.js-based network visualization, and coded automated recon/vulnerability scanning scripts covering subdomain discovery, CORS misconfiguration, CRLF injection, and GitHub recon.
- ROLE-06
Lead Developer @OctaDev
Mar 2017 - Sep 2019Led full-stack development for various projects including eCommerce platforms, CMS, POS systems, and internal company tools using PHP, Laravel, CodeIgniter, WordPress, JavaScript, and Python. Acted as the primary client liaison, managing project requirements and progress updates. Developed SaaS products like OctaHost (hosting management platform) and OctaPair (on-demand service platform), and collaborated with the cybersecurity team to automate penetration testing and reconnaissance workflows.
- ROLE-07
Back End Developer @Alpha Tech
Sep 2016 - Jun 2017Built and maintained desktop-based internal software applications using C# and Windows Forms. Developed secure multi-layered encryption systems for file-sharing, utilizing AES, Rijndael, and Triple AES algorithms. Automated various business workflows and web data extraction tasks using Python scripts and API integrations.