About & Experience

Hello, I’m Çağkan.

I’m a Senior Software Consultant and Fractional CTO — also an indie hacker, gamer, biker, parent, and lifelong learner.

Professionally, I focus on turning complexity into clarity and aligning technology with real business outcomes — especially within enterprise environments, scaleups, and organizations navigating growth or transformation.

Personally, I’m driven by curiosity, building things, and understanding how systems really work — especially where technology, people, and decision-making intersect.

Personal Story

The Origin

I grew up around institutions long before I worked in them.

My father was a police inspector who later became a director, and as a child, I spent countless hours in police headquarters. While other kids were at playgrounds, I was quietly observing adults at work — hierarchies, responsibility, pressure, and how real-world systems (and sometimes chaos) actually functioned. Without realizing it, I was learning how organizations really work.

Technology entered my life early. At four, a Commodore 64 arrived at our home. At first, it was just games. Then curiosity took over. I wanted to understand how things worked. By nine, I stumbled upon a BASIC programming book and wrote my first program — a simple football game that randomly generated scores. That was the moment I realized I could create worlds, not just consume them.

The Builder

Growing up mostly in Istanbul, while spending summers in cities like Eskişehir and Nazilli, gave me a balanced mix of urban life, street culture, and quiet observation.

During my teenage years, I lived somewhere between computers, books, football, friends, and games. I built personal websites on GeoCities, explored the early internet, played a lot of games, and naturally became “the computer guy” in my circle.

I entered Yıldız Technical University to study Mathematical Engineering, but my real education started when I began working full-time as a software developer in 2009 — while still a student. That blend of hands-on work, self-learning, and real responsibility shaped how I think about technology far more than formal coursework ever did. Over time, my career grew, consulting opportunities expanded, and I consciously chose building real systems over chasing a diploma. I came close to graduating, but I didn’t look back.

The Practitioner

A large part of my career was spent consulting for large enterprises. This gave me a unique vantage point: I was an insider working on critical projects, yet an outsider who could clearly see structural inefficiencies, misalignment, and hidden risks.

I often operated across multiple layers at once — backend, frontend, mobile, architecture, product, and technology strategy. That exposure shaped how I work today. I care deeply about clarity over complexity, long-term sustainability over short-term wins, and decision-making quality as much as technical execution.

Over time, this perspective evolved into what I do now: helping leaders and teams simplify systems, align technology with real business goals, and move forward with confidence rather than noise.

The Human

In 2013, I met my future wife while working at Akbank. We navigated demanding projects together for years, married in 2017, and welcomed our daughter in 2018.

Shortly before becoming parents, we made a deliberate move to İzmit. We wanted more space, nature, and a healthier balance. Today, we are a family of five, including our dog and cat.

I cherish the time spent with my daughter — whether we’re playing games (digital or analog), practicing piano, or getting our hands dirty fixing and building things around the house. These moments matter to me just as much as any professional achievement.

My curiosity often leads me to hobbies like 3D printing, woodworking, gardening, or beverage crafting. While I can’t always dedicate consistent time to them, I love the process of learning how things are made.

I’m still a lifelong gamer across PC, mobile, and VR — not just for entertainment, but because games are one of the purest forms of system design, feedback loops, and user experience.

To recharge, I ride motorcycle with close friends, escaping into forests, coastal towns, villages, lakes, and campsites. Being on the road helps me slow down, reset, and think more clearly.

I also spend a lot of time listening to podcasts, reading, taking notes, and continuously refining my “second brain.”

What ties everything together is a constant interest in understanding systems—technical, organizational, and human. I enjoy tackling complex challenges not just to solve them, but to make them clearer, simpler, and more sustainable for the people inside them.

Professional Background

Career Summary

I’m a technology leader and advisor with over 15 years of hands-on experience across software development, product strategy, and technical leadership.

My career spans enterprise environments and high-growth scaleups, with selective early-stage startup engagements — where I’ve worked as a software developer, consultant, technical leader, CTO, and managing partner.

I’ve spent years operating both inside organizations and alongside leadership teams—designing systems, guiding teams, and helping technology support real business goals.

Today, I work independently as a Senior Software Consultant and Technical Leader. I support enterprises, scaleups, and select startups with hands-on technical leadership — spanning architecture, product alignment, delivery stabilization, and strategic decision-making.

When needed, I operate comfortably at CTO-level, supporting founders, CTOs, and executives during growth, transition, or transformation phases.

In practice, I’ve worked most often with:

  • Enterprise organizations modernizing mission-critical systems
  • Technology leaders navigating architectural risk, delivery slowdown, or organizational complexity
  • Scaleups transitioning from ad-hoc delivery to sustainable engineering practices

Skills & Capabilities

Below are the core capability areas I’ve repeatedly applied in enterprise and consulting contexts — often under pressure, ambiguity, and real production constraints.

Technical Leadership & Decision-Making

  • Making irreversible and high-cost technical decisions under ambiguity, pressure, and incomplete information
  • Acting as a trusted technical counterweight to founders, CTOs, and executives in critical moments
  • Reducing organizational and cognitive complexity by turning vague problems into clear, actionable decisions
  • Knowing when to go deep hands-on and when to step back and steer the system

Software Architecture & System Design

  • Designing evolvable architectures that survive scale, team change, and business pivots
  • Modernizing legacy platforms without halting delivery or burning teams
  • Defining system boundaries, ownership models, and evolution paths that survive growth and team changes
  • Identifying architectural risk early and addressing it before it becomes organizational debt

Hands-on Engineering

  • Senior-level hands-on engineering across backend, frontend, and mobile in production systems
  • Moving fluidly between writing code, reviewing critical paths, and shaping architecture
  • Debugging and untangling complex systems where documentation, ownership, or clarity is missing
  • Using code as a thinking and validation tool, not just an output

Delivery, DevOps & Quality

  • Stabilizing delivery in environments suffering from pressure, debt, or loss of confidence
  • Designing pragmatic CI/CD and release practices that teams actually adopt
  • Improving quality and predictability through structure, feedback loops, and ownership — not ceremonies
  • Helping teams regain trust in their systems, their pipelines, and themselves

Product & Business Alignment

  • Translating product strategy and UX intent into technically sustainable solutions
  • Balancing speed, quality, and long-term cost with explicit trade-offs — not wishful thinking
  • Acting as a bridge between product, design, engineering, and leadership when alignment breaks down
  • Helping teams build the right thing, not just build things right

Modernization & Emerging Technologies

  • Leading platform modernization and technical debt reduction without derailing ongoing business
  • Cutting through hype to identify where AI, automation, or new technologies create real leverage
  • Designing adoption paths that respect organizational readiness, data reality, and operational risk
  • Knowing when not to adopt new technology is as important as knowing how

Work Experience (~16 years)

Independent Consulting — Senior Software Consultant & Fractional CTO

September 2025 – Present

I work independently as a senior software consultant and fractional CTO, focusing on technical leadership, system design, and delivery stabilization.

This period is structured as a hands-on, independent phase, using the flexibility of independent work to deepen my practice across architecture, product, and engineering, while continuing to design, build, and iterate on software systems.

  • Strategic Software Consulting: Solving complex architectural puzzles and delivery bottlenecks in high-stakes environments. I specialize in legacy modernization, system design, and establishing robust engineering standards.

  • Fractional CTO Services: Providing part-time strategic leadership for organizations in transition, helping them shape their technology roadmap and build healthy engineering cultures.

  • AI-Augmented Software Engineering: I actively experiment with modern AI agents and models by building mobile and web applications from the ground up. This hands-on exploration allows me to provide practical, battle-tested advice to teams on integrating AI into their daily workflows to drive real productivity.

  • Podcast: I regularly speak on the PodTest podcast, sharing insights on Engineering Culture, Software Quality, and the human side of technical leadership. It’s a platform where we explore what makes software teams truly excel in the modern era.

Managing Partner @ Maarifa | UX & Consultancy

November 2016 – August 2025 ~ 9 years

I joined Maarifa at a turning point — a boutique consultancy with strong design talent but delivery challenges, facing a stalled strategic engagement with its largest enterprise client. I rebuilt trust, unblocked delivery, and turned this into a decade-long, continuously expanding partnership.

Over nearly a decade, I co-led strategy, technology, and operations — growing Maarifa from a 4-person design studio into a multi-disciplinary consultancy delivering mission-critical initiatives across banking, fintech, consumer electronics, and deep-tech startups.

Key Contributions

Technical Leadership & Delivery Ownership

  • Acted as the principal technical authority for complex client engagements, stepping in hands-on when critical architectural or delivery risks emerged
  • Personally designed and implemented core components, PoCs, and recovery plans in high-stakes projects (e.g., Akbank, Arçelik, Huudle)
  • Established scalable solution patterns, engineering standards, and DevOps practices that enabled senior-heavy, high-trust delivery at scale

Strategic Growth & Executive Trust

  • Co-led company positioning, commercial strategy, pricing models, and proposals as Co-CEO & CTO
  • Secured and expanded long-term enterprise accounts (Akbank, Arçelik, BKT, Tofna, Huudle, Augmency) primarily through technical credibility and executive trust
  • Translated ambiguous business challenges into executable technical and organizational roadmaps

Operations, Governance & Culture

  • Owned full P&L, forecasting, hiring, performance management, and vendor oversight
  • Built and scaled teams up to ~20 senior engineers and designers while preserving boutique agility
  • Designed and operated the Integrated Management System, achieving and maintaining ISO 27001 & ISO 27701
  • Personally led annual enterprise audits and surveillance reviews with zero non-conformity

Technology Advisor & Software Consultant @ BKT – Banka Kombëtare Tregtare

May 2020 – May 2025 ~ 5 years

Engaged via Maarifa as a long-term advisor to accelerate BKT’s digital transformation, I served as a strategic technology partner for BKT (Albania’s largest bank) for 5 years.

A key outcome was Dora e Pare: a real-estate & automotive marketplace integrated with instant loan capabilities — expanding BKT’s reach beyond traditional banking and driving new customer acquisition channels.

Key Contributions

  • Concept to Launch: Took a high-level directive (“build a classifieds platform”) and managed the entire product lifecycle—from market research and feature definition to technical architecture and launch.

  • Technical Architecture: Architected the platform using .NET Core and nopCommerce to ensure rapid time-to-market. Customized the architecture to focus on performance and scalability while integrating complex banking loan workflows.

  • DevOps & Infrastructure: Built the entire deployment strategy using Docker containers on virtual machines, establishing CI/CD pipelines to ensure smooth, automated releases.

  • Business Impact: The platform successfully launched as a key lead-generation engine, converting real estate and vehicle browsers into instant loan applicants.

  • Investment Scouting: Conducted weekly market scans of the Turkish startup ecosystem, presenting emerging business models and potential investment opportunities to the bank’s senior leadership to guide their innovation strategy.

  • Digital Transformation: Served as a trusted advisor to the CIO and VP of Engineering, participating in weekly executive meetings to provide technical feedback on core banking app modernization and strategic roadmap decisions.

  • Concept Development: Prototyped and designed concepts for diverse business models including a “Gig Economy Platform” and “Telehealth Solution,” helping the bank visualize opportunities beyond financial services.

Technology Advisor & Software Consultant @ BKT Pay

January 2023 – March 2025 ~ 2 years

As part of BKT’s expansion into the fintech space, I served as a key advisor for the launch of BKT Pay (an e-money and digital wallet subsidiary). My mandate was to ensure the new brand entered the market with a robust digital presence and a world-class user experience, bridging the gap between the core banking vendor solution and the end-user expectations.

Key Contributions

  • Product & Technology Advisory: Architected the public-facing platform (epara.app) using a modern Headless stack tailored for performance and SEO. Selected and implemented Strapi (CMS) coupled with Next.js and React for the frontend.

  • UX & Mobile Experience Review: Close collaboration with business and design teams to validate usability and refine interaction patterns for the iOS & Android apps

  • Web Platform Ownership: Technology selection & architecture for Strapi CMS + Next.js + React, DevOps pipelines via Azure and dockerized deployment

  • Technical Oversight: Led the Maarifa engineering team in the development phase, ensuring seamless integration between the CMS and the frontend.

  • Go-Live Readiness & Early Validation: Quality and performance reviews, rollout planning, post-launch monitoring support for a stable first release

  • Ongoing Fintech Strategy Partner: Provided on-demand technical guidance as BKT Pay expanded capabilities and operational maturity

Technology Advisor & Software Consultant @ Huudle.io

September 2022 – February 2024 ~ 1.5 years

Huudle was building a browser-based async meeting platform (SaaS) relying on video/screen capture. I joined to solve critical product limitations and high operational costs caused by third-party recording tools.

Acting as a hands-on technical advisor, I engineered a custom recording engine from scratch and re-architected the cloud infrastructure for secure media delivery.

Key Contributions

  • Custom WebRTC Recorder: Implemented full video + audio + screen capture engine using TypeScript + React, replacing costly vendor SDKs and unlocking new UX flexibility

  • Advanced Mixed-Stream Recording: Dynamic webcam/screen toggling, audio merging, server-side duration correction, automatic thumbnail + GIF creation

  • Media Processing & Format Compatibility: Edge-triggered MP4 transcoding for Chrome WebM recordings and consistent playback metadata

  • AWS Media Delivery Architecture: S3 storage design, CloudFront private CDN, secure access via signed URLs and cookie-based auth, server-side AWS integration layer built in Next.js

  • Scalable Tech Roadmapping: Delivered long-term AWS architecture plan and mentored incoming CTO to ensure smooth ownership transition

Senior Software Consultant @ Arçelik

January 2023 – December 2023 ~ 1 year

I was engaged to overhaul the architecture of Arçelik’s customer support chatbot (deployed across Arçelik & Beko sites). The project was facing challenges with development velocity and UX limitations. I stepped in to modernize the legacy stack, implementing advanced algorithmic features and introducing an MLOps culture to the team.

Key Contributions

  • Modernized Frontend Architecture: Transformed a legacy, single-file JavaScript codebase (deployed via Google Tag Manager) into a modular, class-based TypeScript architecture.

  • Build Pipeline: Configured a custom Webpack build process to bundle the modernized code back into a single deployable asset, maintaining compatibility while drastically improving the developer experience. Rebuilt Azure DevOps pipelines for smooth build & deploy flows, including automated bundling integration with the .NET backend

  • CI/CD Automation: Optimized Azure DevOps pipelines to support this new workflow, including automated bundling integration with the .NET backend — enabling the team to develop locally and deploy confidently.

  • ML-powered Input Intelligence: Utilized SymSpell for lightning-fast spell checking, implemented Trie data structures for efficient auto-completion, and built N-gram based dictionary lookups for next-word prediction with smart idle detection to enhance chat UX

  • Backend Reliability Improvements: Optimized these compute-heavy operations to run seamlessly within the browser and backend services (C# .NET) without latency.

  • MLOps Capability Introduction: Designed and built a custom Next.js and React MLOps portal that allowed business and engineering units to version, edit, and push dictionary updates to Azure Storage via a UI, decoupling the business logic from the engineering release cycle.

  • Technical Reviews: Conducted weekly deep-dive technical sessions, elevating the team’s capabilities in modern web standards and algorithmic thinking.

Senior Software Consultant @ Akbank

September 2018 – February 2022 ~ 3.5 years

I was engaged by Akbank’s Corporate Architecture team to solve a massive legacy modernization challenge: transforming the mission-critical “Branch Workstation” platform used daily by ~15,000 employees. The existing system was a tightly-coupled .NET monolith dependent on desktop hardware and native integrations. Many stakeholders doubted whether a modernization is even technically possible.

I architected and proved the solution, establishing a modern framework that is now the standard for over dozens of teams within the bank.

Key Contributions

  • Architected a “Thin Client” solution using a headless WPF shell embedding the Chromium (CefSharp) engine. This allowed us to migrate the UX to Angular while maintaining native capabilities (printer/scanner integrations) via a custom signaling bridge I designed.

  • Designed a sophisticated window management and signaling layer that allowed the Angular web interface to control native desktop apps seamlessly—managing context switching and embedding 3rd-party apps within the web UI as if they were native tabs.

  • Built the core Angular (with Typescript) framework supporting multi-tab operations and multi-customer sessions simultaneously—a capability previously deemed impossible. Optimized rendering using advanced techniques like asynchronous module loading, preloading strategies, and strict change detection tuning.

  • Built the CI/CD pipelines from scratch for the new stack. Established strict coding standards, led long-term code reviews, and personally trained dozens of engineers on Angular best practices to ensure the 50+ development teams could adopt the new framework seamlessly.

  • Extended the success of the Branch framework to modernize the legacy Call Center application, proving the architecture’s flexibility across different critical banking domains.

Fractional CTO & Technology Advisor @ Tofna Technologies

June 2018 – December 2019 ~ 1.5 years

Tofna was a deep-tech startup built around RealWear wearable devices — enabling voice-first and hands-free workflows in factory, field service and asset maintenance environments. I worked directly with the founder as the company’s fractional CTO, shaping product direction, architecture and technical delivery while also leading early team formation.

Key Contributions

  • Technology strategy & architecture leadership for industrial AR: Android-based edge computing, voice-driven UX, camera-driven workflows

  • MVP design & delivery: Partnered with the founder in intense “zero-to-one” product workshops, translating high-level market needs into actionable technical roadmaps and feature sets.

  • Acting as the sole technical leader for the non-technical founder; I managed the entire engineering lifecycle—from defining the tech stack (Android/Kotlin, Go, React) to daily asynchronous team leadership and code reviews.

  • Acted as the technical counterpart in enterprise engagements — joining executive customer meetings as CTO presence

  • Led field-driven solutioning with major industrial prospects (incl. Arçelik, Tüpraş, Türk Traktör, Ford Otosan) and translated operational pain points into scalable product capabilities

Technology Advisor @ Augmency

September 2016 – May 2018 ~ 1.5 years

Augmency was a deep-tech startup combining AR/VR, laser-projection hardware, and computer vision for smart retail and industrial environments. I worked directly with the CEO and founding team and focused on researching technology options, evaluating trade-offs, and validating technical feasibility for high-stakes industrial use cases.

Key Contributions

  • Led technology evaluation & decision-making for the entire software ecosystem — from computer vision algorithms to cloud/API architecture and client applications

  • Defined feasible architecture direction using a mixed Python + C/C++ approach: fast prototyping while maintaining performance for CV workloads

  • Designed the backend & operations foundation: microservices architecture (Go), container-based deployment (Docker), scalable cloud setup (AWS/Azure/GCP)

  • Established the front-end and mobile direction: React-based SPA/PWA strategy and native/React Native decision frameworks for companion apps

  • Drove industrial PoCs with Tüpraş, Ford Otosan, and Arçelik — translating field needs into software solution designs and rollout scenarios

  • Led vendor selection, hiring assessments, and role definitions to build a sustainable engineering capability

  • Facilitated prototype reviews, tech experimentation, and product shaping between academia-driven R&D and commercial delivery needs

Senior User Experience & Technology Consultant @ Akbank

November 2016 - November 2017 ~ 1 year

I joined Akbank’s major digital banking transformation program as a trusted consultant—combining UX expertise, business context, and deep technical background. I became the primary bridge between product owners, designers, and engineering teams, ensuring that every design decision was both usable and buildable.

Key Contributions

  • Led weekly UX/Business/Tech alignment sessions with Internet & Mobile teams to shape requirements into feasible design direction

  • Translated complex banking flows into clear information architecture and modern UX patterns (Gestalt principles, scanning heuristics, Z/F layouts, accessibility considerations)

  • Reviewed and evolved UI deliverables from our UX team—ensuring consistency and implementation correctness

  • Supported engineering teams during delivery by clarifying interaction details, edge cases, and responsive behaviors

  • Quality-assured frontend implementation through CSS/JS reviews and pixel-perfect acceptance

Director of Software Engineering @ Nomad Commerce

September 2015 – October 2016 ~ 1 year

After a few months, I stepped into full engineering and operational ownership to lead the entire 30-person embedded operation, functioning effectively as a “Field CTO” for the engagement. I transformed a struggling 15-person team into a high-performing 30-person digital product studio, managing Business Analysis, Backend, Mobile (iOS/Android/Windows), and Web teams.

Navigated the team through crisis periods, personally filled critical gaps (writing code, architectural reviews, and business analysis) to ensure Akbank’s production pipeline remained uninterrupted despite the chaos, kept the team motivated and operational through transparency and personal trust.

Key Contributions

  • Delivery velocity +300%, operational cost –20% in 6 months (measured against bank KPIs)

  • Restructured into clear ownership lanes (Backend / Web / Client / BA) with strong leads

  • Shifted culture from reactive firefighting → calm, structured, predictable delivery

  • Model adopted as vendor governance best practice within Akbank

Leadership Responsibilities

  • Engineering management across architecture, execution, and release readiness

  • Implemented global best practices for talent growth, performance frameworks, innovation management, culture building, hiring, onboarding.

  • Budget ownership — capacity planning and productivity optimization

  • Stakeholder alignment with senior banking leadership

Backend & Frontend Team Leader @ Nomad Commerce

May 2015 - August 2015 ~ 0.5 year

Joined as the technical anchor for the Backend and Web teams. My role was to bridge the gap between Akbank’s complex legacy systems and Nomad’s agile delivery expectations, acting as the de-facto “Second-in-Command” for the engagement.

Key Contributions

  • Led the backend architecture and critical development of Akbank Direkt’s mobile banking services (C#, ASP.NET MVC 3, Web API — secure transactions, authentication, logging, device flows)

  • Led the critical development of the SPA Mobile Web application using Durandal, Knockout.js, and TypeScript. Directly implemented the most complex modules while coaching frontend developers.

  • Led and guided 5 engineers across backend + frontend disciplines

  • Acted as a primary technical voice in customer-facing discussions and delivery planning, leveraging my deep prior knowledge of Akbank’s infrastructure to unblock dependencies and clarify requirements.

Senior Software Consultant @ Akbank

November 2012 – May 2015 ~ 2.5 years

Served as a senior engineer and architect in Akbank’s internal digital banking team, leading development of the bank’s first in-house native Windows Phone and Windows 8 banking apps, and later its modern single-page mobile web platform. These products set new UX and performance standards in Turkish mobile banking and played a key role in Akbank’s industry recognition.

Key Contributions

  • Native Apps Architecture — Windows Phone & Windows 8: Designed a unified C#/.NET/XAML architecture with ~40% shared code while preserving device-native experiences (early Universal App design).

  • AR ATM Finder — First in Turkish banking: Built an augmented reality ATM navigation flow combining geo-location, sensors, and live camera overlay for intuitive spatial guidance.

  • Mobile Web Platform (SPA) — Pre-React era: Architected DurandalJS + KnockoutJS + TypeScript + LESS frontend with a modular component system enabling scalable delivery.

  • Security & Reliability Enhancements: Improved token and session handling, hardened sensitive flows, and reduced regressions through architectural guardrails.

  • Innovation Program Leadership: Led a cross-functional team (7–8 engineers), establishing a structured pipeline from ideation → PoC → exec buy-in.

  • Technical Hiring Influence: Developed evaluation system for Digital Banking engineering roles and advised leadership on selection for critical growth.

Recognition & Industry Impact

  • 🏆 Global Mobile Awards Winner (2014) Smartphone App Challenge — Akbank Direkt (iOS/Android/Windows family)

  • Featured on Windows Central as a benchmark implementation of banking UX (native Windows Phone app) — positioned as reference quality in the ecosystem

  • Solution architecture showcased by Microsoft (TR → US internal event) (Windows 8 + Phone universal design + AR experience)

Software Consultant @ Akbank

July 2010 - November 2012 ~ 2.5 years

Joined Veripark as a software developer and worked fully embedded in Akbank’s mobile banking team. My focus was building secure, reliable backend infrastructure for Akbank Direkt using C#, .NET, WCF, MSMQ, ASP.NET Web API and SQL Server — laying foundations for one of Turkey’s first full-featured mobile banking platforms.

Key Contributions

  • SMS Gateway & Operator Integrations: Designed and implemented an SMS delivery gateway in C# using WCF and MSMQ, integrating with all 3 major Turkish operators. Built smart routing logic to choose the right operator per customer and automatic failover so critical messages (e.g., one-time passwords) still arrived when an operator was down.

  • Reliable Messaging with MSMQ: Implemented durable messaging patterns on Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ), including retry, re-queueing and poison-message handling. This ensured notification and transaction workflows could recover from downstream failures without losing data.

  • Soft HSM & Encryption Workflows: Played a key role in designing a custom “soft HSM” system using C#, ASP.NET and SQL Server to store and manage encryption keys. Built admin panels for the three-party key ceremony, and implemented encryption/decryption flows where applications could securely encrypt/decrypt values without ever seeing raw keys, improving overall cryptography hygiene.

  • Mobile API Entry Point: Helped build the ASP.NET Web API entry point for Akbank’s mobile applications, centralizing token validation, request routing and structured logging before traffic hit core banking systems. This improved security, observability and maintainability of the mobile backend.

  • Transactional Backend Development: Contributed to the ASP.NET MVC 3 transactional backend, implementing core modules such as EFT / wire transfers. Helped define standards for transaction handling, commit messages, code reviews and branching, and supported new team members in adopting these practices.

Senior Software Developer @ GMG Bilgi Teknolojileri

November 2012 – May 2015 ~ 2.5 years

After Veripark’s engagement ended, Akbank retained me through GMG to ensure continuity in leadership and execution across their digital channels.
I took on broader responsibility in mobile architecture, frontend modernization, and internal tooling — while remaining a trusted technical partner in key decisions.

Software Developer @ Veripark

July 2010 - November 2012 ~ 2.5 years

Started as a consultant placed inside Akbank’s mobile development team, rapidly growing into a key contributor on secure mobile workflows and high-volume backend systems for Akbank Direkt — one of Turkey’s earliest full-featured mobile banking platforms.

Software Developer @ Info-line

July 2009 – July 2010 ~ 1 year

My first professional role — I joined as an intern while studying and transitioned into a full-time software developer. I contributed to the internal CRM platform and the public websites behind Turkey’s 11824 directory assistance service, gaining early full-stack experience in real operational environments.

Key Contributions

  • Developed and maintained internal CRM screens used daily by call center agents using C#/ASP.NET WebForms and SQL Server
  • Built custom web scraping tools to gather and validate public data for directory lookup operations
  • Took full ownership of the corporate website — implementing new UI changes, content updates, and branding requests using HTML/CSS & JavaScript
  • Supported marketing and leadership by delivering quick, business-driven enhancements to web properties
  • Mentored 5+ interns, onboarding them to the development workflow and assigning guided tasks to help them contribute safely.

Community & Knowledge Sharing

I believe technology grows through sharing and conversation.

  • PodTest & Karınca Açısı: Co-hosting a podcast series with Tunç Kavaklıoğlu, focusing on software quality, QA culture, and engineering management.
  • BiTekDer (Information Technology Association): Active member contributing to industry standards and knowledge sharing in Turkey.
  • Mentorship: Occasionally supporting early-stage founders and engineers through short, focused advisory conversations.

I see knowledge sharing not as branding, but as a responsibility that comes with experience — because better systems start with better conversations.

What’s Next?

If you’re looking for a senior technical partner to help you make sense of complexity — or simply want to connect — I’d be happy to talk.

👉 Get in Touch or View My Services