Backend architecture
Designing service boundaries, data models and migration paths for systems that need to keep working while they change.
- Service and data model design
- Migration and rollout planning
- Performance investigation
Available for: vailable for private consulting on tunnelling and rock mechanics projects.
Software Engineer
Morteza Karami, Ph.D.
Senior Geotechnical & Tunnel Engineer and Rock Mechanics Specialist with over 15 years of international experience in TBM tunnelling, geotechnical engineering, rock mechanics, and underground construction, specializing in the design, analysis, and construction of complex underground infrastructure.
I am a Senior Geotechnical & Tunnel Engineer and Rock Mechanics Specialist with over 15 years of international experience in tunnelling, TBM projects, rock mechanics, and underground construction. I hold a Ph.D. in Rock Mechanics and have worked on major infrastructure, mining, dam, and underground projects across different countries. My professional expertise includes rock mass characterization, tunnel design and construction, TBM performance and cutter wear, geotechnical analysis, numerical modelling, ground improvement, and engineering solutions for complex underground conditions. Throughout my career, I have combined academic research with practical field experience, working across design, construction, supervision, and technical management roles. I am also available for private consulting and technical support on tunnelling, TBM, and rock mechanics projects.
- Years building software
- 8+
- Projects shipped
- 40+
- Languages spoken
- 3
About
- Location
- Italy
- Available for
- vailable for private consulting on tunnelling and rock mechanics projects.
I am a Senior Geotechnical & Tunnel Engineer and Rock Mechanics Specialist with over 15 years of international experience in tunnelling, TBM projects, rock mechanics, and underground construction. I hold a Ph.D. in Rock Mechanics and have worked on major infrastructure, mining, dam, and underground projects across different countries. My professional expertise includes rock mass characterization, tunnel design and construction, TBM performance and cutter wear, geotechnical analysis, numerical modelling, ground improvement, and engineering solutions for complex underground conditions. Throughout my career, I have combined academic research with practical field experience, working across design, construction, supervision, and technical management roles. I am also available for private consulting and technical support on tunnelling, TBM, and rock mechanics projects.
Experience
- Current
Senior Software Engineer
Acme SystemsMilan, Italy · HybridFull-time
Mar 2022 – PresentDuration: 4 yrs 9 mos
Lead engineer on the platform team, responsible for the service boundaries the rest of the product is built on.
Highlights
- Cut p99 API latency by 62% by replacing a chatty ORM path with a single projected query.
- Introduced a migration policy that made every schema change reversible in production.
- Mentored four engineers through their first on-call rotations.
Tech stack
- TypeScript
- Go
- PostgreSQL
- Kubernetes
- Terraform
Backend Engineer
Northwind LabsRemoteFull-time
Jun 2019 – Feb 2022Duration: 2 yrs 9 mos
Built and operated the ingestion pipeline behind the company's analytics product.
Highlights
- Scaled event ingestion from 2M to 180M events per day without changing the storage budget.
- Replaced nightly batch reconciliation with an idempotent streaming job.
Tech stack
- Python
- Kafka
- ClickHouse
- Airflow
- AWS
Full-Stack Developer
Studio VentunoTehran, IranFull-time
Sep 2017 – May 2019Duration: 1 yrs 9 mos
Delivered client web applications end to end, from database design through to the browser.
Highlights
- Shipped 14 client projects, several still in production today.
Tech stack
- JavaScript
- React
- Node.js
- MySQL
Skills
Languages
- TypeScript95%
- Go85%
- Python88%
- SQL92%
- Rust60%
Backend & Data
- PostgreSQL93%
- Redis85%
- Kafka78%
- ClickHouse72%
- GraphQL80%
Frontend
- React90%
- Next.js88%
- Tailwind CSS86%
- Accessibility82%
Infrastructure
- Docker90%
- Kubernetes80%
- Terraform75%
- Linux88%
- CI/CD87%
Projects
Services
Technical review
An outside read of your codebase, infrastructure or roadmap, delivered as a written report you can act on.
- Architecture and code review
- Security and reliability audit
- Prioritised written findings
Team mentoring
Working alongside your engineers on real tickets — the fastest way I know to move practice, not just opinion.
- Pairing on production work
- Code review coaching
- On-call readiness
Writing
Education
Sep 2015 – Jul 2017
M.Sc. Computer Engineering
Politecnico di Milano · Milan, Italy
Field of study: Distributed Systems
Thesis on consistency trade-offs in geographically partitioned event stores.
Sep 2011 – Jun 2015
B.Sc. Software Engineering
University of Tehran · Tehran, Iran
Field of study: Software Engineering
Certifications
Certified Kubernetes Administrator
The Linux Foundation
Expired
- Issued
- Apr 2023
- Expires
- Apr 2026
- Credential ID
- CKA-0000-0000
AWS Solutions Architect — Associate
Amazon Web Services
- Issued
- Nov 2021
Testimonials
Morteza has the rare habit of leaving a system simpler than he found it. Our on-call load dropped measurably after he rewrote the ingestion path.
The best reviewer I've worked with. He finds the assumption you didn't know you'd made, and says so without making it a big thing.
He explains technical trade-offs in a way that lets non-engineers make a real decision, rather than just approving one.
Get in touch
- Email mehello@morteza-karami.info
- LocationItaly