Yura Pilguk

Principal Backend Engineer
Senior Software Engineer with 18+ years of experience architecting and developing scalable backend systems. Currently serving as Principal Backend Engineer at PowerToFly for 9+ years, leading teams of 15+ engineers and architecting high-performance Python applications serving 200K+ active users. Deep expertise in Python, AWS cloud infrastructure, data engineering, and system architecture.
18+
Years of Experience
9+
Years at PowerToFly
15+
Engineers Mentored
200K+
Active Users Served

Experience

Principal Backend Engineer
PowerToFly
2024 – Present  · 9+ years total tenure

Steer strategic direction and development of robust backend systems underpinning platform performance and scalability. Lead team of 15+ engineers across multiple time zones.

  • Lead architecture decisions for scalable systems handling high-volume user interactions
  • Oversee comprehensive AWS cloud infrastructure supporting platform resilience
  • Drive cross-functional collaboration with frontend, design, and product teams
Python Flask FastAPI PostgreSQL Redis AWS Lambda OpenSearch
Backend Software Architect
PowerToFly
2022 – 2024

Led conceptualization and implementation of robust backend architecture ensuring platform scalability and adaptability.

  • Designed scalable architecture supporting 300% user growth (50K to 200K active users)
  • Established AWS cloud infrastructure standards and best practices
  • Architected solutions for complex integration challenges across service domains
System Architecture AWS SNS SQS EventBridge AWS Glue
Lead Backend Developer
PowerToFly
Jul 2016 – Mar 2022

Guided backend development team through complete software development lifecycle while maintaining high coding standards.

  • Led team of backend developers through agile development processes
  • Established coding standards and best practices, reducing technical debt
  • Mentored junior developers and facilitated knowledge sharing
Python SQLAlchemy PostgreSQL Redis AWS Agile
Software Engineer
Avaaz.org
2008 – 2015

Contributed to platform development for an international advocacy organization from startup through scale, supporting millions of global users.

  • Developed and maintained features for high-load platform serving global activist community
  • Collaborated with distributed international team across multiple time zones
  • Contributed to platform architecture decisions supporting international expansion
High-Load Systems Platform Engineering Scalable Web Apps
Software Engineer
QArea
2006 – 2008

Developed web applications and CRM extensions while building foundational full-stack development expertise.

JavaScript jQuery SugarCRM Database Design

Skills

Backend Development

Python Flask FastAPI Django SQLAlchemy Celery asyncio pytest

Data Engineering

PySpark Apache Airflow DBT Pandas NumPy ETL/ELT Kafka

AI & Machine Learning

OpenAI API Claude API scikit-learn Embeddings LLM Integration MCP Servers

AWS Cloud

Lambda S3 RDS DynamoDB Glue Kinesis SQS SNS EventBridge Step Functions ElastiCache Redshift

Databases

PostgreSQL MySQL MongoDB Redis Elasticsearch OpenSearch Snowflake BigQuery

Architecture & DevOps

System Design Microservices REST APIs GraphQL Docker CI/CD Git Monitoring

Education

Master's degree, Artificial Intelligence
Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics
2019 – 2021
Specialist, Computer Engineering
National Aerospace University — Kharkiv Aviation Institute
2005 – 2006
Bachelor's degree, Computer Science
National Aerospace University — Kharkiv Aviation Institute
2001 – 2005