Houston, TX·backend·est. 2006

Yura Pilguk

Principal Backend Engineer

Twenty years of building backend systems that outlast the hype cycles around them — Python platforms, AWS infrastructure, and data pipelines serving hundreds of thousands of users. Currently leading backend engineering at PowerToFly.

Connect on LinkedIn

20 yrs engineering/ 10 yrs at PowerToFly/ 15+ engineers led/ 200K+ users served

About

I'm a backend engineer who measures work in decades, not sprints. My toolkit centers on Python — Flask, FastAPI, Django — running on AWS, with deep experience in data engineering (PySpark, Airflow, DBT) and production AI systems: recommendation engines built on OpenAI models, agentic workflows with Anthropic Claude, embeddings, and MCP servers.

For over eight of those years I've led engineering teams, most of them distributed across continents and time zones. I hold a Master's in Artificial Intelligence, earned mid-career — before the current wave made it fashionable.

Experience

2006 — present

PowerToFly

2016 — present · 10 yrs

Joined when the platform served its first tens of thousands of users; now responsible for the architecture and the team behind it.

Principal Backend Engineer

2024 — present

Set technical direction for the backend and lead a team of 15+ engineers across multiple time zones. Own the architecture serving 200K+ active users and the AWS infrastructure it runs on — and drive the platform's AI adoption: a job recommendation system built on OpenAI models, automated screening of talent profiles that replaced a manual review pipeline, and AI-assisted engineering workflows across the team.

Python · Flask · FastAPI · SQLAlchemy · PostgreSQL · Redis · OpenSearch · OpenAI · embeddings · Lambda · SNS/SQS · EventBridge · Glue · MediaConvert

Backend Software Architect

2022 — 2024

Redesigned the platform architecture through 300% user growth — from 50K to 200K active users — without a rewrite. Established the AWS infrastructure standards the team still builds on and untangled integration across service domains.

System architecture · Lambda · SNS/SQS · EventBridge · RDS · ElastiCache · S3 · OpenSearch · Glue

Lead Backend Developer

2016 — 2022

Built and led the backend team through the platform's formative years: hiring, mentoring, coding standards, and a lot of shipped features. Translated business requirements into systems that didn't need rewriting.

Python · Flask · SQLAlchemy · PostgreSQL · Redis · AWS · agile delivery

Avaaz.org

2008 — 2015 · 7 yrs

Software Engineer

Seven years building one of the world's largest online advocacy platforms — from startup phase through scale to millions of members worldwide. High-load systems, campaign-driven traffic spikes, and a fully distributed international team.

High-load systems · platform engineering · scalable web applications

QArea

2006 — 2008 · 2 yrs

Software Engineer

Where the full-stack foundations were laid: client web applications, custom SugarCRM modules, a student testing system built on the then-new jQuery, and tree-structured database design.

JavaScript · jQuery · SugarCRM · CMS development · database design

Stack

Python
Flask · FastAPI · Django · SQLAlchemy · Celery · asyncio · multiprocessing · pytest
Data engineering
PySpark · Apache Airflow · DBT · Pandas · NumPy · ETL/ELT at scale
AI engineering
OpenAI API · Anthropic Claude API · agentic systems · agent orchestration · MCP servers · embeddings · recommendation systems · scikit-learn
AI automation
talent-profile screening · workflow automation · AI-assisted code review · engineering process optimization
AWS
Lambda · S3 · RDS · DynamoDB · Glue · Kinesis · SQS · SNS · EventBridge · Step Functions · ElastiCache · Redshift · MediaConvert
Databases
PostgreSQL · MySQL · MongoDB · Redis · Elasticsearch · OpenSearch · Snowflake · BigQuery
APIs & streaming
REST · GraphQL · microservices · Kafka · real-time streaming
DevOps
Docker · GitLab CI/CD · monitoring · logging · performance optimization

Education

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

Contact

One channel, always read. If you're hiring for senior backend, architecture, or engineering leadership roles — or just want to talk systems — reach out on LinkedIn.

linkedin.com/in/yurapilguk