Hi! My name is Martin Candela and I'm a Backend Engineer

Backend Tech Lead at helu as a Contractor Sep 2023
Now

Led backend development of a Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) tool, designing and implementing scalable services using Python, FastAPI, GraphQL, PostgreSQL, and RabbitMQ on AWS.

• Backend Development Leadership

  • Implemented best practices and ensured code quality through code reviews and one-on-one mentoring for a team of 6 developers.
  • Developed and implemented testing procedures and standards that enabled the team to write thorough, maintainable tests.
  • Led hiring for senior software and data engineers, conducting interviews and making key staffing decisions.

• Performance and Technical Improvements

  • Implemented data aggregation and reporting, streamlining data retrieval and improving query performance by 10x.
  • Improved API design by reducing the amount of data and requests, enhancing app load times by 20%.
  • Refactored large parts of the codebase to reduce complexity and improve maintainability.

Senior Backend Engineer with Staff Responsibilities at BYND as a Contractor Aug 2021
Jun 2023

Led the backend development of multiple projects on this digital agency, with an emphasis on performance and stability. Python, Flask, GCP, PHP, PostgreSQL.

• Technical accomplishments

  • Migrated a legacy data pipeline handling 50M records daily into Apache Bean, bringing the runtime from 4 hours down to 15 minutes.
  • Oversaw the sunset of a Google product, Google’s Digital Garage, migrating 15M users to their new platform.
  • Built custom integrations with CRM systems to allow clients to manage the entire lifecycle of their ad campaigns.
  • Developed and maintained an AI-enhanced business assessment tool with integrations to internal Google tools.

• Team and Mentorship

  • Defined technical standards used throughout the company.
  • Ensure other project's code quality via cross-company code reviews.
  • Mentored junior colleagues through 1:1's, pair programming and code reviews.
  • Designed and performed technical interviews for potential new hires.

Tech Lead at Google as a Contractor Jun 2018
Jul 2021

Sole technical decision maker, responsible for driving all technical documentation, onboarding processes, and aligning internal teams for Google’s Digital Garage. Acted as the primary point of contact for Google's security teams, ensuring compliance with internal standards.

• Launched Grow my Skills, an ML assisted tool to help users find the skills needed to upgrade their jobs.
• Migrated a Python 2 monolith to Python 3 services, improving scalability, maintainability and performance.
• Consolidated and migrated custom CMS solutions into Google's internal CMS, streamlining content management across teams.
• Developed a custom platform for third-parties to safely and anonymously quiz and evaluate students.

Staff Backend Engineer at Google as a Contractor Jan 2016
May 2018

• Main individual contributor for Google’s Digital Garage and Grow with Google platforms.
• Handled code reviews for the entire development team.
• Implemented data export pipelines, handled site-wide rebrandings, restructured content schemas, and integrated a CRM system to streamline user engagement.
• Ensured compliance with Google standards of code quality and security. Conducted in-depth security reviews in collaboration with Google's Security team.

Full Stack Developer at UniMOOC Oct 2012
Dec 2015

• Developed Google’s Digital Garage, a global e-learning platform, from prototype to launch in 5 months using GCP and Python 2.
• Worked on Google Activate, an e-learning platform for online courses and in-person events.
• Developed and maintained the UniMOOC AEmprende platform, an e-learning site for university courses.