Danijel H.

Senior Engineering Manager

Schrobenhausen, Germany

Experience

Apr 2021 - Oct 2024
3 years 7 months
Munich, Germany

Senior Engineering Manager

InstaMotion GmbH

  • Proven track record in leading high-performing engineering teams, driving process improvements, and successfully delivering complex projects.

  • Led engineering strategy development and execution across multiple teams (Engineering, DevOps, SysAdmin, QA), defining quarterly OKRs and roadmaps to align with business objectives.

  • Established comprehensive engineering excellence framework including coding standards, career progression paths, and critical operational policies.

  • Successfully conducted technical due diligence during investment rounds, presenting technology infrastructure to potential investors.

  • Developed and implemented key organizational policies including incident management, deployment guidelines, and security protocols.

  • Streamlined recruitment process and managed performance reviews, resulting in improved team composition and capabilities.

  • Architected and implemented full-stack solutions using TypeScript, Node.js backend and Next.js frontend with Styled Components.

  • Designed and optimized serverless architecture utilizing AWS Lambda, Step Functions, State Machine, ECS, API Gateway, and multiple databases (DynamoDB, MongoDB, Postgres, MariaDB, OpenSearch).

  • Implemented GraphQL for frontend requests and REST APIs for backend services, improving system connectivity and data flow.

  • Established robust CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions and Jenkins, incorporating quality gates and security checks.

  • Integrated SonarCloud for static code analysis, enhancing code quality across all repositories.

  • Spearheaded infrastructure stability and security improvements while optimizing operational costs.

  • Implemented automated testing framework using Jest for backend/frontend and Playwright for E2E testing.

  • Created reusable tooling modules for logging, database connectivity, parameter store integration, and reusable libraries.

  • Designed and implemented microservices architecture using AWS ECS, documented with OpenAPI specifications.

  • Enhanced creation and deployment processes through standardized templates and automated pipeline creation.

  • Successfully delivered multiple projects on schedule while maintaining high quality standards and best practices.

  • Conducted regular 1-on-1s and mentoring sessions, fostering team growth and professional development.

  • Participated in cross-functional management meetings, ensuring alignment between technical initiatives and business goals.

  • Identified and addressed knowledge gaps through targeted mentoring and training programs.

  • Implemented atomic design principles for frontend development, improving component reusability and maintenance.

Oct 2019 - Apr 2021
1 year 7 months
Munich, Germany

Team Lead Development EU & Tech DRI Euro Team

Holiday Extras GmbH

  • Managed and led a high-performing team of 6 engineers, conducting biweekly 1:1 meetings and quarterly 360-degree feedback reviews to support personal and professional growth.

  • Developed and implemented yearly development plans for team members, ensuring alignment with team OKRs and business objectives.

  • Served as Tech DRI for the integration of EU suppliers on the platform, defining technical approaches and integration strategies.

  • Gathered technical and business requirements from stakeholders and project owners during Advisory Board meetings and presented technical solutions at Gateway meetings.

  • Managed project breakdowns into MVPs, provided rough time estimations for deliverables, and ensured smooth execution of integration phases.

  • Created detailed technical tasks for each phase of the integration and resolved uncertainties in implementation by providing clear technical guidance.

  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams in technical meetings to refine and optimize approaches for complex technical challenges.

  • Actively contributed to the development process by coding, reviewing pull requests, and proposing improvements to code quality and system architecture.

  • Led backend services development using Node.js and TypeScript, ensuring efficient communication between services via gRPC endpoints.

  • Oversaw services running on Kubernetes and contributed to building in-house tooling to improve productivity and streamline engineering workflows.

  • Successfully led the integration of multiple EU suppliers, delivering projects on time and within scope.

  • Fostered a collaborative team environment by promoting continuous feedback and professional development.

  • Improved team productivity by implementing custom in-house tools, reducing dependencies, and enhancing engineer autonomy.

Jun 2018 - Oct 2019
1 year 5 months
Munich, Germany

Full-Stack Developer

Convercus GmbH

  • Designed and built microservices infrastructure for highly available, scalable applications.

  • Created and managed an auto-scaling ECS cluster on AWS, ensuring high availability and performance.

  • Replicated infrastructure on Azure using DC/OS and Azure services to ensure multi-cloud support.

  • Managed microservices written in Node.js and Java Spring Boot, including public-facing and internal services like Configuration Server.

  • Deployed containerized applications using AWS ECR and Azure Container Registry.

  • Developed Lambda functions in Node.js and Python for deployment automation and task orchestration.

  • Improved system scalability and efficiency by outsourcing bcrypt logic into a standalone service.

  • Recommended and implemented common modules for microservices to streamline development and maintain consistency.

  • Automated deployment pipelines using CI/CD practices, enabling seamless setup upon repository creation.

  • Implemented automation tests and static code analysis with SonarQube to ensure code quality.

  • Unified log outputs from Java and Node.js microservices for export to the ELK stack, improving monitoring and debugging capabilities.

  • Developed an authentication microservice using Spring Boot to handle end-user login and authorization processes.

  • Set up Kafka and ZooKeeper clusters using Ansible on both AWS and Azure to support distributed data streaming.

  • Successfully deployed and managed multi-cloud environments (AWS and Azure) for resilient microservices infrastructure.

  • Streamlined development processes with automation, improving deployment speed and code quality.

  • Improved system scalability and resource efficiency through infrastructure optimization and microservice modularity.

Summary

Engineering professional with 15+ years of experience, including 5 years as a Senior Engineering Manager and prior roles as a Full-Stack Developer, Senior Software Engineer, and System Architect. Proven expertise in leading high-performing teams, architecting and designing systems, optimizing processes, and delivering complex projects. Skilled in engineering strategy, team management, system architecture, and cross-functional collaboration. Experienced in defining OKRs, enhancing practices, and optimizing costs. Adept in full-stack development, cloud platforms, Node.js, Express.js, and agile methodologies.

Languages

Croatian
Native
Slovenian
Native
Serbian
Native
German
Advanced
English
Advanced

Education

Oct 2005 - Apr 2012

University of Ljubljana

Bachelor · Computer and Information Science · Ljubljana, Slovenia

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