13+ Years · Staff · Principal Engineer

13 years of building
systems that scale.

Systems · Backend · Frontend · DevOps · Observability · Performance · Architecture

13 years building up the stack. Started at kernel drivers and UEFI in C++. Grew into Java backends and Angular frontends. Now building reactive, event driven systems delivering 1000 RPS on Spring Webflux and Kafka at Wayfair. Delivered systems that handle real world load at enterprise scale.

See my experience Get in touch
$ whoami
abhijeet.upadhye // staff engineer
$ cat experience.txt
13 yrs | wayfair, symantec, proofpoint, tcs
$ echo $STACK
java kotlin spring kafka graphql aws gcp k8s
$ ./status
open to staff + principal roles
Trusted by
WAYFAIR SYMANTEC BROADCOM PROOFPOINT TATA
0+Years Engineering
0Enterprise Companies
0%Latency Reduced
0RPS GraphQL APIs

Why Hire Me

What I bring to your team.

01
Architectural Breadth
From Windows kernel and UEFI pre boot to reactive microservices on Kubernetes. I have shipped at every layer of the stack. I make architecture decisions informed by 13 years of seeing what works and what does not.
02
Measurable Impact
90% latency reduction. 1000 RPS APIs. Observability adopted as the gold standard. SLO dashboards that reduced MTTR. I do not just write code. I move metrics that matter to the business.
03
Force Multiplier
I mentor engineers, produce C4 diagrams and RFCs, translate OKRs into tech specs, and run design walkthroughs. I make the team around me faster and more aligned. That is the hallmark of Staff+ impact.
04
Polyglot & Multi-stack
Java, Kotlin, Python, TypeScript, C++. I pick the right tool for the job. Spring Boot, FastAPI, Node, reactive and non-reactive. I am not wedded to one stack. I am wedded to good engineering.
05
Production-Grade Instincts
Blue Green deployments, distributed caching, Kafka event streaming, schema registries, CloudFormation, Helm charts. I build systems that run in production, not just in demos. Security, observability, and operability are first class.
06
Stakeholder Fluency
I partner with Product, Analytics, Release Engineering, and external vendors. I translate business goals into architecture, write the spec, build consensus, and deliver. Comfortable from board room to terminal.

Career Arc

The evolution.

2009 — 2012 · TCS
Foundation: Systems Programming
Started at the metal. Migrated HP NonStop products from 32-bit to 64-bit in C++. Debugged multi-threaded processes, analyzed CPU dumps for Fortune 500 clients. Earned Six Sigma Green Belt by cutting build times 35%. This is where I learned that understanding the machine matters.
C++HP NonStopMulti-threaded debuggingSix Sigma
2013 — 2020 · Symantec
Growth: Kernel to Cloud
Seven years, four promotions. Started as an intern writing C++ kernel drivers and UEFI pre-boot code. Grew into full-stack: Spring Boot REST APIs, Angular frontends, Aurora DB schemas. Then went deeper into cloud: designed single-click AWS orchestration with CloudFormation, VPC, IAM, and Elasticsearch. Rose from intern to Principal.
C++Spring BootAngularAWSSAML / OAuth2CloudFormationOWASP
2020 — 2021 · Broadcom
Depth: Enterprise Frontend + RBAC
Post-acquisition, migrated the DLP Enforce Console from legacy to a modern Spring Boot + Angular stack. Added TypeScript, Bootstrap, Materialize CSS to the toolkit. Focused on enterprise RBAC patterns and policy management at scale.
Spring BootTypeScriptBootstrapMaterializeEnterprise RBAC
2022 · Proofpoint
Breadth: Security Integration
Short but impactful. Built a SIEM integration microservice connecting to Microsoft Graph Security API. Added distributed scheduling patterns (ShedLock) and multi-tier caching (Redis + Guava) to the repertoire.
Spring BootRedisSIEMMS Graph APIShedLock
2022 — 2025 · Wayfair
Mastery: Platform Architecture
Everything came together. Led 1000 RPS reactive GraphQL APIs on Spring Webflux. Cut latency 90%. Built the observability pipeline other teams now copy. Went polyglot: Java, Kotlin, Python, Node.js, TypeScript. Added Kafka event streaming, Kubernetes, GCP, and AI-driven testing with Gemini. Mentored engineers, wrote RFCs, translated OKRs into shipped specs. This is Staff-level work.
Spring WebfluxGraphQLKafkaKotlinKubernetesGCPDatadogGemini AITech Leadership

Experience

Production track record.

Wayfair LLC
Software Engineer III · Tech Lead
May 2022 — Sep 2025 · 3 yrs 5 mos
Java · Kotlin Spring Webflux Kafka GraphQL GCP
90%latency cut
1KRPS
Skills acquired
Backend development (Spring Webflux, Spring Boot, Kafka)
API design (GraphQL via Netflix DGS, REST)
Observability and analytics (Datadog, BigQuery)
Event driven architecture (Kafka, Aerospike)
Polyglot programming (Java, Kotlin, Node.js, Python, TypeScript)
Cloud and DevOps (GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, Keycloak)
AI driven test automation (Gemini, Vertex AI)
Technical leadership and mentorship

Catalog API Development

  • Led design to deployment of high performance bulk GraphQL APIs for catalog management using Java, Kotlin, Kafka, and Spring Webflux. Supported 1000 RPS for PIM vendors (Salsify, CommerceBear).
  • Integrated Redis cache and Postgres via Google Cloud SQL. Used DDD and Hexagonal architecture for modular, testable systems.
  • Architected isolated sandbox environments for GraphQL APIs enabling safe validation and accelerated onboarding.

Performance Engineering

  • Reduced downstream latency by 90% (7s → 300ms) by reengineering the service from Python to Java.
  • Replaced static databases with in-memory resource files, implemented two-tier Caffeine + Redis cache, and eliminated redundant network calls.

Observability & Architecture

  • Designed observability pipeline for reactive GraphQL APIs using Datadog and BigQuery. Correlated upstream/downstream metrics, reducing MTTR.
  • Built SLO/SLI dashboards and synthetic tests adopted as the gold standard across multiple teams.
  • Produced C4 diagrams, API flow charts; translated OKRs into Tech Specs and RFCs aligning multiple teams.

AI-Driven Testing & Leadership

  • Harnessed Google Gemini to auto generate GraphQL test inputs, adapting to evolving taxonomy. Accelerated coverage, slashed manual effort.
  • Mentored junior engineers, interns, and contractors. Hosted team knowledge-sharing on Kotlin and reactive programming. Code quality gatekeeper across Catalog APIs.
Proofpoint Inc
Senior Software Engineer
Feb 2022 — May 2022 · 4 mos
Java Spring Boot Redis
Skills acquired
Backend development (Spring Boot, REST, Microservices)
Security integration (Microsoft Graph API, SIEM)
Distributed job scheduling (ShedLock)
Caching patterns (Redis, Guava)
Programming (Java, JavaScript)

SIEM Integration

  • Engineered microservice to enable SIEM integration with Microsoft Graph Security API.
  • Utilized ShedLock for reliable distributed Cron jobs; implemented two tier Redis + Guava cache reducing redundant API calls.
Broadcom Software
Staff Software Engineer
Jan 2020 — Dec 2021 · 2 yrs
Java · TypeScript Angular Spring Boot

Data Loss Prevention Enforce Console

  • Migrated key features including incident match highlighting and RBAC from legacy system to a robust Spring Boot based on premises backend. Enhanced policy creation, rule management, and incident response.
  • Engineered scalable REST endpoints and integrated JPA/Hibernate with Oracle database for reliable data persistence.
  • Developed Angular frontend with TypeScript, Bootstrap and Materialize CSS for the DLP management console.
Symantec Corporation
Intern → Principal Software Engineer
Jun 2013 — Jan 2020 · 6 yrs 8 mos
Java · C++ Spring Boot AWS Angular RabbitMQ
10K+Machines

Information Centric Encryption

  • REST microservices with Spring Boot, SAML and OAuth2 auth, Angular frontend, Aurora DB schema design, AWS orchestration from POC to production.

Single Click AWS Orchestration

  • CloudFormation blueprinting, AutoScaling, ALBs, Route53, CloudWatch + PagerDuty, VPC, IAM, Elasticsearch and Kibana.

Cloud Services Web Portal

  • Built from scratch with Spring Boot and AngularJS. Responsive UI, secure cookie auth, OWASP top 10 audit.

PGP Whole Disk Encryption (C++)

  • Hardware encryption on OPAL drives with TCG compliant kernel and UEFI changes. Recovery utility for 10,000+ machines at IBM.
Tata Consultancy Services
Systems Engineer
Nov 2009 — Aug 2012 · 2 yrs 10 mos
C++ Fortune 500 Six Sigma
35%build time cut

64-bit Migration

  • Migrated five HP NonStop products from ILP32 to LP64 in C++. 18 months of design, coding, testing, release and documentation.

Customer Escalations

  • Fortune 500 clients (Daimler, Mercedes Benz, Wells Fargo). CPU dump analysis, live multi threaded debugging across C, C++ and legacy TAL.

Six Sigma Green Belt

  • Reduced OS build cycle time by 35 to 40%. Adopted by HP India OPS team.

Key Projects

Systems I've shipped.

WayfairJava · KotlinSpring Webflux1000 RPS
Catalog GraphQL API Platform
Led design to deployment of high performance bulk GraphQL APIs for Wayfair's Catalog management. Consumed by PIM vendors (Salsify, CommerceBear) at 1000 RPS. Built on Spring Webflux with Kafka for event streaming, Redis cache, Postgres via Google Cloud SQL. Designed with DDD and Hexagonal architecture. Architected isolated sandbox environments for safe testing and accelerated vendor onboarding.
Spring Webflux·Kafka·GraphQL (DGS)·Redis·Cloud SQL·Hexagonal
Wayfair90% faster
Latency Re-architecture
Reduced downstream service latency by 90% (7s to 300ms) by reengineering the application from Python to Java. Replaced static databases with in memory resource files, implemented a two tier Caffeine + Redis cache, and consolidated service logic to eliminate redundant network calls.
Java·Caffeine·Redis·Performance
WayfairDatadog
Observability Pipeline
Designed comprehensive observability for reactive GraphQL APIs using Datadog and BigQuery. Correlated upstream/downstream metrics and payloads for system health insights and reduced MTTR. Built SLO/SLI dashboards and synthetic tests adopted as the gold standard across teams.
Datadog·BigQuery·SLO/SLI·Synthetic Tests
WayfairAI
AI-Driven Test Automation
Harnessed Google Gemini (Vertex AI) to auto generate GraphQL API test inputs, adapting on the fly to evolving taxonomy requirements. Accelerated test data creation, improved coverage, and slashed manual preparation effort.
Vertex AI·Gemini·GraphQL
ProofpointSpring Boot
SIEM Integration
Engineered microservice for SIEM integration with Microsoft Graph Security API. Orchestrated reliable distributed Cron jobs via ShedLock for periodic malicious file hash retrieval. Implemented two tier Redis + Guava cache reducing redundant API calls.
Spring Boot·Redis·ShedLock·MS Graph
SymantecAWSProduction
Single Click AWS Orchestration
Built single click orchestration for Symantec cloud microservices. CloudFormation blueprinting, AutoScaling groups, ALBs, Route53 DNS, CloudWatch + PagerDuty alerts, VPC with security groups, IAM, S3, Elasticsearch and Kibana for log ingestion.
CloudFormation·EC2·Route53·CloudWatch·VPC·Elasticsearch
SymantecSpring BootAngular
Cloud Services Web Portal
Developed web portal from scratch with Spring Boot and AngularJS. Responsive across desktop and mobile. Designed secure cookie authentication protocol. Conducted OWASP top 10 security audit. TestNG + JACOCO for coverage.
Spring Boot·AngularJS·OWASP·TestNG
SymantecSAMLOAuth2
Information Centric Encryption
Full stack development for file encryption platform. REST microservices with Spring Boot, SAML and OAuth2 authentication, Angular frontend with Protractor testing, Aurora DB schema design, and AWS orchestration from POC to production.
Spring Boot·Angular·SAML·OAuth2·Aurora DB
SymantecC++Kernel
Whole Disk Encryption (PGP)
Enhanced Symantec WDE to support hardware encryption on OPAL specification drives. Implemented Trusted Computing Group (TCG) compliant changes in the Windows kernel, UEFI pre boot environment, and user-mode layers. Built C++ utility to recover locked disks using PGP Server universal keys across 10,000 machine deployments.
C++·Windows Kernel·UEFI·OPAL·TCG
TCSFortune 500Six Sigma
64-bit Migration + Process Improvement
Migrated five HP NonStop Middleware products from ILP32 to LP64 in C++. Fixed mission critical defects for Daimler, Mercedes Benz, Wells Fargo. Earned Six Sigma Green Belt by reducing OS build time by 35 to 40%, a practice later adopted by HP India OPS.
C++·HP NonStop·ILP32 → LP64·Six Sigma
Personal / Side Projects ↓
Spring Boot 3.5Java 21K8s
Platform Infra — Ecommerce Monolith
Full ecommerce platform with Java 21 virtual threads, 18+ Kafka streams, Avro schema registry, Elasticsearch, Redis, Keycloak OAuth2, GraphQL (Netflix DGS), WebSockets, Helm/K8s, GitLab CI.
Java 21·Kafka·Elasticsearch·Helm
Java · Kotlin4 patterns
MonoRepo — Multi-pattern Architecture
All four backend architecture combos — Hexagonal + Layered × Reactive + Non-reactive — in Java and Kotlin. Eureka, API Gateway, OpenAPI code gen, OWASP scanning.
Hexagonal·Layered·Reactive·Eureka
Academic Projects (SJSU) ↓
MLRGroovy
House Price Prediction
ML model using linear logistic regression with Adaboost (5000 iterations). 84% accuracy, 98.5% precision, 75% recall. REST API, Groovy on Grails, Hibernate caching, deployed on AppFog PaaS.
R·Adaboost·Groovy/Grails·MySQL
Distributed SystemsNetty
LifeStream (Event Driven Distributed System)
Asynchronous distributed system for image storage and retrieval. Directed graph network topology with JBoss Netty over UDP, Google Protocol Buffers, circuit breaker and bulkhead patterns, proactor pattern with message queues, shortest path routing, PostGIS storage.
Java·Netty·Protobuf·PostGIS·Circuit Breaker
PythonMongoDB
Collaborative MOOC Platform
Multiple MOOCs communicating via RESTful WebServices. Django + Bottle micro framework, MongoDB for documents, standardized JSON exchange format.
Django·Bottle·MongoDB·REST
Twitter APINLP
Twitter Sentiment Analysis
Analyzed 10,000+ tweets using regex based sentiment detection with a custom keyword dictionary. Google Visualization APIs for data presentation. JQuery for Twitter REST API integration.
JQuery·Twitter API·Google Viz

Technical Skills

The full arsenal.

Java Kotlin Python TypeScript C++ Spring Boot Spring Webflux Node.js FastAPI GraphQL (DGS) REST WebSocket Kafka RabbitMQ Avro PostgreSQL Redis Elasticsearch BigQuery AWS GCP Kubernetes Docker Helm Terraform CloudFormation Datadog Keycloak DDD Hexagonal CQRS Event Driven Reactive

Recommendations

What colleagues say.

“
He is one of the most impactful and well rounded engineers I have worked with. He stepped into a complex domain as the sole developer and transformed it into a scalable, high performing platform. His blend of deep technical expertise and collaborative spirit is what truly sets him apart.
Michael M. Sr. Engineering Manager, Wayfair
“
One of the strongest engineers I have ever worked with in my career. His analytical mindset and ability to break down large and complex tasks into easy to understand pieces is unmatched. His attention to detail and overall engineering talent would instantly pay dividends to any team.
Andrew T. Engineering Leader, Wayfair
“
An invaluable teammate known for his problem solving skills, mentorship, and ability to quickly handle API issues. His work on building dashboards has set a strong foundation for performance tracking. His collaboration, technical expertise, and dedication make a significant impact.
Thanh N. Software Engineer, Wayfair
“
Once a task is given to him, you can be assured he will do what all it takes to make it done. There had been lots of technical challenges in the 64 bit program, and most of it he resolved without any external assistance. One of the highly performing team members who has gone beyond the call of duty multiple times.
Ani D. Business Transformation Specialist, Digital Enterprise Architect

Source: colleague recommendations

Education

Academic foundation.

MS — Software Engineering
San Jose State University
2012 — 2014
BE — Computer Engineering
Dharmsinh Desai University
2005 — 2009

About

Engineer by discipline,
architect by instinct.

13+ years from kernel level C++ to cloud native microservices. I started at TCS fixing mission critical defects for Daimler and Wells Fargo. Then I spent seven years at Symantec building encryption products, from UEFI pre boot to Spring Boot REST APIs to AWS production infrastructure, rising from intern to Principal Engineer.

At Wayfair I lead Catalog API development. 1000 RPS reactive GraphQL APIs on Spring Webflux. A 90% latency reduction through a full stack re architecture. The observability pipeline other teams now copy. I design systems, mentor engineers, and translate OKRs into technical specs that ship on time.

My side projects mirror my production instincts. I am building a full ecommerce platform from scratch on Java 21, Kafka, Elasticsearch, and Kubernetes. I am also exploring all four architecture pattern combinations (hexagonal/layered × reactive/non-reactive) in Java and Kotlin. I learn by building, and I build at production grade.

Outside of engineering, I play guitar, explore photography, mix cocktails, and dance salsa. I believe the best engineers bring creative energy from outside the codebase.

Education
MS Software Engineering, San Jose State University
Depth
Distributed systems · Platform engineering
Primary stacks
Java 21 · Kotlin · Spring Boot · Kafka · AWS · GCP
Beyond code
Guitar · Photography · Cocktail Making · Salsa Dancing

Get in touch

Let's build something hard.

13 years of architectural breadth, kernel to cloud, production grade instincts, measurable impact (90% latency cuts, 1000 RPS APIs), and a track record of making teams faster. MS Software Engineering, San Jose State University.

Contact details available upon request.

A.