Senior IC · Freelance · Global

Senior Software Engineer (AI Systems · High-Performance Backend)

Hands-on engineer (80%+ coding) helping teams build, scale, and fix complex production systems — especially where AI, performance, reliability, and cost control matter. More than 15 years of experience:

  • AI in production: LLM/RAG integrations, model deployment, observability
  • Distributed backend at scale: latency, throughput, resilience
  • AWS & cloud optimization: pragmatic architecture, measurable cost control

Hourly preferred · Open to project/retainer

How I Work

How I work
I take ownership of a subsystem and ship improvements end-to-end (design → code → deploy → observe).
Minimal ceremony. Clear technical decisions and measurable outcomes.
LLM/RAG integrations, model deployment & observability — without risky rewrites.
Long-term work (6+ months) where I can run 2–3 parallel projects and drive sustained impact.
Typical outcomes: lower latency, higher reliability, clearer architecture, and predictable cost at scale.
Typical engagement
Hourly $100–$130/h
Project $3.6k+ Monthly retainer $2.4k+
Global clients. Rates vary by scope and complexity — I’ll propose a clear plan before we start.
Let’s talk about your system →

Best fit: production systems, high-impact work, minimal hand-holding. Prefer long-term engagements.

80%+ coding 6+ months 2–3 parallel

Services

Senior IC engagements for teams with a live product — hands-on engineering (80%+ coding), performance-first delivery, and AI in production.

Case studies

Datura AI
Indra
Devo
European Commission
Panel Sistemas
Grupo PRISA
Intelygenz
University of Alcalá (UAH)
Knowcentury
IBM

My own projects

NN3D
Arch Koala Project
My portfolio
crew_estimator
Democracy Chain
Scaffold
playmate
miner-validator
bittensor-sentiment-api
Saurion
Docker Repository
NanoLogger
ThreadRipper

Tech stack

Focused tools I use to ship and maintain production systems.

AI & Machine Learning
OctaveCUDATensorFlowOpenCLONNX RuntimePyTorchRAGVector DB
Backend & Languages
JavaC++Spring DataJPASpring MVC.NETC#Hibernate
Cloud & Infrastructure
DockerAnsibleKubernetesWindows ServerIISAWSWebLogic 12IBM System z
DevOps & CI/CD
GITLinuxMavenJenkinsSonarQubeSVNBambooBash
Data & Databases
Oracle DBMongoDBHadoopRabbitMQMicrosoft SQL ServerCassandraMySQLElastic Search
Observability & Security
Spring SecurityValgrindOwaspSnykFedRAMPFIPSCASKibana
Web & Frontend
JavaScriptHTMLjQueryBootstrapJoomlaAngularJSJSFSCORM
Mobile & Embedded
ArduinoPICAndroid StudioQtAndroidAndroid NDKDaggerObjective-C
Web3 & Decentralized
BittensorPolkadot.jsSubstrate APIWeb3
Testing & Management
JiraConfluenceJUnitSpring DocumentationIntelliJ IDEASeleniumGoogle TestBDD

Education & certifications

University

Artificial intelligence and machine learning: supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning.

  • Symbolic learning.
  • Classification and regression models.
  • Model optimization.
  • Deep learning: multilayer networks, backpropagation, loss functions, hyperparameters, and training strategies.
  • Convolutional neural networks for image recognition. Sequential and recurrent networks (LSTM).
  • Parallelization and GPU-based computing.
  • Vectorization techniques.
  • Programming with TensorFlow and Theano.
  • Scalable automated learning.
  • Cluster parallelization frameworks.
  • Applications in medicine, finance, autonomous driving, and more.

Graduated with honors in: Artificial Intelligence, Fuzzy Logic, Computer Vision Systems, Physics II, Mathematical Analysis, Data Structures, and Networks.

Certifications & courses

Official Linux system administration certification covering:

  • advanced Linux administration
  • kernel-related tasks
  • advanced storage and filesystems
  • network authentication
  • system security (firewalls, VPNs)
  • installation
  • configuration of core network services (DHCP, DNS, SSH, web, file, and mail servers)
  • monitoring
  • automation
  • infrastructure advisory.

Official Linux system administration certification covering:

  • Linux installation (including X11)
  • command-line usage
  • file and permission management (ACLs)
  • basic system security
  • routine maintenance tasks.

Design of digital educational content using the SCORM standard.

Computer vision systems, convolution matrices, and filtering techniques.

This course provides a comprehensive foundation in deep learning and artificial neural networks, teaching how to build and evaluate models for regression and classification using the Keras library.

You have also gained expertise in designing advanced architectures like CNNs, RNNs, and transformers to solve complex real-world challenges such as image analysis and natural language processing.

This program covers the complete machine learning workflow, from applying supervised and unsupervised learning algorithms using Python and scikit-learn to building advanced deep learning models with Keras.

I have developed the expertise to design and evaluate complex neural architectures, including CNNs, RNNs, and Transformers, to solve real-world challenges in image classification, natural language processing, and predictive modeling.

Languages
Spanish
Spoken: Native Written: Native Read: Native
English
Spoken: Fluent Written: Fluent Read: Fluent
Chinese
Spoken: Fluent Written: Fluent Read: Fluent
Confucius Institute Madrid · HSK 3 · September 2009 – Present

Posts

Let’s talk

If you have a system in production and need senior-level clarity, execution, or a second opinion, we should talk.

How I usually work

  • Short call to understand context and constraints
  • Clear proposal: scope, risks, and next steps
  • No overengineering, no buzzwords, no surprises

Best fit for teams with a live product, real users, and non-trivial technical challenges.

If you’re unsure whether your problem fits, that’s usually a good sign.

Get in touch
email israel.lopez.developer@gmail.com LinkedIn LinkedIn Calendly Schedule a call Discord Discord Upwork Upwork
Remote-first · English / Spanish / Chinese