Bilkent University

Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi / Middle East Technical University

Staff Software Engineer at eHealth, Inc.

- Leading the development and strategic oversight of core microservices.
- Streamlined and enhanced the hiring process for engineering roles, improving team composition and efficiency.
- Direct and manage a skilled team of engineers and staff, focusing on innovation and technical excellence.
- Drive efforts that support the company’s objectives in transforming the digital health landscape through advanced technological solutions.
- Implementing and maintaining Ranking Service for deploying and managing machine learning models, utilizing AWS Sagemaker for efficient model execution, multimode endpoints, and AB Testing.

eHealth, Inc.

Senior Software Engineering Manager

Founding member of IT Society, responsible from the mentorship service

IT Society

Board Member

Innovative Integration and Infrastructure Leadership
   - Spearheaded the integration of Prefect, AWS Kinesis Data Analytics, and Apache Flink, establishing new industry standards within the company.
   - Developed and presented a pilot infrastructure, now the benchmark for all data-loading projects across the organization.
   - Primary point of contact for Prefect, overseeing its technical and managerial aspects.
   - Led the transition from Prefect 1 to Prefect 2 for the Ranking Data Loading project, serving as a model for other teams.

Cost-Saving Initiatives and Efficiency Improvements
   - Revamped the Ranking Data Loading project, reducing the codebase by 50% and enhancing adaptability to new data dictionaries.
   - Authored key articles on Multi-Model and AB Testing, preluding major architectural changes in Ranking Service.
   - Reengineered Ranking Service using an OOP approach, presenting the changes to upper management.
   - Collaboratively rewrote the entire ranking service in 3 months, reducing AWS SageMaker expenses by 50% and Redis costs by 60%.

Cross-departmental Collaboration and Standardization
   - Championed standardization within the Data Science team, unifying the use of libraries and interfaces to enhance consistency across e-commerce and sales models.
   - Applied a high cohesion, low coupling software engineering strategy, optimizing the Ranking Service by transferring complexities from the service to machine learning (ML) models.
   - Led the development of the Ranking Service as a microservice, significantly streamlining ML model execution.
   - Collaborated with the Data Engineering team to create adaptable Kafka message schemas, enabling flexibility and scalability for diverse ML model integrations.

Leadership
   - Served as a Scrum Master in 2022, showcasing strong leadership and project management capabilities.
   - Organized team activities and lunches, significantly boosting team morale and fostering a cohesive work environment.

Staff Software Engineer

- Spearheaded the design and development of a Gamification Service Rest API, utilizing Spring Cloud and NoSQL MongoDB. The service provides a robust gamification engine aimed at enhancing customer engagement for various companies.
- Innovatively implemented Drools scripts via the Drools Rule Engine, significantly enhancing the flexibility and maintainability of game rules and logic.
- Led the design and development of user-friendly interfaces using Angular, focusing on delivering fast and responsive user experiences.
- Employed Agile Software Development methodologies, specifically SCRUM, to ensure efficient, iterative, and collaborative project progress.

MERSYS LLC

Senior Full Stack Software Engineer

Mindrome serves as a premier Venture Capital and Coworking Hub, strategically located in Silicon Valley. With a mission to fuel innovation, empower entrepreneurs, and cultivate a vibrant startup community, Mindrome is at the forefront of fostering groundbreaking ideas. The hub boasts a dynamic ecosystem, hosting over 100 startups and accommodating more than 500 members within its state-of-the-art Silicon Valley campus.

Mindrome

Co-Founder

Key Contributions at WIRATEL – Voice and SMS Solutions Provider

- Led the design of UI, business logic layer, services, and database systems, collaborating closely with - UX teams and managing dependencies of upstream and downstream services.
- Drove technical implementation and served as a primary point for escalation and resolution of complex technical issues.
- Spearheaded the migration of the system from a monolithic architecture to a cloud-based solution, resulting in a 40% decrease in operational costs and significant performance improvements.
- Successfully reduced customer registration time from 2 minutes to 30 seconds, boosting customer engagement by 50%.
- Facilitated the transition to a microservices architecture on AWS, enhancing system scalability and agility.
- Gained specialized experience in overseeing the complete project lifecycle, including analysis, architecture, design, and development.
- Collaborated with both technical and non-technical stakeholders for technical design, development strategies, and roadmap planning.
- Managed a team of 8 engineers, overseeing daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and end-of-sprint demos.
Developed product roadmaps, requirements documents, and key performance indicator (KPI) metrics.
- Implemented system monitoring using Jhipster Registry to ensure optimal performance.
- Delivered a diverse range of products including a FreeSwitch-based multi-tenant IP PBX system (VoIP), iOS and Android Business Phone Systems, and a Web-Based Phone System.
- Maintained and improved the SMSGateway platform and the Telecom Operator Management System, ensuring high standards of reliability and efficiency.

Wiratel

Tech Lead Manager

- Spearheaded the Security of Critical Infrastructures and Image Processing Technical programs, demonstrating adept leadership in high-stakes environments.
- Collaborated effectively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to align program objectives with business goals, which included defining release roadmaps and scope.
- Regularly provided comprehensive status reports and program summaries to stakeholders and senior executives, highlighting key aspects such as scope, schedule, quality risks, project status, resource allocation, and customer impact.
- Played a crucial role in bridging the gap between business needs and technological capabilities, ensuring seamless integration of both elements.
- Conducted thorough research and analysis of customers, markets, business processes, and technology to inform strategic decisions.
- Pioneered the “Technical Project Leader” role at HAVELSAN, setting standards for project technical management processes.
- Led the intake process for new business requirements, working collaboratively with teams to identify and capitalize on new opportunities.

HAVELSAN

Senior Program Manager

- Successfully oversaw the execution of 30+ multimillion-dollar projects from inception to completion, demonstrating strong leadership and project management skills.
- Innovated a Communication Management Model to enhance project efficiency, streamlining team collaboration and stakeholder communication.
- Developed and implemented a Knowledge Management Model, fostering a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration within the Information, Security & Technology (IST) group.
- Designed a new Performance Evaluation Model, aimed at measuring employee performance more effectively and accurately.
- Introduced the role of Project Technical Leader within the organization, defining its responsibilities to enhance project technical management.
- Streamlined the BID process and resource planning within IST, optimizing operational efficiency and resource allocation.
- Successfully restructured the Program Management Office, enhancing its effectiveness and aligning it more closely with organizational goals.

Engineering Group Manager

- Led the HASAT project, an Automatic Target Detection System for aerial and satellite images used by the Turkish Air Force. Managed a diverse project team comprising researchers and professors from universities and the private sector.
- Spearheaded the development and implementation of innovative Flight Entertainment (IFE) products and a prototype for the Wireless Quick Access Recorder (WQAR).
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to ensure alignment with requirements analysis, backlog refinement, and prioritization, guaranteeing project coherence and focus.
- Consistently provided comprehensive status reports to stakeholders and senior executives, covering scope, schedule, quality risks, project status, resource allocation, and customer impact.
- Identified and capitalized on a significant project opportunity in hyperspectral image processing within the local community through diligent research and networking. Successfully managed the bid, resulting in a multimillion-dollar contract.
- Founded and developed the Image Processing Technical Program and Civil Aviation Program from scratch, establishing the framework and initiating R&D projects.

Project Manager

- Conducted comprehensive analysis and design of a maintenance management system tailored for thermal power plants, enhancing operational efficiency and reliability.
- Played a pivotal role in analyzing and developing a robust data warehouse system, utilizing Oracle ODI, BI, and SAS Data Flux. This system significantly improved data integration, analysis, and reporting capabilities.
- Led the design and development of the national judiciary information system of Turkey, a major project contributing to the digitization and modernization of the country's judicial processes.

Software Engineer Team Lead

- Successfully implemented a comprehensive ERP system leveraging Java, JSP, HTML, IBM WebSphere, EJB, ESB, and JMS, enhancing organizational efficiency and process management.
- Expertly designed system architectures using UML, developed intuitive GUI mockups and created detailed Entity-Relationship (ER) Diagrams, contributing to improved system clarity and functionality.
- Conducted thorough business requirement analyses, adeptly visualizing business processes using Microsoft Visio and Oracle Designer, which facilitated clear communication and understanding of business needs and workflows.

Ismail Cenik