Dulan Wirajith Lokunarangodage - Professional headshot
7+
Years professional
experience
25+
Projects shipped
to production
100%
Client
satisfaction
12+
Zero-downtime
migrations
50+
Articles written
on engineering
10+
Teams led
to success
Available for selective projects

Backend architect solving expensive infrastructure problems.

I’m Dulan Wirajith Lokunarangodage - a Senior Backend & Cloud Engineer based in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. I specialize in designing and building backend systems at scale: architecting SaaS platforms that handle millions of daily transactions, leading zero-downtime migrations from legacy monoliths to cloud-native architectures, and optimizing AWS infrastructure for reliability, performance, and cost.

My focus: Solving high-cost backend problems most engineers avoid; complex system migrations, distributed architecture redesigns, elastically scalable infrastructure, technical debt reduction, and production reliability. The kind of work that directly improves performance, lowers risk, and directly impacts your company’s bottom line.

Backend ArchitectureAWS InfrastructureSystem ModernizationDistributed SystemsCloud-Native DesignDatabase MigrationsMicroservices ArchitectureInfrastructure as CodePerformance OptimizationTechnical Leadership
My Focus

I architect the systems behind growth.
Not the features. The foundations.

My career has been about fixing broken systems. Over 7 years, I've learned that most engineering time is wasted building on faulty foundations. I take systems that are expensive to operate, slow to evolve, and risky to change, and transform them into platforms that compound in value.

I've done this across vehicle marketplaces handling millions of listings, real-time bidding systems processing 1M+ transactions daily, and enterprise SaaS platforms. Every project reinforced the same truth:

“Most engineers build features. Senior architects build systems that make features possible. I do the latter.”
My Approach

“Build for 10x demand. Design for zero regrets.”

Three principles guide every architectural decision I make:

Reliability First
Production systems can’t fail. I design for graceful degradation, automatic recovery, and comprehensive observability. Every failure mode is anticipated.
Scalability
Systems built to handle 10x current demand without rewrites. Horizontal scaling, elasticity, and cost efficiency baked in from day one.
Architecture
Your team owns the system. Comprehensive documentation, testing practices, and knowledge transfer so your engineers extend it confidently.
Skills

The backend & cloud engineering skills

Backend Architecture
Node.js / TypeScript
NestJS / Express.js
REST APIs / GraphQL
Microservices Design
Cloud & Infrastructure
AWS Architecture
Docker / Containers
CI/CD Pipelines
GitHub Actions
Data & Performance
PostgreSQL / MySQL
Redis Caching
MongoDB
Elasticsearch
Delivery & Modernization
Legacy System Migration
Performance Optimization
System Reliability
Technical Leadership
Career Timeline

How I got here

May 2023 - Present
Senior Backend & Cloud Engineer
Pickles Asia · Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Core developer on Malaysia's vehicle auction marketplace. Built and maintained the real-time bidding engine processing 1M+ daily transactions, revamped infrastructure on AWS Fargate & ECS, and migrated 40+ legacy Lambda functions with zero downtime.
Jun 2022 - May 2023
Senior Software Engineer
CabbageApps · Colombo, Sri Lanka
Led a team of 9 engineers. Built the Tribz data aggregation layer integrating Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok APIs. Ensured GDPR compliance in cross-functional collaboration with a French partner team. Supervised 3 concurrent projects.
May 2021 - Jun 2022
Software Engineer
CabbageApps · Colombo, Sri Lanka
Delivered an MVP-level product in 2 months, architected a semi-automated QA tool that cut manual testing workload by 50%, and improved CI/CD pipelines for Docker-based deployments. Reduced page load times by 25% through front-end refactoring.
Earlier Career
Software Developer
Various Roles
Built scalable backend systems and cloud infrastructure across multiple domains, establishing a strong foundation in system design, agile delivery, and cloud-native development practices.
Experience Across

A Journey Through My Expertise

High-Scale Marketplaces
Real-time auction bidding engines, 1M+ daily transactions, 99.99% uptime
Large-Scale Social Data Engineering & Analytics
Data aggregation at scale across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok APIs
Secure Financial Systems
Secure payments, fraud detection, and scalable platforms
Legacy System Modernization
Upgraded systems for reliability and modern tech integration
Cost Optimization & Performance Engineering
Cut costs with cloud efficiency, serverless tech, and smart architecture
System Migration & Platform Evolution
Seamless migrations with zero downtime and future-ready systems
High-Throughput Distributed System Design
Engineered scalable systems with high availability and fault tolerance
Authentication & Security Architecture
JWT migrations, CSRF hardening, zero-downtime auth modernization
Cloud-Native Infrastructure & DevOps Engineering
AWS migrations, CI/CD pipelines, Lambda-based architectures
Scalable SaaS Architecture
Microservices architecture, TDD, modular monolith migrations

Let's work together.

I'm selective about the projects I take on - but if it's ambitious and worth building, let's talk.