Hi, I'm Shuja Ali
Technical Lead|
Full-stack engineer with 5+ years building production-grade web applications across fintech, SaaS, and AI domains. Currently managing technical delivery for multiple product teams at Ropstam Solutions while staying hands-on with architecture, code reviews, and complex feature development.
About Me
I'm a passionate Full Stack Developer with a focus on creating innovative and scalable web solutions.
Who I Am
I started coding in 2018 during my CS degree at COMSATS, and by the time I graduated I was already freelancing for real clients. That hands-on start shaped how I work: I treat every project as a real product, not just a collection of features to ship.
Over 6 years I've gone from solo developer to managing engineering teams, working across fintech, AI, e-commerce, and SaaS domains. I specialise in the MERN stack and Next.js, but what I'm really good at is turning vague requirements into working, maintainable software — and getting teams to ship it on time.
5+
Years Experience
20+
Projects Delivered
20+
Clients Served
30+
Engineers Mentored
Education & Certifications
Bachelor's in Computer Software Engineering
COMSATS University Islamabad
2018 - 2022
Certifications
- CourseraPython Project for Data Engineering
- CourseraPython for Applied Data Science and AI
- LinkedInNode.js Essential Training
- UdemyThe Complete Web Developer in 2020: Zero to Mastery
- GoogleFundamentals of Digital Marketing
Technical Skills
My technical toolkit includes a wide range of languages, frameworks, and technologies that I leverage to build robust and scalable applications.
Frontend
Backend
Databases & Caching
AI & Automation
Payments & Fintech
Cloud & DevOps
Testing & Tooling
AI-Assisted Dev
Work Experience
My professional journey in software development and leadership roles.
Assistant Software Development Manager
Ropstam Solutions Inc.
- Define data models, API contracts, and service boundaries across 8+ concurrent projects spanning MERN, mobile, and WordPress stacks.
- Introduced Redis caching on high-read endpoints, cutting average response times by ~40% on frequently hit routes.
- Mentor 30+ engineers via code reviews and pair programming; authored internal standards covering API design, Git workflows, and security practices.
- Handle production incidents end-to-end — root cause analysis, fix deployment, and follow-up safeguards to prevent recurrence.
- Build critical features personally (payment flows, OpenAI integrations, complex workflows) where senior-level depth is required.
Team Lead – MERN Stack
Ropstam Solutions Inc.
- Led a team of 15 engineers with ~60% direct coding contribution, alongside sprint planning and PR reviews.
- Built RAG pipelines using LangChain and FAISS/Pinecone for document Q&A; added prompt-level caching to reduce OpenAI API costs by ~30%.
- Implemented Socket.io real-time features (chat, notifications, collaborative editing) with Redis pub/sub for multi-instance deployments.
- Provisioned AWS infrastructure (EC2, S3, RDS) with load balancing and auto-scaling; migrated two projects off shared hosting.
- Set up BitBucket CI/CD pipelines covering linting, testing, and automated deploys to staging and production.
MERN Stack Developer
Ropstam Solutions Inc.
- Built production applications end-to-end: API design in Express, MongoDB schema design, and React frontend architecture.
- Integrated Stripe and PayPal with webhook handling for subscription lifecycle events and idempotency key enforcement.
- Optimized MongoDB aggregation queries with compound indexes; reduced execution time from ~4s to under 300ms on key reporting endpoints.
- Implemented JWT auth with refresh token rotation and OAuth2; structured token invalidation to reduce session hijacking exposure.
- Diagnosed and resolved Node.js memory leaks by profiling heap usage and identifying event listener accumulation.
Freelance Full Stack Developer
Fiverr / Upwork
- Delivered custom web applications for international clients across fintech, SaaS, and e-commerce — zero project cancellations.
- Built AI-powered tools including document editors with inline GPT suggestions and real-time collaboration via WebSockets.
- Managed full deployment lifecycle independently on AWS and DigitalOcean.
Assistant Software Development Manager
Ropstam Solutions Inc.
- Define data models, API contracts, and service boundaries across 8+ concurrent projects spanning MERN, mobile, and WordPress stacks.
- Introduced Redis caching on high-read endpoints, cutting average response times by ~40% on frequently hit routes.
- Mentor 30+ engineers via code reviews and pair programming; authored internal standards covering API design, Git workflows, and security practices.
- Handle production incidents end-to-end — root cause analysis, fix deployment, and follow-up safeguards to prevent recurrence.
- Build critical features personally (payment flows, OpenAI integrations, complex workflows) where senior-level depth is required.
Team Lead – MERN Stack
Ropstam Solutions Inc.
- Led a team of 15 engineers with ~60% direct coding contribution, alongside sprint planning and PR reviews.
- Built RAG pipelines using LangChain and FAISS/Pinecone for document Q&A; added prompt-level caching to reduce OpenAI API costs by ~30%.
- Implemented Socket.io real-time features (chat, notifications, collaborative editing) with Redis pub/sub for multi-instance deployments.
- Provisioned AWS infrastructure (EC2, S3, RDS) with load balancing and auto-scaling; migrated two projects off shared hosting.
- Set up BitBucket CI/CD pipelines covering linting, testing, and automated deploys to staging and production.
MERN Stack Developer
Ropstam Solutions Inc.
- Built production applications end-to-end: API design in Express, MongoDB schema design, and React frontend architecture.
- Integrated Stripe and PayPal with webhook handling for subscription lifecycle events and idempotency key enforcement.
- Optimized MongoDB aggregation queries with compound indexes; reduced execution time from ~4s to under 300ms on key reporting endpoints.
- Implemented JWT auth with refresh token rotation and OAuth2; structured token invalidation to reduce session hijacking exposure.
- Diagnosed and resolved Node.js memory leaks by profiling heap usage and identifying event listener accumulation.
Freelance Full Stack Developer
Fiverr / Upwork
- Delivered custom web applications for international clients across fintech, SaaS, and e-commerce — zero project cancellations.
- Built AI-powered tools including document editors with inline GPT suggestions and real-time collaboration via WebSockets.
- Managed full deployment lifecycle independently on AWS and DigitalOcean.
Featured Projects
A selection of my recent work showcasing my skills and expertise.
Documents Editor
Real-time collaborative document editor with live cursors, concurrent editing, and user invitations.
Impact & Architecture
Supported 50+ concurrent editors per document without input lag via WebSocket diffing.
Backdrop AI
AI image editing tool with Generative Fill, Image Restore, and Object Removal features.
Impact & Architecture
Automated image processing for 1000+ assets with <500ms average response time.
FinanceFlow
Personal finance management app with bank account linking via Plaid, fund transfers through Dwolla, and a transaction dashboard. Demonstrates secure handling of financial APIs and PII data.
Healthcare App
Patient management system with appointment booking, admin dashboard for doctor assignment, and SMS notifications via Twilio. Uses Appwrite for backend services and file storage.
GitHub Profile
A snapshot of my GitHub activity and statistics
Repositories
Followers
Stars
Developer Console
Interact with my portfolio directly through the command line. Try exploring my skills or toggling the theme!
Get In Touch
Have a project in mind or want to discuss a potential collaboration? Feel free to reach out!