Hi, I'm Shuja Ali
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Full-stack engineer with 5+ years building production-grade web applications across fintech, SaaS, and AI domains. Experienced in architecting MERN and Next.js systems from schema design through deployment, with a strong focus on performance, maintainability, and cost-aware API usage.
About Me
I'm a passionate Technical Lead and Senior Full Stack Developer with a focus on creating innovative and scalable web solutions.
Who I Am
Full-stack engineer with 5+ years building production-grade web applications across fintech, SaaS, and AI domains. Experienced in architecting MERN and Next.js systems from schema design through deployment, with a strong focus on performance, maintainability, and cost-aware API usage.
Currently managing technical delivery for multiple product teams at Ropstam Solutions while staying hands-on with architecture, code reviews, and complex feature development. Comfortable owning decisions around system design, third-party integrations, and infrastructure setup on AWS.
Education & Certifications
B.Sc. Software Engineering
COMSATS University Islamabad
2018 - 2022
Certifications
- CourseraPython for Data Engineering
- CourseraPython for Applied Data Science
- UdemyComplete Web Developer Bootcamp
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 & Integrations
Cloud, DevOps & Tooling
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 across two projects, reducing average response times.
- ▹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, and complex workflows.
- ▹Mentor 30+ engineers via code reviews and pair programming; authored internal standards covering API design, Git workflows, and security practices.
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 to support multi-instance deployments.
- ▹Provisioned AWS infrastructure (EC2, S3, RDS) with load balancing and auto-scaling; migrated two projects off shared hosting, improving uptime stability.
- ▹Migrated two JavaScript codebases to TypeScript and set up CI/CD pipelines covering linting, testing, and automated deploys.
MERN Stack Developer
Ropstam Solutions Inc.
- ▹Built production applications end-to-end: API design in Express.js, 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, reducing execution time from ~4s to under 300ms on key reporting endpoints.
- ▹Implemented JWT authentication with refresh token rotation and OAuth2; structured token invalidation to reduce session hijacking exposure.
- ▹Diagnosed and resolved Node.js memory leaks.
Freelance Full Stack Developer
Fiverr / Upwork
- ▹Delivered custom web applications for international clients across fintech, SaaS, and e-commerce verticals.
- ▹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 across two projects, reducing average response times.
- ▹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, and complex workflows.
- ▹Mentor 30+ engineers via code reviews and pair programming; authored internal standards covering API design, Git workflows, and security practices.
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 to support multi-instance deployments.
- ▹Provisioned AWS infrastructure (EC2, S3, RDS) with load balancing and auto-scaling; migrated two projects off shared hosting, improving uptime stability.
- ▹Migrated two JavaScript codebases to TypeScript and set up CI/CD pipelines covering linting, testing, and automated deploys.
MERN Stack Developer
Ropstam Solutions Inc.
- ▹Built production applications end-to-end: API design in Express.js, 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, reducing execution time from ~4s to under 300ms on key reporting endpoints.
- ▹Implemented JWT authentication with refresh token rotation and OAuth2; structured token invalidation to reduce session hijacking exposure.
- ▹Diagnosed and resolved Node.js memory leaks.
Freelance Full Stack Developer
Fiverr / Upwork
- ▹Delivered custom web applications for international clients across fintech, SaaS, and e-commerce verticals.
- ▹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.
Tech Galaxy
My stack as a living galaxy — bigger stars power more projects. Tap a technology to see everything I've built with it.
Featured Projects
Hand-picked spotlight work. Browse the full archive of 34 projects, or tap any tech chip to filter by stack.
FinanceFlow
Multi-account personal finance platform with secure bank account linking and fund transfers, powered by Plaid and Dwolla.
Documents Editor
DocuFlex is a real-time collaborative document editor with secure authentication — upload, edit, share, and download documents seamlessly.
Podcast AI
AI-powered podcasting platform — convert text to podcast-style audio, generate thumbnails, and stream trending content with secure authentication.
Backdrop AI
AI image editing tool — generative fill, image restore, object remove, and object recolor with precise, intuitive controls.
Mock Interview AI
AI mock-interview coach — records your answers, transcribes them with Whisper, and streams personalized GPT feedback in real time.
GitHub Profile
A snapshot of my GitHub activity and statistics
Repositories
Followers
Following
Stars
Contribution Activity
Get In Touch
Have a project in mind or want to discuss a potential collaboration? Feel free to reach out!