Anthony Bulvan - Software Engineer

Professional Summary

Experienced software engineer with a strong background in Java and Python, with some experience in C/C++ and other languages, specializing in scalable web services, cloud migrations, leveraging AI/ML, and cybersecurity in integrations. Proven ability to lead and complete complex projects and cross-team initiatives and drive technological excellence.

I am a Software Engineer working on web services backend (80%) and front end (20%) with Java, Spring Boot, and other technologies. I have a Master's in Computer Science (AI & ML) with coursework in cybersecurity and a Bachelor's in Bioengineering (neural engineering). Expertise in Java, C# (years ago), and Python (most of my graduate degree), including experience at two big tech corporations.

Work History

Senior Backend Engineer

Capital One / Ippon Technologies / Venturi (Remote, Contract)

August 2024 – Current

Developed and optimized cloud-based solutions using Java, Spring Framework / Spring Boot, AWS Step Functions, AWS Lambda, AWS EMR (ETL), improving system performance by ~20–30%
Implemented security and secrets management (OAuth, HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager), enhancing data protection and compliance
Led troubleshooting for complex software issues (TCP/IP, auth), ensuring reliable operations across networking and protocol stacks
Became vulnerability champion within 1 month; moved team to GREEN state, mitigating long before due date
Delivered cloud migrations (Java 8 → Java 17), secrets migration, CI/CD automation, testing, failovers, routing/cutovers

Principal Software Engineer

Arocep Federal LLC (Remote)

August 2023 – June 2024

Built and maintained apps with Java, Spring Boot, Spring Security, Thymeleaf, JavaScript, HTML, CSS
Managed deployments on Google Cloud and AWS (EC2, S3, PostgreSQL)
Scaled item listings from 20,000 → 1,000,000, expanded market presence, and added 7 new applications to IP
Used GitHub Copilot, IntelliJ IDEA, OpenAI API to boost productivity

Lead Java Software Engineer

American Express Global Business Travel (Remote)

November 2021 – August 2023

Led a team of 4 Senior SWEs through a complex AWS migration of the most business-critical app (traveler profiles)
Led REST and SOAP services and websites (Java, JavaScript, Thymeleaf, JMS, Kafka), reducing incidents and increasing reliability
Migrated 70+ web/app servers to AWS using Spring Cloud Config, Solr, Netflix Zuul/Eureka, Kafka → >$100,000/month savings and higher reliability
Designed and implemented CI/CD with Jenkins

Senior Software Engineer

A4SAFE, Inc. (Remote)

March 2021 – November 2021

Built scalable web apps with Java, Spring, Angular, JavaScript, NoSQL/GraphQL
Promoted to Senior within one month
Retained 3+ clients by resolving complex issues others couldn't, ensuring seamless integrations

Skills

Programming Languages & Frameworks

Java (2013+): 8, 11, 17, 21; Spring Framework & Spring Boot, Spring Data JPA, Hibernate
JavaScript, HTML/CSS, Angular, React, Node.js
Python (2011+): Academic & Industry
C# (2016+), C & C++ (2007+)

Databases & Data Management

Neo4j (GraphQL/NoSQL), Elasticsearch
Oracle, MongoDB, DocumentDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis
SQL & GraphQL

Cloud & DevOps

AWS (EC2, S3, Lambda, Step Functions, EMR)
Kubernetes, OpenShift, Azure, GCP
CI/CD & Jenkins, Docker
On-prem → AWS migrations

Security & Networking

OAuth & JWT, HashiCorp Vault
TCP/IP & OSI models
tcpdump, Wireshark, Snort
Security certificates & chains of trust

Middleware & APIs

JMS & ActiveMQ / AMQP, Apache Kafka
REST & SOAP APIs
OpenAI API, Shopify API
Microservices & monoliths

Leadership & Strategy

Team leadership; aligning technology with business goals
Deep understanding of software development, architecture, cybersecurity
Strong communicator; cross-functional collaboration

Education

Master of Science — Computer Science (Intelligent Systems / AI)

Lewis University, Romeoville, IL — August 2023 — GPA: 3.83

Focus on Cybersecurity and AI/ML
Coursework: AI1, AI2, NLP, supervised/unsupervised ML, DDQN, CNN, Reinforcement Learning
Thesis: Cybersecurity with Double Deep Q-Learning Neural Networks

Bachelor of Science — Bioengineering

University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL — May 2013

Certifications & Training

Current Studies & Certifications

Java SE 8: Oracle Certified Associate (OCA); Oracle Certified Programmer (OCP)
Security: CISSP; CompTIA Security+
Cloud: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

Recent Training

Containers & Kubernetes — AWS Training & Certification
Spring Framework — Learning Spring 6 with Spring Boot 3
React.js & Serverless Computing — LinkedIn Learning
Software Architecture — From Developer to Architect

Personal

Work Permit: U.S. Citizen

Assessment: JAVA 8 Programming (JAVA SE 8): 85/100 on IKM (July 12, 2024)