Anthony Bulvan

Senior Software Engineer / Backend Architect

Palos Heights, IL 60463
312-659-7646 | abulva2@gmail.com
LinkedIn | GitHub | Portfolio

Professional Summary

Innovative and results-driven Software Engineer with deep expertise in Java, Spring Boot, and Python, with additional experience in C/C++ and Golang, using modern frameworks since ~2005. Most recent experience focuses heavily on high-throughput transactional systems, including support for PayPal and Amazon-style integrations.

Specializes in building cloud-native, secure, and high-performance backend systems across AWS and enterprise ecosystems. Strong individual contributor with a proven track record of delivering complex initiatives including cloud migrations, greenfield development, production incident resolution, and deep refactoring work.

Experienced in CI/CD (Jenkins, GitHub Actions), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift), and observability (Splunk, CloudWatch, New Relic). Holds a Master's in Computer Science (AI & ML) and a Bachelor's in Bioengineering (Neural Engineering). Passionate about AI/ML-driven engineering, local LLM experimentation, and continuous innovation.

Work History

Senior Backend Engineer
Capital One / Ippon Technologies / Venturi (Contract)
August 2024 - Present | Remote
  • Developed and optimized cloud-native systems using Java, Spring Boot, Python, and AWS (Lambda, Step Functions, EMR, S3).
  • Improved system performance and resilience by 20-30% through concurrency tuning (HikariCP), architectural changes, and refactoring.
  • Worked extensively with MongoDB, PostgreSQL, DocumentDB, Apache Spark, and distributed ETL pipelines.
  • Implemented enterprise security and secrets management using OAuth, HashiCorp Vault, and AWS Secrets Manager.
  • Led troubleshooting across networking (TCP/IP), authentication (OAuth/JWT), and distributed systems.
  • Delivered major milestones ahead of schedule; contract extended 4x due to performance.
  • Became Vulnerability Champion within one month, moving the team to GREEN status using CVE analysis tools (e.g., Mend).
  • Trained and mentored engineers on security remediation and backend architecture.
  • Executed major modernization efforts including Java 8 to Java 17, CI/CD automation, secrets migration, and AWS routing/cutovers.
  • Deployed to production multiple times per week; ensured platform health via CloudWatch, Splunk, New Relic, and CloudDoctor.
Principal Software Engineer
Arocep Federal LLC
August 2023 - June 2024 | Remote
  • Led architecture and hands-on development of scalable web applications using Java, Spring Boot, and Spring Security.
  • Implemented authentication and authorization with Spring Security.
  • Managed cloud infrastructure across AWS and Google Cloud (EC2, S3, PostgreSQL).
  • Administered Linux servers (security groups, SSH, ports, IAM).
  • Automated infrastructure using CloudFormation, EC2 Image Builder, and IAM.
  • Scaled product listings from 20,000 to 1,000,000, adding 7 new applications.
  • Mentored engineers, unified architectural decisions, and coordinated vendor/client relationships.
  • Leveraged GitHub Copilot, IntelliJ IDEA, and OpenAI API to improve productivity.
Lead Java Software Engineer
American Express Global Business Travel
November 2021 - August 2023 | Remote
  • Led a team of 4 senior engineers migrating the company's most critical traveler-profile system to AWS.
  • Spent ~30% of time mentoring, unblocking engineers, and performing code reviews.
  • Delivered REST and SOAP services using Java, Spring, Kafka, JMS, Thymeleaf, and Redis.
  • Optimized Oracle SQL, Solr, ActiveMQ, and Kafka-based event-driven systems.
  • Migrated 70+ services to AWS, saving >$100,000/month while improving reliability.
  • Built CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, deployed via ROSA (OpenShift on AWS) and Amazon ECS.
  • Practiced TDD with JUnit, Postman, SOAPUI, and JMeter.
Senior Software Engineer
A4SAFE, Inc.
March 2021 - November 2021 | Remote
  • Built scalable web applications with Java, Spring, Angular, JavaScript, and NoSQL/GraphQL.
  • Implemented CI/CD pipelines with Jenkins.
  • Enhanced security with OAuth and JWT.
  • Promoted to Senior within one month due to delivery impact.
  • Retained multiple clients by resolving complex integration issues.
Senior Software Engineer
HireRising
January 2021 - February 2021 | Remote
  • Developed backend services using Java and C#.
  • Collaborated cross-functionally and provided technical leadership.
Senior Software Engineer
Double Helix Law
August 2019 - January 2020 | Remote
  • Returned to lead product enhancements and automation improvements across legacy systems.
Software Developer
R1 RCM
April 2018 - July 2019
  • Developed automation scripts using VBA, Boston Workstation, and SQL.
  • Processed large healthcare datasets across EPIC, Meditech, and Cerner.
Developer / Advanced Systems Analyst
Pitney Bowes
April 2017 - April 2018
  • Built MS Access and VBA applications to automate workflows.
  • Developed configuration workflows for COTS software.
  • Worked with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.
Software Engineer
Double Helix Law
April 2015 - April 2017 | Remote
  • Built web and desktop applications using Java, PHP, MySQL, HTML/CSS/JS.
  • Gathered requirements, designed system enhancements, and implemented automated testing.

Technical Skills

Programming Languages & Frameworks

Java (8, 11, 17, 21), Spring Framework, Spring Boot, Spring Data JPA, Hibernate, Tomcat, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Angular, React, Node.js, Python, C, C++, C#, VBA, VBS

Databases & Data

PostgreSQL, Oracle, MongoDB, DocumentDB, MySQL, Redis, Neo4j, Elasticsearch, SQL, GraphQL

Messaging & Middleware

Kafka, JMS, ActiveMQ, AMQP

Cloud & DevOps

AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes, OpenShift (ROSA), Docker, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Maven, Nexus, On-prem to Cloud migrations

Security & Networking

OAuth2, JWT, IAM, Vault, TCP/IP, OSI, certificates, encryption, tcpdump, Wireshark, Snort, Logstash

Testing & Automation

JUnit, Selenium, Postman, JMeter, TDD, integration, performance, load testing

Education

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

Lewis University, Romeoville, IL - August 2023 | GPA: 3.83

Focus: Cybersecurity, AI/ML
Coursework: NLP, supervised/unsupervised ML, CNNs, DDQN, Reinforcement Learning
Thesis: Cybersecurity with Double Deep Q-Learning Neural Networks

Bachelor of Science - Bioengineering

University of Illinois at Chicago - May 2013

AI Engineering & Advanced Projects

Alchemy / LLM Code Surgeon
Creator & Architect
  • Built an AI-driven engineering platform enabling safe, autonomous, multi-file refactoring across Java, Python, Go, and C++ using local LLMs (Ollama).
  • Designed orchestration engine with intent classification, context retrieval, planning, validation, and atomic application.
  • Implemented hardened command-safety controls to prevent destructive LLM actions.
  • Built interactive REPL for iterative agent-driven workflows.
  • Integrated with CrewAI for autonomous goal execution.

Certifications & Training

  • Java SE 8 - Oracle Certified Associate (OCA) / Programmer I
  • AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
  • CompTIA Security+ (in progress)
  • CISSP (in progress)

Personal

Work Authorization: U.S. Citizen