Ala BEN KHALIFA

Portfolio & experience

Selected lead engineering experience across backend platforms, AWS, Azure, cloud migrations, and enterprise modernization.

Download resume

Selected work

Connected Automotive

Backend platform for a private customer app on iOS and Android

Flagship projectLead Software EngineerMaibornWolff website (opens in a new tab)Oct 2020 – Oct 2024

Supported and evolved 10 Spring Boot microservices in Java and Kotlin, serving 15,000 users, with MQTT and PostgreSQL behind real-time mobile features. Grew from Software Engineer to Senior and then Lead on this engagement, coordinating a team of four engineers.

What I built

Services

Backend microservices behind the platform.

  • Spring Boot10 microservices
  • KotlinService development
  • JavaService development
Real-time

Live features for the mobile apps.

  • MQTTReal-time messaging
  • PostgreSQLService data
Mobile & team

Who uses it and how the role grew.

  • iOS & AndroidApps consuming the real-time features
  • Lead engineerTeam of four engineers

Delivered at MaibornWolff

Project details
  • 10 microservices, 15,000 users
  • Two Java services rewritten in Kotlin
  • Promoted from Software Engineer to Lead in four years

Project notes

All selected projects, with what I built and the stack behind it.

Industrial IoT Monitoring Platform

Lead EngineeringMaibornWolffAug 2026 – Present

Cloud monitoring for an industrial gas-detection manufacturer: site gateways stream controller readings over MQTT into Azure, and a React and NestJS app shows plants, measuring points, live status, and history.

  • Built the spec-driven workflow (validation, git hooks, CI gates) the whole team uses for every change.
  • Built the agent skills for spec review, PR review, wiki access, and UI prototyping that let a team of four ship the platform in about two months.
  • Delivered role-based access and the plant, measuring-point, and history features end to end, with about 34 test suites.
  • Fixed history charts drawing through device outages, and cut one test file from 310s to about 1s.
  • NestJS
  • TypeScript
  • React
  • Prisma
  • PostgreSQL
  • TimescaleDB
  • MQTT
  • Azure Event Hubs
  • Azure App Services
  • OpenTofu
  • GitHub Actions CI/CD
  • Claude
  • Spec-driven workflows

Startup Backend & Cloud Platform

Software ArchitectureMaibornWolffMar 2026 – Jun 2026

NestJS backend and AWS platform for an agriculture startup’s mobile and web apps, serving more than 4,000 users.

  • Solely designed and built the backend, working spec-driven with Codex and Claude.
  • Set up separate development and production environments on AWS EC2 with Docker Compose, Caddy, ECR, SSM deployments, RDS PostgreSQL, and Terraform.
  • Built a system-wide audit trail for purchase flows open to untrusted users.
  • NestJS
  • TypeScript
  • AWS EC2
  • RDS PostgreSQL
  • Docker Compose
  • Caddy
  • Terraform
  • Codex
  • Claude

Enterprise Azure Platform Migration

Lead EngineeringMaibornWolffOct 2025 – Dec 2025

Migration of a custom application from standard Azure infrastructure to an enterprise Azure platform.

  • Designed a phased migration strategy to minimize downtime.
  • Led architecture decisions around platform constraints and transition risk.
  • Used Terraform and load testing to support a reliable migration.
  • Azure
  • Azure API Management
  • Terraform
  • Load Testing

Industrial Cloud & API Integration

Multi-Cloud EngineeringMaibornWolffMar 2025 – Jul 2025

Azure infrastructure, API integration, and performance work for an industrial platform.

  • Contributed Terraform code for existing Azure infrastructure.
  • Contributed to API integrations through Azure API Management.
  • Used load testing to identify bottlenecks and guide infrastructure improvements.
  • Azure
  • Terraform
  • Azure API Management
  • Azure Cosmos DB
  • Azure Event Hubs
  • Azure Service Bus
  • Load Testing

Automotive Backend Modernization

Lead EngineeringMaibornWolffNov 2024 – Mar 2025

Backend feature delivery and performance improvements for an established automotive production system.

  • Delivered new features using Domain-Driven Design.
  • Resolved defects in an established .NET codebase.
  • Improved application performance and maintainability.
  • .NET Framework
  • C#
  • Domain-Driven Design

Enterprise ERP Modernization

Full-Stack EngineeringTalan TunisieFeb 2019 – Sep 2020

Migration of a legacy enterprise ERP from a Java monolith to Spring Boot microservices and Angular.

  • Java EE, JSF, and AngularJS to Spring Boot and Angular 8 migration.
  • RabbitMQ asynchronous messaging for system decoupling.
  • Financial reporting and analytics modules.
  • Java EE
  • JSF
  • AngularJS
  • Spring Boot
  • Microservices
  • Angular 8
  • RabbitMQ

Digital Advertising Platform

CTOVERSEOct 2025 – Present

Backend and AWS infrastructure for a digital advertising platform that shows ads on venue screens, used by enterprise clients including BYD, Tunisie Telecom, and Carrefour.

  • Sole technical owner of the backend, cloud infrastructure, and delivery pipeline, built from scratch and running in production.
  • Used Terraform and GitHub Actions for repeatable production delivery.
  • Designed the data and real-time communication layers around PostgreSQL, Redis, and WebSocket.
  • AWS ECS Fargate
  • RDS PostgreSQL
  • ElastiCache Redis
  • S3 + CloudFront
  • Terraform
  • GitHub Actions

Experience

Roles and engagements, from full-stack development to CTO.

Lead Software Engineer

MaibornWolff GmbH website (opens in a new tab)Industrial IoT Monitoring Platform

Aug 2026 – Present

  • Full-stack engineer and AI-assisted development lead in a team of four that shipped an industrial IoT platform across firmware, cloud, backend, and frontend in about two months.
  • Designed and built the spec-driven development workflow, with automated spec validation, git hooks, and CI gates, adopted by the whole team as the mandatory process for every change.
  • Built the AI-agent toolchain: skills for spec review, PR review, wiki access, and UI prototypes rendered against the app’s real components.
  • Delivered role-based access and the plant, measuring-point, and measurement-history features end to end: Prisma schema and migrations, NestJS API, React UI, shared Zod contracts, and about 34 test suites.
  • Fixed defects that structural checks miss, including history charts that drew straight lines through device outages and a test port-exhaustion bug that cut one spec file from 310s to about 1s.
  • Built the project’s shared domain glossary from the client’s official six-language terminology exports.
  • NestJS
  • TypeScript
  • React
  • Prisma
  • PostgreSQL
  • TimescaleDB
  • MQTT
  • Azure Event Hubs
  • Azure App Services
  • OpenTofu
  • GitHub Actions CI/CD
  • Claude
  • Spec-driven workflows

Software Architect

MaibornWolff GmbH website (opens in a new tab)Startup Backend & Cloud Platform

Mar 2026 – Jun 2026

  • Solely designed and built the NestJS backend behind an agriculture startup’s mobile and web apps, serving more than 4,000 users.
  • Set up separate development and production environments on AWS with EC2, Docker Compose, Caddy, ECR, SSM deployments, RDS PostgreSQL, and Terraform.
  • Built a system-wide audit trail recording who did what and when, for purchase flows open to untrusted users.
  • Used a spec-driven, AI-assisted workflow with Codex and Claude, backed by architecture-led review and verification.
  • NestJS
  • TypeScript
  • AWS EC2
  • RDS PostgreSQL
  • Docker Compose
  • Caddy
  • Terraform
  • Codex
  • Claude

CTO

VERSE website (opens in a new tab)Digital Advertising Platform

Oct 2025 – Present

  • Sole technical owner of architecture, backend, cloud infrastructure, DevOps, and reliability for a platform serving enterprise clients including BYD, Tunisie Telecom, and Carrefour.
  • Built the platform from scratch; it shows targeted ads on venue screens in restaurants, cafés, and bars, with UK expansion planned.
  • Designed and deployed the full AWS infrastructure alone, with Terraform and GitHub Actions CI/CD.
  • AWS
  • ECS Fargate
  • Terraform
  • PostgreSQL
  • Redis
  • CloudFront
  • GitHub Actions
  • WebSocket

Lead Software Engineer

MaibornWolff GmbH website (opens in a new tab)Enterprise Azure Platform Migration

Oct 2025 – Dec 2025

  • Led the migration of a custom application from standard Azure infrastructure to an enterprise Azure platform.
  • Designed a phased migration strategy to minimize downtime and keep the transition reliable.
  • Azure
  • Azure API Management
  • Terraform
  • Load Testing

Lead Software Engineer

MaibornWolff GmbH website (opens in a new tab)Industrial Cloud & API Integration

Mar 2025 – Jul 2025

  • Contributed Terraform infrastructure as code for an existing Azure environment.
  • Used load testing to identify bottlenecks and recommend infrastructure improvements.
  • Contributed to Azure API Management integrations that synchronize data between enterprise systems.
  • Azure
  • Azure API Management
  • Azure Cosmos DB
  • Azure Event Hubs
  • Azure Service Bus
  • Terraform
  • Load Testing

Lead Software Engineer

MaibornWolff GmbH website (opens in a new tab)Automotive Backend Modernization

Nov 2024 – Mar 2025

  • Developed backend features in C# and .NET Framework using Domain-Driven Design.
  • Resolved defects and improved application performance in an established production system.
  • .NET Framework
  • C#
  • Domain-Driven Design

Software Engineer → Senior → Lead Software Engineer

MaibornWolff GmbH website (opens in a new tab)Connected Automotive Platform

Oct 2020 – Oct 2024

  • Supported and evolved 10 Spring Boot microservices in Java and Kotlin, serving 15,000 users and about 1,000 monthly active users.
  • Migrated three production services from Spring Boot 2 to Spring Boot 3 without downtime, and rewrote two Java services in Kotlin.
  • Stopped duplicate customer notifications from third-party webhook retries by storing requests as pending, acknowledging immediately, and processing batches of 500 asynchronously.
  • Used MQTT and PostgreSQL to support real-time features consumed by iOS and Android applications.
  • Progressed from Software Engineer to Senior and then Lead Software Engineer, coordinating a team of four engineers.
  • Spring Boot
  • Java
  • Kotlin
  • Microservices
  • MQTT
  • PostgreSQL
  • Android
  • iOS

Full-Stack Developer

Talan Tunisie website (opens in a new tab)Enterprise ERP Modernization

Feb 2019 – Sep 2020

  • Migrated a Java EE, JSF, and AngularJS ERP to Spring Boot microservices and Angular 8.
  • Implemented RabbitMQ asynchronous messaging for service decoupling.
  • Developed financial reporting and analytics modules.
  • Java EE
  • JSF
  • AngularJS
  • Spring Boot
  • Microservices
  • Angular 8
  • RabbitMQ