About
Profile & Skills
I am a Senior Software Developer based in Montreal, Canada, specializing in distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and performance engineering. I have built geo-distributed blockchain testnets, automated cloud compliance and disaster recovery pipelines, and led open-source data platform development at institutions including Morgan Stanley and the Montreal Neurological Institute. I work primarily in Python and Go and am available for consulting engagements in distributed systems, cloud architecture, and backend development.
- Languages: Python, Go, JavaScript, Bash, SQL, C
- Distributed Systems: P2P Networking, RLNC, Ethereum, Geth, Prysm
- Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, DynamoDB, Redshift
- Cloud: AWS, Google Cloud, Linode, Docker, Ansible, Salt
- Observability: Prometheus, Grafana, Google Cloud Monitoring
- CI/CD: GitHub Actions, Docker, Make
Facts
Some KPIs about me:
Countries Visited
Cups of Coffee Per day
Languages Spoken
Dogs at home (a Pomeranian)
Resume
Senior Software Developer with 10+ years of experience across distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and performance engineering at startups, big tech, and academic research institutions.
Experience
Senior Software Developer (Consultant)
Optimum
- Built and automated geo-distributed blockchain testnets across Google Cloud and Linode, supporting deployments of up to 100 nodes and a 23-node Flexnode test cluster.
- Reduced cloud operating costs by decommissioning 72 unused test machines while preserving active development environments.
- Automated cross-region disaster recovery and built distributed-network observability using Prometheus, Grafana, Google Cloud Monitoring, and Slack alerts.
- Completed seven research spikes across Hyperliquid, Ethereum, Bitcoin, and BNB, evaluating transaction propagation, mempool behavior, and cross-region latency.
Senior Software Developer
Syntax Systems
- Built “WebRunner”, a full-stack Flask application automating EC2 provisioning and enabling operators to manage AWS resources without console access.
- Automated cross-region disaster recovery for client AWS environments, reducing restoration time from 4 hours to 20 minutes (92% reduction).
- Developed cloud compliance automation with serverless AWS Lambda functions to alert, monitor, and optimize client infrastructure.
- Optimized an EC2 provisioning pipeline and reduced provisioning errors by 20%.
Software Developer (Associate)
Morgan Stanley
- Developed a Flask-based audit dashboard and automated validation system for identifying invalid eCommunications data feeds.
- Prototyped a Python API to standardize and accelerate onboarding of new communication feeds.
Lead Software Developer
Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI)
- Architected and deployed a Flask-based open data portal indexing neuroimaging datasets for the Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform (CONP), including a large-scale data ingestion pipeline.
- Led four developers across Canada and coordinated the Technical Steering Committee.
Services
I like working on data infrastructure applications around the following roles:
Software Development
Backend and full-stack development using Python, Go, Flask, FastAPI, and Vue.js. Specializing in distributed systems, P2P networking protocols, and high-throughput backend services.
Data Engineering
API design with FastAPI and Flask, large-scale data ingestion pipelines, ETL workflows, and open data platform development. Experience at academic research institutions and financial services.
Cloud & DevOps
Infrastructure automation across AWS and Google Cloud, blockchain testnet provisioning, disaster recovery pipelines, and observability stack setup with Prometheus and Grafana.
Contact
Location:
Montreal, Canada
Timezone:
Eastern Timezone (UTC−05:00)
Email:
santiago@santiagopaiva.com
Phone Number:
Available upon request
Montreal Olympic Stadium. Photo by Amaury Traver.