Dogukan Kotan

Senior Backend Engineer · Istanbul, Türkiye

Summary

Backend engineer with 10+ years of experience building large-scale systems in banking/fintech and e-commerce. Python-first (FastAPI, Django). Currently at Innovance Consultancy, leading backend architecture, mentoring engineers, and owning delivery for enterprise clients. Focused on AI-assisted engineering with Claude Code, MCP and the Anthropic API.

Experience

Innovance Consultancy Nov 2022 — Present

Senior Expert Software Developer · since Jul 2024

Leading backend architecture and delivery for enterprise banking/fintech and e-commerce clients. Owning system design decisions, mentoring engineers, setting code review standards, and leading technical communication with clients.

Senior Software Developer, Nov 2022 — Jul 2024: backend services with Python (FastAPI, Django), PostgreSQL, Redis and Kafka across multiple consulting projects.

Huawei Jun 2022 — Nov 2022

Senior Software Engineer

Backend development for Petal Search R&D: large-scale search infrastructure and data processing services for high-volume query and crawl data.

Akinon Jun 2021 — Jun 2022

Senior Backend Engineer

Payment, shipment and campaign features on a high-traffic, cloud-based headless commerce platform serving global retail brands.

Bon Intelligence Jun 2019 — Jun 2021

Software Engineer Team Lead · since Jun 2020

Led a team of 3 engineers building an AI and IoT analytics platform that turned Wi-Fi sensor data into consumer behavior insights for retail clients.

Software Development Specialist, Jun 2019 — Jun 2020: IoT data ingestion and processing services.

Workif Jan 2017 — May 2019

Full Stack Developer

Built and maintained a SaaS product combining CRM and ERP capabilities for SMEs.

Skills

Python: FastAPI, Django, Flask, DRF, SQLAlchemy, Pydantic, Celery, Pytest
Other languages: Go, Java (Spring Boot), TypeScript (Next.js, React)
Data & messaging: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB, Kafka, RabbitMQ, gRPC
DevOps & cloud: Docker, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, AWS, Azure, GCP
AI engineering: Claude Code, MCP server development, Anthropic API, prompt engineering

Education

B.S. Computer Engineering İstanbul Şehir University · 2013 — 2017

B.S. Electrical & Electronics Engineering İstanbul Şehir University · 2015 — 2017 · double major

Certifications

MCP: Advanced Topics
Building with the Claude API
Introduction to Claude Code
Introduction to Agent Skills

Languages

Turkish (native) · English (professional)