Joseph Okharedia
Berlin, Germany
joseph@okharedia.com
Let's connect!
Education
- Class of 2007: University of Zululand
- B.Sc (Hons) Computer Science
- Class of 2004: University of Zululand
- B.Sc Data Communication Technology
Experiences
- Mar 2025
- Present
- Staff Software Engineer at Seen
Helping customers build credit and create new beginnings with an unsecured credit card.
- Key Tech:
- React,
- Node.js,
- Postgres,
- BigQuery,
- GCP
- Nov 2024
- Feb 2025
- Skill Development
Took a dedicated break to deepen my Python skills and explore machine learning fundamentals on ML workflows and MLOps tools like Weights & Biases. I experimented with PyTorch and TensorFlow, built small projects using OpenAI, Deepgram, and LiveKit.
During this time, I developed and deployed a side project that combined OpenAI’s language models, Deepgram’s real-time transcription API, and LiveKit’s media streaming platform, focusing on real-time AI interaction. Additionally, I also spent time reinforcing core mathematical foundations relevant to ML, including linear algebra, calculus, and probability. - Key Tech:
- Python,
- TensorFlow,
- Pytorch,
- OpenAI,
- LiveKit,
- Deepgram,
- Scikit-learn,
- Linear Algebra
- Feb 2023
- Oct 2024
- Staff Software Engineer at RepubliK
Built the core AWS infrastructure that scaled to 1M+ users and powered the company's AI-driven features.
Contributed to architecture and management of the core AWS infrastructure (CDK, Lambda, DynamoDB) that supported user growth to over 1 million, providing the scalable foundation for deploying AI-driven features like the AWS Personalize recommendation engine. - Key Tech:
- React,
- Web3,
- Node.js,
- DynamoDB,
- AWS CDK,
- AWS Personalize,
- AWS Lambda,
- Amazon Opensearch
- Apr 2021
- Jan 2023
- Staff Software Engineer at Prosperity
Helped white label Life Insurance products for various clients.
As insurance is not the most interesting topic, a major challenge of the business was to make the product more appealing and engaging - "sexy" as we called it. I helped build various initiatives from UI/UX improvements to gamification to A/B testing. I was also heavily involved in refactoring the application architecture to best support testability, experimentation and maintainability. - Key Tech:
- Capacitor,
- Apollo GraphQL,
- Node.js,
- Postgres,
- AWS
- Dec 2019
- Mar 2021
- Senior Software Engineer at Candis
Simplified complex backend architecture, creating a robust foundation for deploying reliable ML platforms.
Led the architectural simplification and refactoring of complex backend systems, improving maintainability and enabling faster deployment cycles—foundational skills for building reliable ML platforms - Key Tech:
- React,
- Node.js,
- Terraform,
- AWS
- Jun 2019
- Dec 2019
- Senior Software Engineer at Spark Networks
Spark Networks owns and operates several premium online dating websites and mobile applications.
I was part of a new team that built internal tools to simplify building and customizing new dating apps. Additionally, I was involved in projects to migrate legacy systems to modern cloud-based microservices. - Key Tech:
- Go,
- gRPC,
- Node.js,
- Helm,
- AWS
- Oct 2018
- May 2019
- Fullstack Senior Software Engineer at BMW Group
Worked with a team to build an application that tracked repairs for BMW automobiles.
The software tracked repairs and provided a knowledge base for professionals to reference past experiences and document new ones, improving repair efficiency and knowledge sharing. - Key Tech:
- Angular,
- JavaEE,
- Postgres,
- OpenShift
- Jan 2018
- Sep 2019
- Senior Software Engineer at Discovery
Built an artificial intelligence chatbot to reduce the load on call centre agents.
- Key Tech:
- Angular,
- React,
- Spring Boot,
- IBM Watson
- Dec 2016
- Dec 2017
- Senior Software Engineer at Perago FSE (SIA S.p.A group)
Helped build and customize central security depositories (CSD) for various countries.
- Key Tech:
- Primefaces,
- JavaEE,
- Swift & FIX protocols,
- OracleDB
- Jan 2011
- Dec 2016
- Application Developer at FNB
Helped build the backend services for a Banking app.
- Key Tech:
- JSP,
- Java,
- JavaEE,
- SOAP,
- MySQL
- Jan 2008
- Dec 2010
- CEO at Bytech Technologies (my own company)
Developed websites for various organizations and companies.
- Key Tech:
- HTML/CSS,
- Javascript,
- PHP