issa.dev // software engineer
available · Q2 '26
$ whoami

Hey, I'm
Issa.
I ship software,
end to end.

Full-stack engineer. 5+ years writing real code for real users — three freelancing from user stories to VPS deployment, two in enterprise at Syriatel. I do the scary parts too.

> focus: Full-stack.
View work → Get in touch / timeline
[01] about

The short honest version.

Three sentences and a live widget. If you need more, it's in the timeline.

I'm a full-stack engineer based in Syria. I've spent the last five years shipping software — three of those freelancing from user stories to VPS, two inside Syriatel working on telecom infrastructure that couldn't go down.

I'm comfortable on both sides of the wire. NestJS, Next.js, Django, ASP.NET Core on the backend; React, Angular, Flutter on the front. I write the CI/CD that ships it and the migrations that don't corrupt your data.

I've seen production go down. I've fixed it. I don't pretend every line I write is clean — I pretend the ones that matter are tested. I prefer a boring architecture that works to a clever one that almost does.

// currently live
status Open to freelance + contract. Full-time for the right team.
building An inventory system for a regional distributor. Offline-first Flutter client + NestJS API.
reading "Designing Data-Intensive Applications" — on my third pass.
replies Usually within 24h. Faster if it's not 3am in Damascus.
tz UTC+3 · flexible. I've done standups at every hour.
[02] stack

What's in the toolbox.

Grouped honestly. No bars, no percentages — those are fiction. Hover labels are my read on each tool.

{ } Backend
06
NestJS daily driver
Node.js daily driver
Django gets the job done
ASP.NET Core enterprise years
Express still useful
PHP survived it
</> Frontend
06
Next.js daily driver
React daily driver
Angular two production apps
TypeScript non-negotiable
Tailwind default
jQuery survived it
↟ DevOps & Infra
07
Docker daily driver
Nginx daily driver
GitHub Actions pipelines I trust
Linux VPS home turf
PM2 still solid
Kubernetes small clusters
cPanel survived it
◼ Mobile
03
Flutter two shipped apps
Dart comfortable
React Native when the client insists
≡ Databases & Data
05
PostgreSQL daily driver · I read query plans
MongoDB when the shape is right
Redis caches & queues
Prisma pragmatic choice
MySQL old clients
daily driver — I reach for it first gets the job done — production-comfortable new territory — shipping, still learning survived it — we don't talk about it
[03] timeline

Two chapters, no gaps.

The freelance run and the Syriatel run. Specific moments, not filler bullets.

Freelance — full-stack, end-to-end
Solo + small teams · 3+ yrs
2022 → now
  • Built the TEDx AlQassaa event system — QR check-in, badge printing, attendee dashboard. Next.js + NestJS + PostgreSQL.
    500+ attendees · zero check-in lines
  • Shipped a Generator Management System for a fuel distributor — maintenance schedules, fuel logs, technician dispatch. Still running.
    Flutter + NestJS · offline-first
  • Designed and deployed CI/CD pipelines for five production apps. GitHub Actions → Docker → self-hosted VPS. Zero-downtime deploys, actually tested.
    docker compose · nginx · pm2
  • Owned every part of the SDLC — user stories, estimation, API design, UI, deployment, the 2am debugging call. Sometimes the client's Figma, too.
    the full loop
  • Consulted on system architecture for three greenfield products. Picked the boring stack every time. They all shipped.
    Postgres + NestJS · surprising no one
Syriatel — enterprise telecom
Software Engineer · national telecom carrier
2020 → 2022
  • Contributed to the internal coverage-map platform — tower data, signal heatmaps, field-team reporting. Used by ops every day.
    Angular + ASP.NET Core · SQL Server
  • Worked on subscriber-facing backends at national scale — millions of records, SLAs measured in minutes, not "soon."
    real users · real stakes · real logs
  • Learned what infrastructure at scale actually looks like. Queue backpressure. Database read replicas. The difference between a test environment and a staging environment.
    lessons you can't get from docs
  • Sat in on incident response. Learned to write postmortems that name the system, not the person. Still do.
    blameless · specific · short
  • Left with a calibration — what "enterprise-ready" means when a million subscribers depend on the thing being up. I carry that bar into every freelance project.
    the anchor
[04] work

Things I've shipped.

Real clients, real users. Descriptions are what I'd tell a friend, not a recruiter.

shipped · 2024
TEDxcheck-in · badges · live dashboard
TEDx AlQassaa — Event System
QR check-in, badge printing, and a live dashboard for organizers. Handled 500+ attendees the day of — queues stayed short. Still the project I point to first.
Next.jsNestJSPostgreSQLRedis
● private · case study →
shipped · 2023
GMSgenerator ops · offline-first
Generator Management System
Maintenance schedules, fuel logs, technician dispatch for a regional distributor. Works offline in the field, syncs when it reconnects. Still running, still paying me.
FlutterNestJSPostgreSQLWebSockets
● private · write-up →
shipped · 2021
Coverageinternal tool · national scale
Syriatel Coverage Map
Internal platform for tower data, signal heatmaps, and field-team reporting. Contributed across the stack — used daily by network ops. This one shipped me.
AngularASP.NET CoreSQL ServerLeaflet
● internal · details on request →
shipped · 2024
Inventorymulti-warehouse · audits
Distributor Inventory Platform
Multi-warehouse inventory with signed audit trails, role-based access, and a reporting layer that finance actually uses. Replaced three spreadsheets and a WhatsApp group.
Next.jsDjangoPostgreSQLS3
live → · ● private repo
building · 2026
Dispatchfield ops · realtime
Field Dispatch Tool
Realtime job board for technicians — assignments, check-ins, photo evidence, SLA timers. Currently in staging with one pilot team. Early numbers look right.
NestJSFlutterPostgreSQLMQTT
● in progress · notes →
shipped · 2023
Clinicscheduling · billing
Clinic Management App
Scheduling, patient records, and billing for a private clinic. Printable receipts in Arabic, which was more engineering work than the rest of the app combined.
ReactDjangoPostgreSQLi18n
● private · screenshots →
[05] services

What I can do for you.

Yes, this includes the parts clients forget to mention in the brief.

// 001

Full-stack build

from idea → signed-off release

User stories, schema, API, UI, deployment. I do the whole thing or plug into your team and own a slice. Either way you get the same engineer through to production.

// 002

API & system design

the part you'll live with for years

REST or GraphQL, event-driven or boring-and-correct. I'll draw the diagram, argue with you about it, and document the version we actually ship.

// 003

CI/CD & deployment

for when "it works on my machine" isn't funny anymore

Docker, GitHub Actions, a VPS that doesn't collapse under load. Zero-downtime deploys, actual health checks, rollback that works at 3am.

// 004

Rescue & refactor

inherited a codebase that makes you sigh

I come in, read everything, tell you what's actually broken vs. just ugly, and fix in that order. No rewrites unless there's a real reason.

// 005

Technical consulting

second opinion, honest one

Architecture reviews, hiring heuristics, stack picks, "is this vendor lying to us." Async or over a call. I'll tell you what I'd actually do.

// 006

The miscellaneous pile

the part everyone forgets to scope

Printable PDFs in Arabic, background jobs, webhook retries, that one integration no one wants to touch. Quote includes it. Always does.

[06] numbers

Counted honestly.

No inflated vanity metrics. If I can't point at the thing behind the number, it's not here.

0+
YEARS SHIPPING
three freelance · two enterprise
0
PROJECTS DELIVERED
only counting the ones clients use
0
ENTERPRISE YEARS
syriatel · national telecom
0%
MEDIAN UPTIME
across current freelance stack
[07] contact

Get in touch.

I don't bite. Slow reply might mean I'm deploying something.

// I read everything. Usually same day.