Senior e-commerce engineer & architect · 20 years building for the web
I make sure your online store works, grows, and stays up on the busiest day of the year. I design, build, and run commerce backends: Shopware 6, Python services, Kafka, an order management system, and Kubernetes.
I’m independent and open to projects. Write in English or Polish: adam@sprada.pl status: independent · open to projects · adam@sprada.pl
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Brands I’ve built for
A few things I’ve shipped: the store that sold CD PROJEKT RED’s The Witcher 3 expansions through launch-day peaks, a rollout to 40+ markets, and a product that grew to 10 million users.
Online stores and platforms for retailers and brands in Germany, Poland, Estonia, and Switzerland, built directly or through agencies. Plus two years of freelance work, mostly for US clients.
Main tools: Shopware 6 · Adobe Commerce (Magento 2) · Python · PHP · Kafka · Kubernetes
stack
- commerce
- Shopware 6 · Adobe Commerce (Magento 2) · composable and headless · Adyen, PayPal
- orders
- order management system · order routing and splitting · fulfillmenttools · order and returns sync
- python
- FastAPI · Pydantic · asyncio · httpx · pytest · mypy · ruff
- php
- PHP 8 · Symfony · Doctrine · Shopware plugins and themes
- frontend
- JavaScript · Twig · SCSS · Shopware storefronts · redesigns
- data
- Kafka with Avro schemas · RabbitMQ · MySQL · Redis · Elasticsearch
- infra
- Kubernetes · Docker · GitHub Actions · GitLab CI · CircleCI · Varnish · Fastly · Prometheus · Sentry · Linux
- practice
- architecture · event-driven design · integrations · REST APIs · performance tuning · incident response · migrations · code review
- also
- tech lead when a project needs one · architecture reviews · estimates and presales · mentoring
- ai
- Claude Code with custom skills · GitHub Copilot code review · human review on everything
- training
- commercetools Functional Architect (2021) · BigCommerce developer certification (2023)
shipped_for: CD PROJEKT (The Witcher 3 expansion store), Intersport, Odlo, POLO Motorrad, Interliving, trendhopper, roomio, Ikarus, Świat Książki, Senetic, Kaubamaja, Selver, killtec, F.C. Hansa Rostock
scale: launch-day peaks of tens of thousands of concurrent carts · 40+ markets on one platform · 10M users at peak
Right now // current
I work with VME, the German furniture group behind Interliving, trendhopper, and roomio. I’m building the system that sends every online order to the right warehouse or store, and I help redesign their online stores. I’ve run engineering teams, and I chose to go back to building. Independent engineer at VME. Building the OMS from the ground up in Python: order routing and splitting, Kafka events with Avro schemas from Shopware, fulfillmenttools sync for orders and returns, FastAPI services. Plus Shopware 6 storefront work and redesigns for Interliving, trendhopper, and roomio (Twig, SCSS). I’ve run engineering teams, and I chose to go back to building.
What you can hire me for hire_me_for
- Build. A system that survives traffic and change: an order management system, an integration, a migration, a new storefront. build: commerce backends · OMS · integrations · migrations · Shopware 6 storefronts
- Rescue. A project that got stuck, or a store that goes down under load: root cause first, then a plan, then the fix. rescue: stuck projects · performance under load · go-lives · incidents, with a root cause
- Lead, part-time. A few days a month of technical leadership, without hiring a full-time CTO. lead: part-time · architecture reviews · estimates · working with your agency
Fixed scope, a monthly retainer, or part-time in your team. engagement: fixed scope · retainer · part-time embedded · remote, CET
Track record git log --oneline
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First engineer at a German e-commerce agency. I built its engineering from zero: the team, the delivery process, and the hosting. Clients included F.C. Hansa Rostock, killtec, trendhopper, and roomio.
First technical hire. Shopware 6 infrastructure from scratch: hosting, CI/CD, monitoring, deployments. A Kubernetes-based hosting platform built with partners. Database migrations between engines, composable commerce projects. Stores for F.C. Hansa Rostock, killtec, trendhopper, and roomio.
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Took over the projects for Kaubamaja and Selver, two of Estonia’s best-known retailers, and got both back on track as tech lead of a 25+ person international team.
Took over two retail projects that needed a rescue. Tech lead for a 25+ person international team of developers, QA, PMs, and analysts: backlog ownership, refinement and estimates, release process, client communication. Both back on track.
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Worked on the store that sold CD PROJEKT RED’s The Witcher 3 expansions and kept it up through launch-day peaks, with tens of thousands of carts open at the same time. Shipped Senetic’s rollout to more than 40 markets. Also built for Odlo, Intersport, and Świat Książki.
Launch-day scale for The Witcher 3 expansions: tens of thousands of concurrent carts, full-page caching with Varnish, performance tuning under peak load. Magento 2 Commerce, now Adobe Commerce, multi-store for 40+ markets on Kubernetes with Elasticsearch, Redis, RabbitMQ, and Fastly. A custom Emarsys integration for the Witcher store on Magento 1. Migrated ikarus.de from Magento 1 to Shopware 6 and introduced Shopware 6 at the company.
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Freelanced for two years, mostly for US companies: PurchaseClinic, a purchasing marketplace for US healthcare providers, plus a sales competition platform, admin tools for an arcade game maker, and several web portals.
Upwork and direct contracts, mostly US clients. A large single-page front end for PurchaseClinic, a US medical supplies marketplace, written in AngularJS at the time. PHP and MySQL back ends. Built, deployed, and maintained.
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Worked on a high-traffic website in the global top 80, then ran a film recommendation product that grew to 10 million users at peak, with a 20+ person team across engineering, marketing, sales, and content.
High-traffic PHP and Python for a website in the global top 80: sharded MySQL, search and caching at scale. Built a neural-network recommender for a product that grew to 10 million users. Led a 20+ person cross-functional team with Scrum.
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Fixed computers, ran servers, and helped set up a Wi-Fi network for a hospital, part-time while studying.
Linux servers and hosting, PHP websites, a broadband network across apartment buildings, long-range directional antennas between hospital buildings.
How I work principles.md
You hear bad news early, and with a plan. Every incident gets a root cause, not just a workaround.
Every incident gets a root cause, not a patch. Timeline, cause, and fix, in writing. No silent patches.
You don’t need a translator between you and your developers. I speak both. I can write the ticket, the code, and the status update.
I write the ticket, the code, and the status update. And explain all three to your CEO.
AI makes me faster. Experience keeps it honest. I use AI coding tools every day and review everything they write.
I use AI coding tools every day and review everything they write. I know what to throw away.
What people say peer review
“What stood out to me most was his ability to solve complex technical challenges while always keeping the business value in focus.”
“Teams naturally rally around him; he brings calm, focus, and clarity to fast-paced environments.”
“Whether it was a tight deadline, a technical roadblock, or an unexpected client request—Adam was always someone you could count on.”
“His forte is the fact he understands clients’ business and addresses the priorities based on them. It makes him a good business partner for clients.”
“Adam consistently approached every situation with clarity, technical insight, and a real commitment to moving things forward.”
“His commitment, reliability, and technical leadership were instrumental in helping us overcome several major challenges.”
“…a great support for a project manager who can feel fully backed up and comfortable in day to day activities.”
“You can always be sure that Adam completes the tasks on time and with the highest quality.”
“Very satisfied with the results Adam achieved, the technologies he chose, and the quality of the code delivered.”
Work with me contact()
Tell me what’s broken, or what you want to build. Business or engineering, both work. Plain text is fine. So is a stack trace. Open to projects.
adam@sprada.pl