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Hello, World!

I'm Matteo Tanca, a Software Architect and hands-on Tech Lead with 15+ years of professional development experience across various industries (Gaming, Entertainment / Social Media, AdTech) and tech stacks.
For the past 8 years I have led and managed multiple development teams, both in-house and remote.
Today, my primary focus is Rust backend development, though I also have extensive professional experience in JavaScript and TypeScript.
When I am not developing software, you'll likely find me playing or exploring with my young family.
In the past, I'd have been reading, getting lost in nature, or playing tennis :)
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About me

I grew up in Sardinia, then moved to Pisa for my university studies. After completing my master's degree, I worked in Italy for a few years, then won a full scholarship to attend the M.Sc. in Interactive Entertainment Technology at Trinity College, Dublin. My career then brought me to London, where I lived and worked for over 10 years.

In August 2023, I moved back to Sardinia with my family. I currently work at Matchday, building game backends in Rust.

  • Location:London, UK
  • Nationality:Italian (UK settled status)
  • Interests:Cinema, Tennis, Reading, Photography, Fitness
  • Studies:M.Sc. Interactive Entertainment Tech, M.Sc. Computer Science, B.Sc. Computer Science

Skills

Backend
Rust
Node.js (JavaScript / TypeScript)
Java
Python
Frontend
JavaScript (vanilla)
React
TypeScript
DB / Data Stores
PostgreSQL
MySQL
Redis
DevOps / Infrastructure
AWS
GCP
GH Actions / Bitbucket Pipelines
Jenkins
Mobile
Android (Java)
Android (Kotlin)
Other
VR (UE4 - Blueprints and C++)
Game Development (C#)
Voice UI (Alexa, Google Assistant)

Work

Matchday

Jul 2023 -

  • Backend Lead

    Key responsibilities

    • Design and implementation of a multi-service, low-latency game backend (100% Rust)
    • Technical leadership and mentorship of a fully remote team (7 people)
    • Design and implementation of K6 E2E and load testing suites
    • Collaboration with Product and Design to distill feature specs into actionable technical plans

    Technology / Stacks

    • Deployment: AWS (EKS)
    • Data: PostgreSQL, Redis, OpenAI API
    • Monitoring and Testing: Grafana, AWS CloudWatch, K6

Quintesse (Vibrant Media)

Jun 2021 - April 2023

  • Technical Lead

    Key responsibilities

    • Line management of a team of 5
    • Design and implementation of high-performance, highly-scalable services in Rust and Node.js
    • Design and implementation of custom orchestration and auto-scaling solutions for services deployed across different cloud providers (AWS, GCP, DO)
    • Java (Spring) backend programming
    • Python (Flask) backend programming
    • Technical documentation
    • Occasional client-side JavaScript development (vanilla and React)

    Technology / Stacks

    • Deployment: AWS (EC2, ECS), GCP (Compute Engine) and Digital Ocean (droplets)
    • Data: MySQL, Redis, Kinesis
    • Monitoring: AWS CloudWatch, Chronograf, kapacitor, telegraf, InfluxDB

Code Aplenty LTD

Jul 2018 - Dec 2021

  • Director

    Key responsibilities

    • Software consultancy services
    • Mobile app development

Vibrant Media

Sep 2018 - May 2021

  • Software Development Consultant [Contract]

    Key responsibilities

    • Design and implementation of highly-scalable, fault-tolerant, high-performance frontend services in Node.js and Rust
    • Design and implementation of client-side JS libraries
    • Integration with third-party client services and APIs
    • Technical documentation
    • Occasional Python and Android Java development

    Technology / Stacks

    • Deployment: AWS (EC2, ECS), GCP (Compute Engine) and Digital Ocean (droplets)
    • Data: MySQL, Redis, Kinesis
    • Monitoring: AWS CloudWatch, Chronograf, kapacitor, telegraf, InfluxDB

itcher

Mar 2014 - Jul 2020

  • Head of Technology [Contract]

    Jul 2018 - Jul 2020

    Key responsibilities

    • Management of itcher IT infrastructure (deployment, optimisation and cost-reduction measures)
    • Informing the company' technology strategy
    • Coordination of off-shore development teams for all main itcher platforms (web, Android, iOS)
    • Design of the itcher B2B integration API
    • Technical know-how across all discussions with prospective partners and B2B API clients
    • Hands-on development across Android, web and Voice UI platforms

    Technology / Stacks

    • Deployment / target platforms: AWS, GCP, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Android, iOS
    • Data: MySQL, Redis, DynamoDB
    • Languages: JavaScript, Java, PHP

  • Lead Full Stack Developer

    Aug 2017 - Jul 2018

    Key responsibilities

    • Leading both front-end and back-end web development (desktop and mobile)
    • Management of off-shore development teams in Bulgaria and Ukraine
    • Front-end development (HTML5, CSS, JavaScript)
    • Back-end development (PHP/Yii)
    • Project management
    • Third-party SDK integrations
    • B2B Integration Architecture Design

    Technology / Stacks

    • Deployment: AWS
    • Data: MySQL, Redis, DynamoDB

  • Google Action / Alexa Skill Developer

    Oct 2016 - Jul 2018

    Key responsibilities

    • Design and implementation of itcher voice interface (for both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa)
    • Liaising with Google's team during participation to the Actions Early Access Program and following initiatives (itcher UI was featured in talks at Google IO 2017 and 2018, as well as their stand at CES 2019)
    • Iterative refinement and implementation of new features based on user analytics and feedback

    Technology / Stacks

    • Languages / frameworks: JavaScript, Node.js, API.AI
    • Deployment: GCP (Flex Engine, Datastore)
    • Monitoring: Dashbot.io, VoiceLabs

  • Lead Android Developer

    Sep 2015 - Jul 2018

    Key responsibilities

    • Architectural design of the itcher Android app, since its inception up to v3
    • Leading the Android development team (both in-house and off-shore resources)
    • Hands-on development of many core features of the app, as well as backend and third-party API integrations
    • Design of the automated testing framework (Espresso + UIAutomator tests running on AWS Device Farm)
    • App enhancement based on up-to-date Android development best practises
    • Detailed technical documentation to guide itcher iOS development

    Technology / Stacks

    • Languages: Java, Kotlin
    • Monitoring: Firebase Analytics

  • Lead Frontend Developer

    Mar 2015 - Aug 2017

    Key responsibilities

    • Leading frontend development team for itcher.com (desktop and mobile)
    • Single-page-app SEO
    • Analytics and third-party SDK integration
    • Occasional backend development

    Technology / Stacks

    • Languages / frameworks: HTML5, JavaScript, jQuery, CSS, PHP/Yii

  • Senior Developer

    Mar 2014 - Feb 2015

    Key responsibilities

    • Frontend development for itcher.com
    • Hybrid mobile development (Cordova/PhoneGap)
    • Cordova native plugin development for both Android and iOS
    • Single-page-app SEO architecture and implementation
    • Occasional backend development

    Technology / Stacks

    • Languages / frameworks: HTML5, JavaScript, jQuery, CSS, PHP/Yii, Java, Objective-C

We R Interactive

Jan 2013 - Mar 2014

  • Software Developer

    Key responsibilities

    • Full stack development (PHP + JavaScript/jQuery) of Lyroke, at the time one of the most popular free music games on the market
    • Integration of third party technologies (e.g., Tapjoy, SupersonicAds, Facebook OG)
    • Development of content management and administration tools for the game
    • Mobile hybrid development (Cordova / PhoneGap framework)
    • Cordova native plugin development, for both Android (Java) and iOS (Objective-C)

    Technology / Stacks

    • Languages / frameworks: HTML5, JavaScript, jQuery, CSS, PHP, Java, Objective-C
    • Data storage: MySQL, Cassandra

Self-employed

May 2010 - Aug 2011

  • Freelance Software Developer

    Key responsibilities

    • Web development for small businesses and organizations
    • Android development for small businesses

    Technology / Stacks

    • Languages / frameworks: HTML5, JavaScript, jQuery, CSS, PHP, Java

Università di Pisa - Dip. Informatica

Sep 2009 - Feb 2010

  • Researcher [Contract]

    Key responsibilities

    • Development of software adaptors to enable the interoperability within different P2P service middlewares

    Technology / Stacks

    • Languages / frameworks: Java, JXTA, SMEPP

Artematica

Apr 2009 - Aug 2009

  • Junior Programmer

    Key responsibilities

    • Game development of Circus (Wii party game published by 505 Games)
    • Virtools scripting

    Technology / Stacks

    • Languages / platforms: Nintendo Wii, Virtools, C++

Publications

A. Brogi, R. Popescu, M. Tanca

Design and Implementation of Sator: a web Service Aggregator

ACM TOSEM (Transactions On Software Engineering and Methodology) volume 19, issue 3, 2010

M. Tanca

From JXTA to SMEPP. A service-oriented adaptation methodology

VDM Verlag, Sept. 2009. ISBN 978-3-639-19623-8

Education

M.Sc. in Interactive Entertainment Technologies (IET)

Trinity College Dublin•2011 - 2012

Grades: top-3 dissertation, top-5 coursework marks

Laurea Specialistica in Informatica (2-year M.Sc. in Computer Science)

Università di Pisa•2006 - 2008

Voto finale: 110/110 cum laude

Laurea Triennale in Informatica (B.Sc. in Computer Science)

Università di Pisa•2002 - 2006

Voto finale: 110/110

Seminars

A Renieri, M. Tanca

Tool di allineamento multiplo a confronto

Final presentation (in Italian) for the Bioinformatica course at University of Pisa

D. Kolundzija, M. Tanca

Dynamic load-balancing in DHT-based networks

Coursework slides (in Italian) for the Algoritmi paralleli e distribuiti course at University of Pisa

M. Tanca

Cross language information retrieval

Coursework slides (in Italian) for the Elaborazione del linguaggio naturale course at University of Pisa

Personal projects

Here are some interesting personal and academic projects I currently work on, or have developed in the past.

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    Contact me

    If you'd like more info about any of the listed projects, or have an idea or a job offer you want to discuss, please get in touch.

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    matteotanca
    Original template by Tim Baker