Insight
The retry storm that almost paid a merchant twice
Thursday 16:47. A merchant payout. The client timed out, then fired again. Then again. Ninety seconds from paying the same person three times.
Dakar · West Africa · Remote WorldwideOpen to new engagements
Senior Backend EngineerEnterprise PlatformsPayments · FinTech · Distributed Systems
I design Java / Spring Boot backends for banking and payments — owned from API contract to production operations, for West Africa delivery and remote international teams.
Enterprise PlatformsPayment InfrastructureDistributed SystemsJava & Spring Boot
Bank of Africa Group delivery via Synapse · ENG Technologie
Dakar, Senegal — bilingual EN/FR · freelance and contract work, remote worldwide.Hiring? See the recruiter path
Trusted in banking, fintech, and high-stakes delivery
BankingFintechCredit SystemsHealthcareEnterprise SaaS
Employers
Employers: Synapse Groupe, ENG Technologie, Mafalia, SarayaTech Senegal.
Delivery for Bank of Africa Group platforms via Synapse — not a commercial partnership.
Start here
Scoped delivery for a project — and a hiring pack if you are recruiting.
Hiring & recruiting
Review experience, case studies, and About — then download the CV.
Project & freelance work
See what I deliver, pick an engagement package, then book a short discovery call.
Selected engagements
Systems shipped — Senegal to multi-country banking.
Problem, market, stack, and outcomes from West Africa and regulated platforms.
Experience
Banking, fintech, and enterprise systems — contexts where correctness, compliance, and reliability are non-negotiable.
- Synapse GroupeFeb 2025 — Present
Senior Backend Engineer — Banking Systems
Drove backend modernization of enterprise banking platforms — Java / Spring Boot, microservices, clean architecture — serving 11+ Bank of Africa Group subsidiaries.
- ENG Technologie GroupJul 2023 — Feb 2025
Software Engineer — FinTech & Payments
Owned backend microservices for digital lending, customer onboarding, and payment workflows on a FinTech platform.
- Mafalia — Ecom & Fintech ApplicationsJun 2022 — Nov 2023 · parallel with ENG from Jul 2023
Software Engineer — SaaS Platform
Built backend services and REST APIs supporting inventory management, order processing, sales, and financial workflows for a SaaS platform helping SMEs manage operations.
Engineering Insights
Deep dives on building resilient payment systems, scaling backends, and real-world lessons from African fintech landscapes.
Insight
The callback that said `SUCCESS`
Friday, the app said Paid. Monday, 15,000 XOF was missing. The callback was named SUCCESS. That was the whole problem.
Insight
Stop shipping `isPaid: true`
Most payment bugs are vocabulary bugs. Accepted is not confirmed. Confirmed is not settled. The three-state model this blog starts from — and why your boolean is lying to finance.
Engagement packages
Two tracks: product teams shipping fast, enterprises modernizing under constraints. Remote, scoped, production-minded.
Short discovery call, then a written proposal — scope, milestones, and effort. No vague retainers.
Clients & founders
Startups, product owners, and SMEs building APIs, MVPs, or payment-backed products.
A backend you can demo, operate, and hand to your team — with milestones, docs, and no black box.
Discovery & architecture sprint
1–2 weeksBest before a full build: lock scope, risks, and the shortest path to a launchable backend.
- Goals, constraints, and integration map
- Target architecture + draft ADRs
- Phased plan with effort ranges
Build & deliver
4–12 weeksEnd-to-end freelance delivery of APIs, payment adapters, or core workflows — discovery through production handoff.
- Milestone demos and acceptance criteria
- Tests, observability, and runbooks
- Handoff docs your team can own
MVP acceleration
6–10 weeksA fundable, demo-ready MVP on real payment rails — built to extend, not throw away.
- Core domain APIs and payment flows
- Security baseline and audit-friendly trails
- Launch checklist + next-iteration roadmap
Enterprises & banks
Banks, fintechs, and platform teams that need backend capacity, modernization, or an independent technical look.
Ownership where stakes are high — regulated integrations, compliance-aware delivery, architecture that scales.
Contract backend embed
1–6 monthsA senior backend engineer inside your squad — roadmap sprints, CI/CD, and production ownership in regulated contexts.
- Delivery inside your ceremonies and tools
- Code reviews, quality bar, and mentorship
- Stable ops posture after release
Platform modernization
8–16 weeks+Legacy-to-cloud-native moves, partner API gateways, and payment programs with enterprise governance.
- Architecture and migration waves
- Partner onboarding and versioned API contracts
- Resilience, observability, and SLOs
Technical & architecture review
1–3 weeksA focused review of a backend, payment integration, or API before you commit to a build — ranked findings, ADRs, and a phased plan.
- Findings ranked by risk and effort
- Reference designs and ADRs
- An action plan your implementing team can own
How delivery works
The same workflow behind every package — clear stages, visible progress, handoff your team can run.
- 01
Discovery
Goals, constraints, stakeholders, and success metrics — aligned before architecture or estimates.
- 02
Architecture
System design, data contracts, security model, and a phased roadmap with explicit trade-offs.
- 03
Build
Incremental delivery with reviews, CI/CD, and demos tied to business milestones.
- 04
Verify
Unit, integration, and regression coverage — plus failure injection where money moves.
- 05
Ship
Production rollout, runbooks, monitoring, and a handoff your team can operate.
- 06
Tune
Post-launch improvements — latency, cost, and reliability from real traffic data.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers for founders, product leads, and hiring managers scoping a backend engagement.
How do engagements start?
With a short discovery call. You get a written proposal covering scope, milestones, effort range, and the recommended package — no vague retainers.
Do you work fully remote?
Yes. Delivery is remote worldwide from Dakar, with async-friendly rituals and overlap that fits your timezone for critical workshops.
Which package should I choose?
Founders and SMEs usually start with Discovery & architecture, Build & deliver, or MVP acceleration. Banks and platform teams lean toward Contract embed, Platform modernization, or Technical & architecture review.
Can you work inside regulated banking or payment environments?
Yes. Experience includes Synapse delivery for Bank of Africa Group platforms, payment integrations, audit-friendly trails, and production ownership where compliance and reliability matter.
What does handoff look like?
Milestone demos, tests, observability, runbooks, and documentation your team can operate — so delivery does not end as a black box.
Are you open to full-time roles as well as freelance?
Current priority is scoped freelance and contract delivery. A full-time role remains possible if the context is right — the CV is in the navigation. Tell me whether you are hiring or scoping a project.
Contact
Hiring or starting a project — let’s talk
Recruiters: brief or CV. Clients: goals, constraints, timeline — or pick a package. Remote worldwide.
Expect a response within two business days.
01
Share your brief: goals, architecture, challenges, and constraints.
02
I respond with focused questions and a practical roadmap.
03
We align: discovery call, solution workshop, or phased build.