Rifat Al Mahfuz

TL;DR

UIUC CS Grad, Software engineer with a track record of owning critical infrastructure, building complex APIs, and shipping products in fast paced environments. I love building systems and solving problems. Looking for my next software engineering role.

I enjoy building systems that work reliably under pressure, optimizing performance, and collaborating with teams to solve real business problems. My approach is to understand the problem deeply, propose practical solutions, and iterate based on feedback.

Key Work

Approach to Work

I believe good engineering starts with understanding the problem clearly. I ask questions, propose solutions, and iterate based on feedback from team members and stakeholders.

My experience at a fast-growing startup taught me to balance speed with quality, write maintainable code under pressure, and collaborate effectively during critical incidents.

I'm comfortable working independently but prefer teams where knowledge sharing and collective code ownership are valued.

How I Work

I take ownership. When I work on something, I think about it like it's mine. If there's a problem, I fix it instead of waiting for someone else to notice.

I adapt to the stack. I don't get attached to specific technologies. If the job needs Go instead of Node.js, I learn Go. Tools are just tools.

I ship things. I'd rather build something imperfect and iterate than spend weeks planning the perfect solution that never gets built.

I think about the user. Code is only useful if it solves real problems. I try to understand what users actually need, not just what the spec says.

What I'm Looking For

I do well in places where I can move quickly and see the impact of my work. Whether that's building new features, fixing performance issues, or figuring out why something broke at 3 AM. I'm up for it.

I'm open to opportunities anywhere in the US both remote and on-site. Available immediately.