Emre Demirel

Co-founded an early-stage startup applying AI to mental well-being, with a strong focus on building a usable product rather than theoretical AI systems. Designed and implemented the core LLM-driven interaction layer using pragmatic multi-agent paterns to route, coordinate, and combine model responses, primarily using TypeScript and Python. Built and iterated on multiple AI workflows, experimenting with different models and providers to balance quality, cost, and reliability. Added lightweight observability and tracing using tools like Langfuse to beter understand model behavior and improve prompts and flows based on real usage. Owned the engineering work end to end, including frontend (React, NextJS, Vite), backend APIs, CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions, containerized services using Docker, and deployment and operation on self managed servers. Worked closely with psychologists, founders, and early users to continuously refine the product, using fast feedback loops and AI-assisted development to move quickly while keeping the system stable.

Led engineering efforts during a major modernization phase, balancing hands-on development, team guidance, and architectural direction. Led migration of legacy systems to cloud-native Azure architecture using .NET Core, Azure Functions, Azure Service Bus including its React frontend. Drove adoption of DevOps practices, cuting deployment cycles by 35% and improving delivery confidence. Helped shape the long-term platform roadmap, reducing operational costs by 20% while strengthening scalability and security. Built real-time processing pipelines with .NET Core, Azure Functions, Service Bus, and Cosmos DB, reducing processing times by 50%+. Mentored engineers and improved collaboration across development, QA, and operations to streamline delivery flow. Led the migration of Windows-based services to modern Azure components, improving reliability and lowering maintenance overhead.

As a Tech Lead at CarNext, I have led a squad dedicated to improving the customer experience throughout their car-financing journey. I supported the maintenance and evolution of .NET / ASP.NET Core APIs integrating with multiple financial providers across different European countries, each with distinct legal and regulatory requirements including its React frontend. I worked closely with Scrum Masters, Designers, and Product Managers within the product discovery framework, while also supporting developers in day-to-day delivery and technical decision-making. Collaborated on event-driven architectures leveraging Kafka, supporting high-availability financial workflows. I worked with Kubernetes-based deployments managed via ArgoCD, including blue-green deployments and preview, versioned container pods, enabling safe, zero-downtime releases. Maintained GitLab CI/CD pipelines, ensuring reliable, scalable, and rollable deployments in a regulated financial environment.