Rico Metzger - Senior Software Engineer

Senior Software Engineer with 20+ Years of Experience

I design and implement high-performance backend systems and fullstack solutions. My current focus lies in achieving massive efficiency gains through modern AI tooling (Cursor, Claude, Copilot) and the secure integration of internal data sources (MCP/Agents) to optimize business workflows. I am available for freelance roles.

Core Tech Stack & Expertise

Languages: Java, Kotlin, Scala, Python, TypeScript
AI Tooling: Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, OpenAI API, MCP
Messaging & Event Streaming: Kafka, RabbitMQ, ActiveMQ
Cloud & DevOps: AWS, Kubernetes, Docker

My Approach: I combine a deep foundation in computer science with the speed of modern AI-driven workflows. I don’t just deliver code—I build robust systems and actively share my knowledge within the team to maximize the synergy between legacy systems and generative AI.

Languages

German (Native)

Spoken ★★★★★

Written ★★★★★

English (Fluent)

Spoken ★★★★☆

Written ★★★★☆

French (Basic)

Spoken ★★☆☆☆

Written ★★★☆☆

Soft Skills

Strong Communication Skills
Extensive Experience in Agile Methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, SAFE)
Solution-Oriented Mindset
Technical Leadership (Mentoring & Engineering Standards)
Collaborative Team Player

Certificates

VMware • 2024

Spring Certified Professional 2024 [v2]

Confluent • 2024

Confluent Certified Developer for Apache Kafka

Coursera • 2016

Scala Functional Programming

MongoDB • 2015

MongoDB Certified Developer Associate

Skills

Programming Languages

Java ★★★★★

Kotlin ★★★★★

Scala ★★★★★

Elixir ★★★★☆

JavaScript ★★★★☆

Python ★★★★☆

TypeScript ★★★★☆

Go ★★★☆☆

Backend Frameworks

Apache Camel ★★★★★

Spring Boot / Ecosystem ★★★★★

Camunda BPM ★★★★☆

Elixir Phoenix ★★★★☆

FastAPI ★★★★☆

JakartaEE ★★★★☆

Akka ★★★☆☆

Flask ★★★☆☆

Frontend Frameworks

Angular ★★★★☆

React ★★★★☆

Svelte ★★★☆☆

Vue ★★★☆☆

Agentic Engineering

OpenAI Platform ★★★★☆

LangChain ★★★☆☆

LangGraph ★★★☆☆

LangSmith ★★★☆☆

Model Context Protocol (FastMCP) ★★★☆☆

RAG / Vector Databases ★★★☆☆

AI Developer Experience

Claude Code ★★★★★

GitHub Copilot ★★★★★

Spec Driven Development (SDD) ★★★★☆

Tidewave ★★★★☆

Cursor ★★★☆☆

Messaging & Event Streaming

Kafka ★★★★★

JMS ★★★★☆

RabbitMQ ★★★★☆

ActiveMQ ★★★☆☆

Databases

PostgreSQL ★★★★★

MongoDB ★★★★☆

Oracle ★★★★☆

Cassandra ★★★☆☆

MS SQL ★★★☆☆

Ontotext GraphDB ★★★☆☆

Cloud & Infrastructure

Kubernetes ★★★★★

AWS ★★★★☆

Docker ★★★★☆

Azure ★★★☆☆

Digital Ocean ★★★☆☆

GCP ★★★☆☆

Project Experience

Bison - Bison Commerce

Senior Software Engineer 01/2024 - 12/2025

Engineering of a highly scalable e-commerce platform based on headless architectures.
Integration of Commercetools and Contentful into a modern Spring microservice landscape.

Java Spring Angular Commercetools Contentful CI/CD Kubernetes Jenkins Gitlab Scrum

CSS - Shark2 / AWL 2.0

Senior Software Engineer 03/2023 - 12/2023

Migration of monolithic JavaEE legacy systems to a cloud-native microservice infrastructure.
Development of automated validation processes for accounting using Camunda and Kafka.

Java JakartaEE Camunda Kafka Kubernetes CI/CD Scrum SAFE

Bison - SmartFarming

Senior Software Engineer 10/2021 - 12/2022

Development and scaling of microservices for leading smart-farming platforms (365FarmNet, Barto).
Integration of Barto with cantonal systems: GeoJSON processing and geographic validations.

Java Spring Angular 365FarmNet Barto Scrum GeoJSON CI/CD Jenkins MSSQL

WMC Sinterstar AG - COO Transition

Acting COO (Trial Phase) 07/2021 - 09/2021

Three-month trial phase as COO to transition into executive management; ultimately decided to focus back on engineering.

Strategic Planning Business Management

SRF (Swiss Radio and Television) - EAI / PDP

Senior Software Engineer 11/2017 - 06/2021

Core development of the national metadata platform for online content and video distribution.
Re-engineering of a high-availability publication store for the entire SRG corporate group.

Scala Cats Kafka Cassandra Python CI/CD

Finnova - FrontSuite

Senior Software Engineer 06/2016 - 09/2017

Development of the 'Release 3 FrontSuite' as a modern banking frontend for client advisors.
Implementation of an Event-Driven Architecture for real-time synchronization of complex financial data.

Scala Akka BPMN Docker Domain Driven Design Event Driven Architecture Scrum

Credit Suisse - CSOMS Migration

Software Engineer 11/2015 - 07/2016

Migration of critical banking systems to JPA/Java 8 standards.
Design of a high-performance document conversion engine for global document workflows.

Java JavaEE Compart DocBridge Mill Oracle AFP / PDF

Swisscom - Monitoring & Integration

Software Engineer 11/2014 - 10/2015

End-to-end development of a monitoring platform for output management systems to ensure service quality.

Java Spring Boot Vaadin Wicket Oracle AQ Camel

AXA Winterthur - OMS / CSI

Software Engineer 07/2013 - 11/2014

Integration of complex rendering farms for the automated generation of insurance documents.

Spring Batch HP Exstream JBoss Scrum

Credit Suisse - Output Management (CSOMS/EOMS/FOMS)

Software Engineer 01/2010 - 05/2013

PoC and implementation for centralized Output Management in Private Banking.
Development of cross-border systems for secure data enrichment and tax document conversion under strict compliance regulations.

WebLogic Assentis DocFamily Compart DocBridge Mill IBM Websphere MQ Spring Batch Camel PL/SQL

WMC Sinterstar AG - ERP Lifecycle

Software Engineer 01/2001 - 12/2020

Long-term evolution and modernization of the core ERP system: Fullstack migration from Delphi to modern web stacks (Spring Boot/React).
Successful decommissioning of the legacy ERP in favor of Bexio (2021).
Development of specialized Elixir/Phoenix microservices to map custom business logic via the Bexio API.
Implementation of advanced search functionality and AI-supported production planning by connecting internal data sources via Agents + Tools.

Java Spring Boot React PostgreSQL Delphi Firebird Elixir Phoenix Bexio API OpenAI API