Hi 👋 I'm Çağrı, a software engineer and engineering leader based in Amsterdam, with over 17 years of experience building software systems and leading engineering teams.
My recent work sits at the intersection of large-scale platform engineering, authorization, and agentic AI. I stay close to the architecture and code while helping teams turn complex technical problems into systems that are understandable, operable, and built to last.
I also build open-source projects, including the Agentic Developer Handbook and DevCade, and share what I learn through FolksDev and my Turkish podcast Yazılımcı Olarak....
I have spent over 17 years in software engineering, moving from hands-on development into architecture and engineering leadership without losing the part of the job I enjoy most: understanding difficult systems deeply enough to make them simpler.
My recent engineering work has focused on distributed systems, platform architecture, fine-grained authorization, and agentic AI. That includes leading the design of authorization capabilities at a scale of 500K+ users and 1,000+ microservices, as well as experimenting with practical AI systems where models, tools, memory, evaluation, security, and application-owned control all have clear boundaries.
As a leader, I care about creating clarity around technical direction, helping engineers grow, and building teams that can make strong decisions without depending on a single person. I prefer leadership that stays close enough to the code and architecture to be useful, while giving people room to own the solution.
Outside my day-to-day engineering work, I build open-source projects and learning resources. The Agentic Developer Handbook turns agentic AI concepts into runnable Java labs, DevCade is an open-source terminal arcade, and my AI-assisted live-coding project explores how developers can use AI in interviews without giving up technical ownership. I also teach and organize through FolksDev and host the Turkish podcast Yazılımcı Olarak....
Java, Kotlin, Scala, Spring Framework, Spring Boot, Microservices
Event-Driven Design, CQRS, RESTful APIs, gRPC, Fine-Grained Authorization (FGA)
AWS, GCP, Azure, AliCloud, Docker, Kubernetes, Kafka, RabbitMQ
Git, GitHub, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab, CI/CD
Trimble, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Leading the design and development of a next-generation authorization management system securing 500,000 users and 1,000+ microservices across 30 products. Applying Fine-Grained Authorization (FGA) inspired by Google's Zanzibar. Responsible for technical leadership, hands-on development, and stakeholder management.
ITKraft Education
Teaching structured Java Full Stack Developer courses, covering Java fundamentals, advanced OOP, Spring framework, and modern web development technologies to aspiring developers.
FolksDev
Creating educational content and teaching Java to 15K+ subscribers on YouTube. Leading community initiatives, organizing events, and mentoring thousands of developers.
IKEA, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Led end-to-end software development processes aligned with IKEA's technology goals. Drove development of innovative solutions using Java, Kotlin, GCP, AliCloud, Kafka, and microservices architecture.
Etpa, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Led software engineering team for an innovative electricity trading platform. Provided technical leadership, mentorship, and architecture decisions. Managed team growth, recruitment, and annual budgets.
eBay, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Enhanced customer experience for Marktplaats and 2dehands eCommerce platforms built in Scala. Optimized product searches and homepage results through A/B testing experiments.
Being a software engineer is about more than writing code. In this series I talk about career, communication, teamwork, and personal growth — drawing on 17+ years in the industry. Short, candid episodes in Turkish.
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Podcast and interview appearances discussing software engineering, Java, and technology education.
A selection of open-source projects where I explore agentic AI, developer tooling, and practical software engineering.
A Java-first, open-source learning path for understanding and building agentic systems one concept at a time, with runnable labs covering tools, RAG, memory, MCP, evaluation, observability, security, and deployment.
View on GitHubA free, open-source terminal arcade for the small gaps between builds, tests, and AI responses. It packages multiple games into a cross-platform CLI with local settings, global leaderboards, and native distribution.
View on GitHubA structured Java and Spring Boot live-coding interview example for working with an AI pair-programming assistant while keeping the candidate in control through specs, guardrails, incremental delivery, and tests.
View on GitHubRecent educational content and live sessions from FolksDev.
Teaching Java Full Stack Developer program with structured curriculum covering Java fundamentals, OOP, Spring framework, databases, and modern web development. Professional education platform for aspiring software engineers.
Educational YouTube channel with 15K+ subscribers. Free live streams and courses on software development, Java, Spring Boot, and engineering best practices.
Contributing to open-source projects and sharing code with the developer community on GitHub.
Global Tech Summit speaker (2021) on topics including Circle CI/CD tools and Scala vs Java at Geekle software engineering summits.
Currently based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, working as a Software Development Lead at Trimble Inc.
Feel free to reach out for collaborations, speaking opportunities, or just to say hi!
