Sebastian
Staffa
Welcome!
I am Sebastian, a freelance software engineer, project lead and developer. I specialize in (IoT) cloud software and all internet-based applications in general.
At home in many places
For me, full-stack does not end at the backend. I have shipped projects from C/C++ firmware for microcontrollers (like the ESP32) to Rust applications for edge processing tasks that run on single-board computers and TypeScript backends all the way up to SPA browser applications. This broad experience allows me to pick the best tool for any given job and allows me to excel especially in those places where many technologies meet.
Engineer (/ˌɛn(d)ʒɪˈnɪə/)
As an engineer, my role not only includes technical implementations. In the past I have usually been responsible for the success of all parts of a project lifecycle: from the first idea, requirements engineering, implementation, all the way to the first production deployment - oftentimes as the only team member and in direct contact with stakeholders.
Leadership
In the past, I have not only taken responsibility for my work, but also for teams of up to four software developers with varying experience levels. In this role, I see myself as a mentor and a shield for my team members, making sure that the requirements are clear and that the team can work without interruptions.
My Journey
CLK GmbH
August 2014
I started my career at a local robotics and computer vision company in Altenberge. At CLK I was tasked with implementing quality assurance software for industrial applications as well as autonomous robot solutions. Despite my young age, I was oftentimes the only developer on a project and in direct contact with clients, which greatly influenced my work style.
Bachelor's Thesis
August 2018
In my bachelor's thesis I developed the computer vision algorithms that were used in an autonomous robotic welding application to calculate the trajectories required to process a workpiece from 3D point clouds.
shopware AG
September 2018
After a career start at a small company, I wanted to know what working in an international company was like. I joined shopware AG where I worked as a core developer on the newest version of its e-commerce platform "Shopware 6". In parallel, I started my master's degree.
tapdo technologies GmbH
December 2019
Wanting to return to project-based work, I accepted the invitation of a former colleague and joined tapdo, where I worked on every component of an IoT application, from device firmware to data ingestion, cloud-native processing, and the web application, as a senior and lead developer.
Master's Thesis
January 2021
My master's thesis explored solutions to track the fill level of Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC) in the field by using low-cost sensors and machine learning.
Fulltime Freelancer
October 2024
After I had been working as a freelancer on the side for a year already, I decided to go full-time. Today I help companies plan and build their cloud(-native) applications as a consultant, project lead or senior developer.
Latest Blog Posts
In today's post we are improving the cold start times of a Node.js Lambda function by building our own runtime image using Nix.
MQTT is a protocol that is typically used in an IoT context. In this article, we'll explore how we could use its capabilities in a traditional web application to stream messages in real-time.
In today's blog I want to talk about why I have chosen NixOS as my main operating system.