Ilia Kritiuk - Senior Full-Stack Java Engineer

Senior Full-Stack Java Engineer | Team Lead | Java 21+, Spring Boot, Kafka, Kubernetes, React/Next.js

About Me

Senior Full-Stack Java/Spring Engineer and Team Lead with 10+ years of experience building resilient, large-scale platforms in high-availability environments.

I specialize in Java 21+, Spring Boot, microservices, and event-driven architectures (Kafka/RabbitMQ), with cloud-native delivery using Docker and Kubernetes. I also work across the frontend stack with React/Next.js and TypeScript when end-to-end ownership is required.

I lead full product delivery from architecture to production, mentor engineers, and optimize engineering processes. Recent outcomes include improving code quality from 92% to 98% and reducing deployment time by 70%.

Key Skills

Backend & Architecture

Java 21+
Spring Boot
Microservices
Event-Driven Architecture
Apache Kafka
gRPC

Cloud & Delivery

Kubernetes
Docker
CI/CD (Jenkins)
TeamCity
AWS
RabbitMQ
Redis

Data & Frontend

PostgreSQL
MongoDB
React
Next.js
TypeScript
AEM

Leadership

Team Lead
Mentorship
Demos
Scrum Master

Experience

Mar 2026 — Present | Senior AI Engineer | SIXT (Munich, Hybrid)

Architect and develop enterprise-grade Generative AI solutions powering SIXT's internal Help Center and multilingual Content Management System (CMS).
Design and implement end-to-end LLM workflows using Spring AI, Java, gRPC, and OpenAI-compatible APIs for AI-assisted content generation, translation, localization, and content optimization.
Build resilient AI orchestration pipelines with structured prompts, typed response contracts, retry strategies, fallback mechanisms, and production-grade observability.
Integrate AI capabilities into a React-based CMS, enabling human-in-the-loop review workflows including preview-before-publish, batch translation, long-running job tracking, and editorial approval.
Collaborate with product managers, content specialists, and engineering teams to scale multilingual knowledge management across international markets.
Improve content creation efficiency while maintaining editorial quality, governance, auditability, and reliable AI-assisted publishing workflows.
Drive technical architecture decisions, establish GenAI engineering best practices, and contribute to the adoption of modern LLM application patterns.

Aug 2025 — Feb 2026 | Team Lead (AI Lab) | Self-Employed (Remote)

Designed and launched an AI-powered service from scratch for small businesses.
Integrated Ollama (local LLMs) and OpenAI/ChatGPT into business workflows.
Built backend services enabling AI assistants for automation and decision support.
Led architecture, technical strategy, and delivery as team lead.

Apr 2019 — Aug 2025 | Senior Full-Stack Java Developer / Team Lead | Diva-e Platforms GmbH

Led a team of 6 engineers delivering Spring Boot microservices in a high-availability environment.
Designed and implemented event-driven architectures with Kafka and RabbitMQ.
Improved code quality from 92% to 98% through engineering standards, reviews, and mentoring.
Reduced deployment time by 70% by optimizing CI/CD pipelines and release processes.
Owned end-to-end delivery: architecture, implementation, production rollout, and post-release optimization.

Apr 2017 — Apr 2019 | Full-Stack Java Developer | BizTech Enterprise Solutions

Built Spring Boot microservices with PostgreSQL for high-volume e-commerce workflows.
Designed REST and gRPC APIs for reliable internal and external integrations.
Implemented Kafka and RabbitMQ components for asynchronous order-processing pipelines.
Delivered React-based frontend components and presented technical solutions to business stakeholders.

Jun 2015 — Apr 2017 | Senior Java Developer | Sberbank Technology

Developed high-load credit scoring modules for large financial data volumes.
Migrated legacy components to Spring Boot microservices to improve scalability and release velocity.
Implemented automated business rule engines for loan-decision workflows.
Mentored engineers and contributed as Scrum Master for a regional team.

Sep 2014 — Jun 2015 | Implementation Specialist | Infostandard

Delivered software systems for public-sector organizations and university infrastructure projects.
Built a reusable access-control solution for university pool facilities.