Ilya Lebedev ⚡️

Senior Backend Engineer

Name: Ilya Lebedev
Location: Remote (US/EU time zones), B2B contract
Languages: Russian (Native), English (C2), Spanish (A1)

Contact

Website: ilyalebe.dev
Email: ilya0lebedev[at]gmail.com
LinkedIn: ilya-lebedev-554225102
Telegram: @rubyminer
GitHub: lebedevilya

Profile

Senior backend engineer with 8+ years building and scaling production SaaS applications. Ex-founder (Techstars Web3 '25): built and scaled an infrastructure-heavy platform to 18,000+ users and 25,000+ deployed nodes. Comfortable owning backend systems end-to-end: architecture, PostgreSQL data modeling, background processing, integrations, performance, deployment, and monitoring. Hands-on with LLM orchestration, RAG and AI coding tools. Strongest in Ruby, fluent in Python / JavaScript, quick to pick up any new stack.

Experience

Backend Engineer / Founder

Mar 2025 – Feb 2026 — nodes.garden (remote)
  • Founded and led the backend architecture of a Web3/AI platform built with Ruby on Rails and PostgreSQL.
  • Built APIs, async jobs and internal tooling for managing large-scale infrastructure. 25,000+ nodes deployed in a year.
  • Scaled the platform from 0 to 18,000+ users and $350k yearly revenue.
  • Secured an Arbitrum ecosystem grant and implemented Node NFT smart contracts and marketplace.
  • Owned domain modeling, failure handling, background processing and data consistency.
  • Built browser automation and data collection workflows with proxy handling, retries and failure recovery.
  • Assembled and managed a distributed team of 10 people including engineers, customer support and operations.
  • Completed Techstars Web3 2025, XFounders Season 4 and Founder.University Cohort 9 programs.
Tech: Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, RSpec, GoodJob, Hotwire, TailwindCSS, Solidity, Foundry, OpenZeppelin, ethers.js, MetaMask, JSON-RPC, Arbitrum, Docker, fly.io

Backend Ruby Engineer

Aug 2024 – Mar 2025 — reinvented-hospitality.com (remote)
  • Built the backend for a full-cycle POS system in Ruby on Rails with a strong focus on operational reliability.
  • Designed and delivered domain logic for restaurant and hotel workflows, including reporting and exports.
  • Delivered background jobs and data flows that supported daily business operations.
Tech: Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, Sidekiq, Hotwire, MiniTest, TailwindCSS, ViewComponent, AWS, Docker

Backend Ruby Engineer

Aug 2022 – Aug 2024 — xometry.de (remote)
  • Helped scale backend architecture for a global manufacturing marketplace supporting transactions across hundreds of thousands of buyers and suppliers.
  • Implemented and launched UK and TR regional apps under tight deadlines.
  • Built an AI-powered HS codes search tool that cut code search time for the logistics team by 90%+.
  • Designed and implemented async intercompany communication systems with background processing and data consistency.
  • Fully owned and managed Salesforce integrations and data pipelines.
  • Built foundational domain systems for HS codes, manufacturing attributes, and pricing logic.
Tech: Ruby on Rails, ReactJS, RSpec, PostgreSQL, Sidekiq, GraphQL, RabbitMQ, Redis, Python, Airflow

Backend Ruby Engineer

2019 – 2021 at sputnik8.com, igooods.ru, rubyroidlabs.com (remote)
Backend development across e-commerce, travel, insurance and internal tooling products, with ownership of integrations, data flows, and production support.
Tech: Ruby on Rails, ReactJS, VueJS, RSpec, PostgreSQL, Sidekiq, GraphQL, REST APIs, Heroku, AWS

Internships & Early Career

2017 – 2019
  • Yandex: Web Developer Intern. Python, ReactJS, GraphQL.
  • Joint Institute for Nuclear Research: C++/CUDA Developer Intern.
  • WorldQuant: Quantitative Research Consultant.

Education & Programs

XFounders Season 4

2025 — x-founders.com

1 month on-site program involving dozens of startups and mentors, organized with Starknet Foundation

Techstars Web3 '25

2025 — techstars.com

Selected for Techstars Web3 '25; scaled the business and pitched with on-site deep dives in Dublin & London

Master's Degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science

2017–2019 — Saint Petersburg State University

Bachelor's Degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science

2013–2017 — Saint Petersburg State University

Selected Projects

slack-llm-bot

Slack bot deployed as Vercel functions (TypeScript). HMAC signature verification, ack-within-3-seconds + async post-ack work via waitUntil, OpenAI tool-loop with a deterministic stats block prepended to LLM tool results, threaded memory via the Slack API, and optional Supabase pgvector for cross-thread recall. Offline LLM eval harness ships with the repo:  github.com/lebedevilya/slack-llm-bot

nodes.garden

Web3/AI NaaS platform built with Ruby on Rails; secured an Arbitrum ecosystem grant and implemented Node NFT smart contracts and marketplace. Finalist of Backdrop Build V4–V6:  backdropbuild.com/builds/nodesgarden

customs.codes

RAG customs codes AI classification tool built with Ruby on Rails. Finalist of Backdrop Build V3:  backdropbuild.com/builds/v3/customscodes

Core Skills

  • Languages: Ruby, Javascript, Python
  • Backend: Ruby on Rails, ActiveRecord, REST/GraphQL APIs, distributed systems, domain modeling
  • Web3: Solidity, ERC-721, Foundry, OpenZeppelin, ethers.js, JSON-RPC
  • Databases: PostgreSQL, Redis
  • Async: Sidekiq, GoodJob, SolidQueue, RabbitMQ
  • Infra: Docker, CI/CD, AWS, GCP, fly.io, Heroku, Kamal
  • Observability: Datadog, Sentry, Appsignal
  • Integrations: Salesforce, Stripe, PayPal, CloudPayments, Copperx, LLM integrations
  • Automation: Browser automation, scraping, CAPTCHA bypassing
  • Frontend: Hotwire, ReactJS, ViewComponent, TailwindCSS