Huzaifa Bhavnagri

Huzaifa Bhavnagri

Software Engineering Lead - Application
@ ZS Associates

Software Engineering Lead with 14+ years of experience designing scalable distributed systems, microservices architectures, and data-driven platforms. Expert in Java, Spring Boot, Apache Kafka, GraphQL, and AWS.

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner AWS Certified Solutions Architect
14+
Years Experience
12
Team Size
8
Major Projects
5
Organizations
View Experience Get in Touch Download Resume LinkedIn

Skokie, IL, USA

About Me

Software Engineering Lead with 14+ years of experience designing scalable distributed systems, microservices architectures, and data-driven platforms. Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams, drive technical strategy, and deliver high performance enterprise applications. Expert in Java, Spring Boot, Apache Kafka, GraphQL, and AWS, with strong experience in system design, real-time data processing, and cloud-native architectures. Passionate about mentoring engineers, improving system performance, and aligning engineering solutions with business outcomes. Experienced in building data platforms, analytics pipelines, and AI-enabled systems in cloud environments.

Core Competencies

Technical Skills

Languages: Java, SQL, JavaScript
Frameworks: Spring Boot, Hibernate, JPA, Jersey, Angular
Cloud & AWS: EC2, Lambda, S3, SQS, SNS, EMR, CloudWatch, Step Functions, Aurora, DynamoDB, Docker
Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, MongoDB, DynamoDB, Aurora
CI/CD & Monitoring: Jenkins, GitHub Actions, SonarQube, CloudWatch
Messaging: Kafka, RabbitMQ, RESTful APIs, Webhooks
AI & Agentic: AWS Bedrock, Agentic AI, RAG, MCP, LLM Integration, GitHub Copilot, Cursor AI, Claude Code
Tools: IntelliJ, VS Code, Postman, JIRA, ServiceNow

Work Experience

Lead Software Engineer - Application

Feb 2022 – Present | Evanston, IL
  • Designed and implemented Star Schema-based data export pipeline using Apache Spark, transforming plan data into analytics-ready structures and loading into Amazon Redshift for AI-driven use cases
  • Built scalable Spark jobs to process large datasets and Enabled AI-driven insights and chatbot-based query systems by designing analytics-ready data models
  • Designed and implemented a scalable BI Export pipeline using AWS services to process and export large-volume datasets to Amazon S3 for Power BI consumption
  • Built scalable high-throughput data pipelines enabling efficient data extraction and transformation for analytics
  • Designed and implemented AWS CloudWatch dashboards for centralized observability, enabling real-time monitoring of application health across multiple clients
  • Built configurable, multi-tenant dashboards with client-based filtering, enabling seamless onboarding for new clients
  • Led integration of DataFabric platform to enable real-time data synchronization across multiple enterprise systems
  • Designed and implemented GraphQL-based data access layer, improving flexibility and reducing backend dependencies
  • Designed and architected a reusable framework for cloning and creating plans, reducing manual setup effort by ~50%
  • Improved API performance by 40–60% through query optimization and payload reduction
  • Led end-to-end delivery of key features, coordinating across engineering, product, and QA teams
  • Led and mentored engineers, driving design discussions, improving code quality, and accelerating onboarding of new team members
  • Processed and managed large-scale datasets (millions of records) across multiple enterprise clients

Lead Software Engineer

Mar 2019 – Feb 2022 | Rosemont, IL
  • Developed Spring Boot microservices for document processing systems
  • Built multi-threaded applications using Java ExecutorService
  • Designed Kafka-based system processing 1000+ files/sec
  • Deployed scalable applications on AWS EC2, ensuring reliability and performance
  • Owned sprint planning, backlog grooming, and release management using Agile methodologies
  • Conducted code reviews and enforced best practices, improving code quality and reducing defects
  • Collaborated with product managers and stakeholders to align technical solutions with business needs
  • Implemented logging, monitoring, and exception handling framework

Senior Software Engineer

Jun 2018 – Mar 2019 | Chicago, IL
  • Developed event-driven alerting system using Apache Kafka and MongoDB
  • Built scalable consumer applications with partition-based load distribution
  • Deployed microservices on Kubernetes with monitoring and observability integration
  • Implemented horizontally scalable systems on Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure

Senior Software Engineer

Feb 2014 – Apr 2018 | Boston, MA
  • Developed enterprise healthcare applications using Java and AngularJS
  • Built reporting systems using JasperReports
  • Implemented concurrency control for financial systems
  • Designed APIs for bulk data processing, improving efficiency and scalability of data operations

Software Engineer

Jun 2013 – Feb 2014 | Gujarat, India
  • Developed backend features in Java for the Cyberoam Admin Panel, a centralized platform managing multiple network security appliances
  • Built communication mechanisms enabling inter-device connectivity and real-time alert/notification exchange across distributed security systems
  • Designed and enhanced modules for security event handling, alerts, and system notifications
  • Contributed to building a robust and scalable management interface for enterprise firewall and network security solutions
  • Worked on distributed system communication between security appliances, ensuring reliable data exchange and synchronization
  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams to improve system performance, stability, and reliability

Software Engineer

Feb 2012 – Jun 2013 | Gujarat, India
  • Developed Java-based applications for Brodos (Germany-based client), focusing on backend system functionality
  • Built and deployed OSGi-based components on Apache ServiceMix, enabling modular and scalable application design
  • Designed and implemented robust, maintainable Java code for enterprise integration systems
  • Wrote unit test cases using Mockito, improving code reliability and test coverage
  • Worked on service-oriented architecture (SOA) components and system integration workflows
  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams to ensure quality delivery and system stability

Junior Software Engineer

Jun 2010 – Jan 2012 | Gujarat, India
  • Started career as a Java developer, working on backend modules under guidance of senior engineers and mentors
  • Conducted research and contributed to development of application features and system components
  • Gained hands-on experience in Java programming, debugging, and code development
  • Collaborated with team members to understand requirements and deliver assigned tasks

Education

MSc – Information and Communication Technology

2008 - 2010

Bachelor of Computer Applications

2005 - 2008

Awards & Certifications

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate

Amazon Web Services
Certified

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

Amazon Web Services
Certified

Rising Star Award

eClinicalWorks
Awarded

Leadership & Architecture Highlights

Leadership & Management

  • Led and mentored engineering teams of 5–10 developers across multiple projects and releases
  • Owned sprint planning, backlog grooming, and release management using Agile methodologies
  • Defined system architecture and technology stack decisions
  • Conducted code reviews and enforced best practices, improving code quality and reducing defects
  • Collaborated with product managers and stakeholders to align technical solutions with business needs
  • Managed CI/CD pipelines and release processes, ensured reliable deployments across QA, staging, and production environments

System Design & Architecture

  • Designed event-driven microservices architecture using Apache Kafka for high throughput systems
  • Built scalable multi-threaded processing systems handling 1000+ transactions/sec
  • Architected GraphQL-based API layers for flexible and efficient data access
  • Designed effective-dated and bi-temporal data models for complex business requirements
  • Implemented horizontally scalable systems on Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure

Get in Touch

I'm always open to discussing new opportunities and connecting with fellow professionals.