software engineering · backend · geospatial systems
“The night was long. The bug was longer.”
I build practical software across backend engineering, web applications and geospatial computing. My current work spans Python/FastAPI services, creating smooth websites, PostgreSQL-backed systems, React applications, data pipelines and optimization problems on real-world geographic data. I am particularly interested in the parts of software that become important after the demo works: authentication, transactions, validation, testing, reproducibility and deployment.
BACKEND SYSTEMS — APIs · authentication · databases · transactional logic
WEB APPLICATIONS — React · responsive interfaces · API integration
DATA & COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEMS — pipelines · optimization · spatial analysis · reproducibility
GEO / OPEN DATA — OpenStreetMap · WorldPop · OSMnx · GeoPandas
ENGINEERING — testing · CI · Linux · deployment
Languages — Python · C++ · JavaScript · SQL
Backend — FastAPI · REST APIs · Pydantic · SQLAlchemy
Databases — PostgreSQL · SQLite · Alembic
Frontend — React · Vite · TypeScript · HTML · CSS · Javascript
Geospatial / Computational — OpenStreetMap · OSMnx · GeoPandas · WorldPop · MCLP · E2SFCA · spatial analysis
Engineering / Infrastructure — Git · GitHub Actions · Linux · pytest
01 — ATLASIS Healthcare facility siting pipeline
Open geospatial framework that recommends where new hospitals should go so the most people reach one within a fixed drive time — built entirely on free data: OSM road networks via OSMnx and WorldPop population rasters. Ranks single sites by road-network drive time, selects complementary site sets jointly (MCLP, lazy-greedy solver benchmarked against an exact MILP), grades access with an E2SFCA index and attaches sensitivity intervals to headline figures.
Python · OSM/OSMnx · WorldPop · GeoPandas · MCLP · E2SFCA
8 cities · 4 countries · 97 automated tests · CI on every push · zero paid APIs
→ Repository · Analyses
02 — CAMPUS-VAULT Full-stack academic file-sharing platform
A college-specific academic PDF platform with a virtual coin economy. JWT auth with refresh rotation and global token revocation, config-driven storage abstraction (local / any S3-compatible bucket), server-side file validation and dedup via content hashing, and a transactional wallet that locks wallet rows with ledger-backed balances — concurrency-tested so parallel spends can never overdraw.
FastAPI · PostgreSQL · SQLAlchemy · Alembic · React · Vite · TypeScript · JWT
42 backend tests · 25-step E2E smoke test · transactional coin engine · streamed file validation
03 — URL SHORTENER Analytics-focused shortening service
Backend REST API for shortening URLs with authenticated ownership and click tracking. Every redirect atomically records the click and increments the counter in the same transaction; daily breakdowns and per-link summaries run on deliberate raw-SQL analytics queries over PostgreSQL's native INET type.
FastAPI · PostgreSQL · raw SQL · JWT · Pydantic
atomic click tracking · JWT ownership · daily + summary analytics
01 · A working demo is the brass tacks of a product.
02 · Failure cases deserve more attention than happy paths.
03 · Infrastructure should remain understandable.
04 · Tests should protect important behaviour instead of inflating coverage.
05 · Open data and free infrastructure are useful constraints when they
force better engineering decisions.
06 · Reproducibility matters when software produces analytical results.
BUILDING — Backend-heavy applications and practical developer tooling.
EXPLORING — Deployment, DevOps, networking and systems fundamentals.
RESEARCHING — Geospatial accessibility, facility siting and reproducible open-data workflows.
LOOKING FOR — Software engineering internships, practical collaborations and technically interesting projects.
I can contribute to:
REST/API development · backend services
PostgreSQL-backed applications · authentication & authorization
internal tools · data-processing pipelines
geospatial applications · technical prototypes
testing and CI · deployment-oriented engineering
ZAFAR JAMAL · software · systems · geospatial
Open data in. Evidence out.