Sorren Jao Junior Backend Engineer
Profile

A Backend Developer passionate about leveraging AI and LLMs to build intuitive mobile apps that simplify complex domains like FinTech. Takes pride in writing clean, efficient, and user-first code, with a proven ability to make a rapid impact in agile, product-driven teams.

Technical Skills
Web & Backend Development

PHP, Node.js, Express.js, RESTful APIs, EJS, JSON, Ruby on Rails, Ajax

OOP (Object-Oriented Programming)

Python, JavaScript (ES6), Java, C#, Dart, Ruby, TypeScript

Database Systems

PostgreSQL, postgres, MySQL, SQLite, MSSQL, NoSQL, phpMyAdmin, Excel

Version Control & Collaboration

Git, GitHub, GitKraken, Bitbucket, Jira

Cloud Services & Server Deployment

AWS (EC2, RDS, S3, Cloud9, CLI), MongoDB, Render, Vercel, SupaBase, Microsoft Azure

Mobile Development

Android (Java), Android SDK, Android Studio, Camera APIs, TensorFlow Lite, cross-platform basics (Flutter), REST on mobile, JSON parsing, async operations (threads, callbacks)

Projects

A mobile app that uses prompt engineering for semantic search, delivering highly personalized and context-aware financial advice from a user's transaction data. Developed user data feeds for data integration, and backend APIs for a mobile financial assistant app, integrating transaction data and third-party services. Developed backend APIs consumed by iOS and Android mobile clients.

Tech Stack: Node.js, JavaScript, Express, REST APIs, JSON, Ollama, MySQL, MSSQL, Go, Azure, Docker, Amazon EC2, Amazon RDS, OpenAI

A custom chatbot prototype with a personality fine-tuned through creative prompt engineering. Designed to simulate my digital persona and interact with users in a unique, engaging manner.

Tech Stack : React, TypeScript, Express.js, Node.js, MongoDB, JSON, NoSQL, Open AI, Render, HTML, CSS

An end-to-end computer vision system to automate the detection and analysis of specific animals (e.g., raccoons) in large-scale image datasets. Data preparation, cleaning, and labelling of datasets. Designed for environmental monitoring and pest control.

Tech Stack: YOLOv8, TensorFlow, Python, Matplotlib Pyplot, Pandas, Numpy

Built a mobile app in Android Studio (Java) with TensorFlow Lite and YOLOv2 for real-time camera detection. Implemented asynchronous camera processing, image pipelines, and optimized model performance for mobile. Used Android SDK components, Gained experience with modern Android app patterns and began applying MVVM principles to structure components.

A polished, fully functional mock e-commerce platform for jungle-themed apparel, built to emulate real-world online retail workflows. Features include product browsing, cart management, secure checkout, admin dashboards, and robust testing coverage.

Tech Stack: Stripe Api, Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, Cypress, PostgreSQL, RSpec

Work Experience
Software Developer (AI & Backend), Expense Trend | 02/2025 - 05/2025
  • •Deployed and configured production-ready LLM servers (GPT-based models) using AWS services (EC2) and Linux command line, while reducing deployment costs.
  • •Collaborate through agile meetings and JIRA tickets with internal developers to connect front-end layer functionalities to backend third party APIs and coordinate end-to-end testing.
  • •Collaborate with Stripe microservices developers for integration to backend.
  • •Developed RESTful API endpoints in Express.js and performed deliberate unit tests, integration tests and troubleshooting to ensure API communication behaves as expected through Yarn (Swagger), for quality assurance.
  • •Reviewed and refined AI-generated outputs for accuracy and relevance in financial advice applications.
  • •Coordinate sprint planning, code reviews, cross-functional collaboration, and curated API documentation for new developers
    • Web Developer, Cybersalt Consulting Ltd. | 05/2022 - 09/2022
  • •Developed several business websites (with Joomla! and WordPress), improving the SEO, websites' user interface (UI) and user experience (UX)
  • •Led front-end development for landing pages, focusing on usability and accessibility.
  • •Actively engage in team sprint meetings to discuss ongoing tasks, any encountered issues, and conduct agile reviews through ClickUp
  • •Gathered client and user feedback to conduct usability testing and iteratively improve landing page designs.
  • •Provide client technical support and customization of the website's source code: CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and HTML5.
    • Web Designer (Marketing), Simon Fraser University (SFU) | 01/2021 - 09/2021
  • •Web design/marketing emails, graphic design for the web banners, and content-managed SFU website pages.
  • •Collaborate with students providing client support for the creation of their blog requests.
  • •Developed an innovative PHP & jQuery browser to increase performance optimization with graduate student profiles. Doubling profiles per week. 
    • Education
  • •The award winner for the Lighthouse Labs prize funding.
    • Bachelor of Science, School of Interactive Arts & Technology, Simon Fraser University | 09/2016 - 04/2024

    A multidisciplinary program combining Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, and UX Design. Coursework and projects explored topics such as mobile development, Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), and Data Structures & Algorithms.

    Certificates
    Hugging Face - The LLM Course — Has successfully completed Fundamentals of LLMs
    Amazon AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner — In Progress