Soner Colak
Backend engineer & systems architect · Toronto
10+ years building production systems — distributed backends, real-time infra, high-traffic platforms. I own systems end-to-end.
Work
Anonymized case studies. Architecture, scale, and problems solved.
High-Traffic Streaming Infrastructure
Problem
Build a video delivery platform serving massive concurrent traffic across a thousand streaming endpoints, with low latency at minimal infrastructure cost.
What I built
- Custom proxy and delivery layer for high-concurrency video streaming
- Unified backend infrastructure serving 1000+ streaming sites
- Intelligent load distribution for traffic spike absorption
- Cost-optimized delivery — high throughput, low spend
Hard parts
- Handling concurrency surges without degradation
- Proxy layer latency reduction by orders of magnitude
- Keeping infrastructure costs viable at 30M user scale
PHP · MySQL · Linux · Nginx · Custom Proxy · CDN Architecture
Distributed Communication Platform
Problem
A fully self-hosted video hosting and real-time streaming platform with peer-to-peer capabilities, distributed across multiple servers with coordinated internal APIs.
What I built
- Distributed video infrastructure across multiple nodes
- Real-time P2P streaming with low-latency delivery
- Internal API orchestration for cross-server coordination
- Custom upload pipelines with streaming optimization
Hard parts
- Multi-server state synchronization and consistency
- Designing P2P architecture for real-time streaming
- Scaling infrastructure while maintaining reliability
PHP · Node.js · WebSockets · P2P · Distributed Systems · Linux
Transaction & API Orchestration System
Problem
A fully automated SaaS connecting multiple external providers — handling real-time provisioning, payment processing, and customer lifecycle with zero manual intervention.
What I built
- Multi-provider integration with real-time API provisioning
- Payment orchestration: Stripe, crypto, regional gateways
- Automated invoicing, customer management, lifecycle workflows
- Self-sustaining system generating ongoing revenue
Hard parts
- Multi-gateway payment reconciliation and failure recovery
- Real-time provisioning across unreliable third-party APIs
- Complete business automation — zero human in the loop
PHP · Laravel · MySQL · Stripe · REST APIs · Webhooks
Low-Latency Screen Sharing System
Problem
Build a real-time screen sharing platform with sub-second latency peer-to-peer communication between desktop clients, with a hybrid backend for signaling and sessions.
What I built
- Electron-based desktop client with native screen capture
- Hybrid PHP + Node.js backend for signaling and orchestration
- P2P architecture optimized for screen sharing performance
- Custom real-time communication protocol
Hard parts
- Achieving sub-second latency in P2P connections
- Cross-platform desktop client architecture
- Real-time signaling server design
Electron · Node.js · PHP · WebRTC · P2P · WebSockets
Social Data Processing & Automation Engine
Problem
Process and analyze massive social media datasets with complex filtering — and survive a full API migration when the platform changed its rules overnight.
What I built
- Large-scale data ingestion and processing pipeline
- Rule-based filtering engine with configurable logic
- API abstraction layer enabling seamless provider migration
- Graceful degradation during policy transitions
Hard parts
- Migrating from unofficial to official APIs without downtime
- Processing large datasets with complex rule-based filtering
- Building resilience against third-party API instability
PHP · MySQL · REST APIs · Meta APIs · Data Processing
Blockchain-Based Digital Asset Platform
Problem
Design a complete digital asset ecosystem: token contracts, algorithmic NFT generation with trait rarity systems, minting infrastructure, and automation tooling.
What I built
- ERC20 token + NFT smart contract ecosystem
- Algorithmic NFT generation with trait rarity control
- Whitelist management and automated minting platform
- Bot infrastructure for blockchain interaction
Hard parts
- Smart contract security and gas optimization
- Controlled rarity distribution in trait algorithms
- Reliable minting under network congestion
Solidity · Node.js · Web3 · ERC20 · ERC721 · Smart Contracts
Skills
Backend Engineering
- PHP — Laravel, custom architectures, millions served
- Node.js — Real-time, WebSocket servers, streaming, Electron
- Python — Automation, scripting, data pipelines
- API Design — REST, webhooks, multi-provider orchestration
Database Systems
- MySQL — Modeling, indexing, query optimization at scale
- Schema Design — Normalized architectures for complex domains
- Performance — Query analysis, slow query resolution, large-scale ops
- Oracle — Enterprise solutions, ZFS, petabyte-scale migrations
Systems & Architecture
- Distributed — Multi-server orchestration, state sync, consistency
- Real-Time — WebSockets, P2P, WebRTC, low-latency protocols
- Concurrency — Traffic spikes, load distribution, proxy optimization
- System Design — End-to-end ownership, whiteboard to production
Infrastructure
- Linux — Sysadmin, provisioning, security, shell scripting
- Virtualization — VMware ESXi, resource management, multi-server
- Networking — DNS, reverse proxies, load balancing, CDN
- Deployment — CI/CD, production ops, monitoring, incidents
Principles
- I don't build features — I own systems. From architecture to 3 AM incidents. Full lifecycle ownership for over a decade.
- Every line of code exists within a larger system. I think in data flow, failure modes, and maintainability.
- Performance is a day-one requirement. Systems I build are designed to handle 10x their current load from the start.
- The best architecture is the simplest one that works. No unnecessary abstractions or complexity theater.
Contact
If you're working on something that needs serious backend engineering, get in touch.