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Zhifan Chen SOFTWARE ENGINEER
CV

Software Engineer

Zhifan Chen

Software Engineer — Backend, Platform & Infrastructure

Software engineer with several years of experience building enterprise applications with React, TypeScript and .NET, alongside hands-on work in Linux infrastructure, Nix/NixOS, containers, CI/CD and open source. Strong focus on debugging, reproducibility, developer tooling and understanding systems end-to-end.

Experience

Full-stack Developer

2022 – Present

Worked across two major projects focused on enterprise-grade e-commerce solutions. · Magento 2 Open Source Training: Gained hands-on experience with Magento as both an e-commerce platform and CMS. Used native and custom frontends (including Next.js 11) within a Docker environment (via DDEV). Applied TDD using PHPUnit for unit and integration testing, and Magento’s Functional Testing Framework for e2e tests. · ABB E-commerce Platform: Contributed to a React-based custom e-commerce solution (migrated from React 17 to 18) using TypeScript, TanStack Query, React Hook Form, MUI, Redux Toolkit, and Zustand. Maintained and tested components with Storybook, Jest, and Cypress. Integrated external Vue.js Web Components into the React codebase. Supported backend development in .NET 8 (JWT middleware, SignalR, AppInsight). The platform runs on a custom microfrontend architecture.

Independent Open Source Contributor

Self-employed
2022 – Present

· Contributed to open source tools I use daily (NeoVim, NixOS) by creating plugins, improving documentation, and packaging software. · Published and maintained Nix packages for tools not yet available upstream.

Full-stack Developer

2019 – 2020

Performed bug fixes and developed APIs for a vehicle search engine built with PHP and Symfony 4. · Developed a React web application for issuing user coupons, with authentication managed via AWS Cognito and data stored in DynamoDB. · Worked within Dockerized environments to ensure consistency across development and deployment. · Utilized Jenkins for continuous integration and automation of build and deployment processes.

Frontend Web Developer

2018

I developed a web portal for a client’s suppliers using PHP 5, HTML, Bootstrap, MySQL, and JavaScript. I also built a prototype of a time clock using an ESP8266, exploring the integration between hardware and software.

Technical Skills

Backend & Systems

.NET · Node.js · Symfony · Magento

Frontend

Astro · Tailwind CSS · Storybook · TanStack Query · Zustand · Next.js · Material UI · Redux · React

Infrastructure & Tooling

Azure · Docker · Git · Cognito · Nginx · Linux · Nix · GitHub · Lambda · NixOS · Neovim

Databases & Storage

MySQL

Languages

Shell Scripting · Python · C# · Java · PHP · TypeScript · JavaScript · Lua · C

Other

Microsoft Windows · CSS · Windows Azure · Jenkins (software)

Open Source & Projects

Personal Website & Automated CV

2025

A cutting-edge personal website and CV platform built with Astro, Qwik, and TypeScript. My CV is powered by JSON Resume and seamlessly syncs with my LinkedIn profile using my custom fork of the browser extension (c3n21/linkedin-to-jsonresume), which I enhanced to support project media such as images and links. Key features: • Automated CV and website updates—just upload your JSON Resume, and everything stays in sync with no manual edits. • LinkedIn acts as the backend: profile data is exported using my media-enabled extension and rendered beautifully on the site. • Deployment, asset optimization, and PDF CV generation (with interactive elements removed for print) are all handled automatically by GitHub Actions. • Built on a modern stack: Astro, Qwik, Tailwind CSS, TypeScript, Nix Flake, and more. This project demonstrates best practices in web automation, resume management, and continuous deployment, making it effortless to keep my professional presence fresh and up to date.

Full Stack Developer — (E-commerce platform)

2022

· Contributed to a custom e-commerce platform using React 17/18, TypeScript, TanStack Query, React Hook Form, Material UI, Redux Toolkit, and Zustand · Wrote TDD-based unit and integration tests with Jest and React Testing Library, and e2e tests with Cypress · Added and maintained UI components using Storybook · Contributed to reducing Redux usage, in favor of Zustand · Authored shell scripts to automate Swagger type generation and remove unnecessary output · Integrated VueJS-based Web Components from a third-party team into the React codebase · Worked on .NET 8 backend services: implemented middlewares for handling JWT lifecycle via reverse proxy, SignalR, AppInsight, and microservices · Worked within a custom microfrontend architecture, where the app dynamically loads and renders a remote header via manifest at runtime

Neovim Plugin Developer & Contributor

Contributor to the Neovim ecosystem, enhancing the editor's functionality through: · Developing and maintaining plugins for improved workflows · Submitting bug fixes and performance optimizations · Contributing to core plugins and tooling integrations · Writing documentation and helping users in community discussions

Nixpkgs Contributor

Active contributor to nixpkgs, the largest package repository for NixOS and Nix. My contributions include: · Packaging new software and maintaining existing packages · Improving build reliability and dependency management · Collaborating with the Nix community to enhance system configurations · Addressing issues and implementing feature requests.

Open-Source Contributor (Various Projects)

Passionate about open-source software, contributing to projects I find impactful. My contributions include: Feature implementations in tools I use daily · Bug fixes and documentation improvements · One-shot contributions to niche projects when needed · Engaging with maintainers and users to improve software

Education

Diploma from a technical institute

ITIS Nullo Baldini
2014 – 2019

BSc Computer Science — ongoing, part-time

Università degli Studi di Milano
2019 – Present

Languages & Interests

Languages

  • Chinese — Native Speaker
  • English — Professional Working
  • Italian — Native Speaker

Interests

  • Open source
  • Self-hosting
  • Developer tooling

Have an interesting engineering problem?

I occasionally take on selected part-time projects.

Let's talk