Hello, I'm
João Pedro Fontes
Senior Backend Engineer @ Loka, Inc
Senior Backend Engineer with nine years of experience spanning backend development, cloud systems and applied AI research. I build Python backend services and REST APIs, with production responsibilities covering reliability, observability and on-call support. My earlier work includes animation tooling, computer vision and EU-funded research. I hold a Ph.D. in Information Systems and Technology, with research focused on deep learning for breast cancer imaging.
Career
Experience
Loka Inc.
Senior Backend Engineer
Oct 2026 – PresentAdvanced Backend Engineer
Sep 2024 – Sep 2026Develop scalable backend systems and REST APIs in Python and FastAPI. Use Docker and cloud technologies to deliver production services with a focus on performance, reliability, security, and observability, while providing on-call support. Promoted to Senior Backend Engineer in October 2026.
Swoove Studios
R&D Engineer
Jul 2023 – Aug 2024Developed pose-estimation and reconstruction tools in Python and PyTorch to improve animation quality, integrating the results with procedural animation in Unity. Built an animation-search system combining Python-based natural language processing with Azure services.
Accenture Portugal
Senior Analyst
Jan 2023 – Jun 2023Analyst
Sep 2021 – Dec 2022Consulted for Sky in telecommunications (September–December 2021), gaining hands-on Java backend experience, then worked on Worten's Golang/AWS order-tracking system (January 2022–June 2023). Contributed system enhancements and on-call troubleshooting support, and was promoted to Senior Analyst in January 2023.
CCG/ZGDV Institute
Senior AI Researcher
Oct 2018 – Jul 2021Research Fellow
Oct 2017 – Oct 2018Developed Python-based AI and computer-vision solutions for EU-funded projects in criminal investigation and Industry 4.0, connecting academic research with practical applications. Collaborated with multidisciplinary research teams and mentored incoming research fellows. Advanced from Research Fellow to Senior AI Researcher in October 2018.
Academic Background
Education
Ph.D. in Information Systems and Technology
University of Minho
Focus: Development of Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and monitoring, applied to breast cancer.
Thesis: "A Framework for the Development of Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers for Cancer Research"
M.Sc. in Informatics Engineering
University of Minho
Specializations: Artificial Intelligence, Business Intelligence, Parallel and Distributed Computing.
Thesis: "Intelligent Medical Image Analysis: A Deep Learning Approach to Breast Cancer Diagnosis"
B.Sc. in Informatics Engineering
University of Minho
Core curriculum covering programming, algorithms, computer architecture, databases, and advanced mathematics.
Expertise
Tech Stack
Core Competencies
Programming Languages
Frameworks & Tools
Cloud & DevOps
Work
Portfolio
Credentials
Certifications
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
Amazon Web Services
Foundational understanding of IT services and their uses in the AWS Cloud. Demonstrated cloud fluency and foundational AWS knowledge.
Verify credentialResearch
Publications
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Additional Info
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