João Bandeira

Porto, Portugal
joaonorimbandeira

Software engineer and product enthusiast. I like to create flexible software that solves customers’ problems, and that stands the test of time. I value consistency and excellence. Despite being a builder by nature, I’ve honed my ability to manage and mentor teams. A rare case of a mostly back-end developer that actually loves CSS.
Experience

PlatformE, Porto, Portugal

PlatformE is a product company operating in the fashion industry, developing software for the brands and manufacturers ecosystem, in the B2B and B2B2C space. The company's product involves tools for inventory management, catalogues, production planning, and communication, but also visual assets (2D and 3D) management and visualisation.
Head of Architecture
September 2023 - January 2025
As Head of Architecture, I lead the design and implementation of PlatformE’s products, collaborating closely with the product and design team to shape and refine their vision.
At PlatformE, I also worked directly with the development team, not only on a mentoring capacity, but also on a hands-on role, balancing high-level architecture with active technical contributions. On the other hand, I've collaborated closely with the CTO, providing help in strategic decisions and the company's roadmap, as well as in team management.

Teya, Porto, Portugal

Teya develops solutions to help small and medium businesses succeed, and is mostly focused on financial services (with acquiring as its core business).
Tech Lead
February 2022 - July 2023
Helping to develop Teya's payments gateway, one of the core components of the company's acquiring product.
My role focused on three pillars: defining architecture and providing technical mentorship to the engineering teams, delivering product specifications while collaborating with diverse stakeholders, and supporting Engineering Managers with team coordination and prioritisation. This position required a blend of technical leadership, cross-functional communication, and team management, to deliver scalable, high-quality solutions.

Switch, Porto, Portugal

Switch was a fintech company whose product powered the payments infrastructure of merchants, PSPs, and acquirers, in the online and card-present world. Joining as the second hire, I was part of the "from zero to hero" journey. By 2022, we were processing half a million daily transactions.
Switch was acquired by Teya in 2021, and was merged with the parent company in 2022.
Head of Product
April 2021 - January 2022
As the first member of Switch’s Product department, I led the product lifecycle across all phases: requirements gathering, scope definition, specification writing, and supporting development, testing, and delivery. I worked closely with every company department (sales, PMO, customer success, etc.) to prioritise the roadmap, aligning client needs and internal feedback with long-term strategic goals. Additionally, I started establishing a team of Product Managers tailored to the company’s vertical team structure, ensuring smooth operations and consistent delivery.
Lead Software Engineer
March 2019 - March 2021
This role expanded on my responsibilities as a Software Engineer, with added leadership duties in platform architecture and squad management. Alongside active development, I guided architectural decisions, coordinated workload distribution, and ensured timely feature delivery. My work emphasised balancing technical excellence with team leadership and project execution.
Software Engineer
September 2017 - February 2019
Joining Switch at an early stage allowed me to contribute to the inception and development of core microservices forming the platform’s foundation. I worked in a full-stack capacity, handling:
  • Development of APIs for payment processing, risk analysis, and analytics;
  • Integrations with multiple payment providers;
  • Database modelling, performance optimization, and indexing (PostgreSQL and MongoDB);
  • Design and implementation of an authorization system for external clients and inter-service usage;
  • Creation of dynamic UIs and tools using React and angularjs.
This role provided invaluable experience in software engineering, architecture, and a product-oriented approach to development during the company’s formative years.
Education

FEUP, Porto, Portugal

Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto.
Masters degree in Informatics and Computer Engineering
September 2012 - July 2017
Bachelors with integrated masters degree. Final grade of 17 out of 20.
Skills
Python, Django, HTMX, Javascript, node.js
React.js, SASS, Tailwind.css
PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, Elasticsearch
Database modelling, software architecture, standards definition
Product specification, team management and mentoring
Languages
English (professional fluency)
Portuguese (native)