Saulius Morkevičius

What I build

I work best where the problem is real, technical, and messy.

Backend platforms

Backend-heavy products in Ruby on Rails: APIs, authentication, background jobs, real-time updates, database logic, payment flows, admin panels, and external integrations — where the backend is the core of the product, not a thin wrapper.

Rails & API systems

Grape APIs, JWT auth, Action Cable/WebSockets, Redis, background jobs, payment callbacks, real-time balance updates, notification channels, admin workflows, provider integrations, and deployment automation.

Betting, gaming & transactions

Systems where money, state, timing, and correctness matter: wallets, deposits, withdrawals, bet lifecycles, game rounds, provably-fair mechanics, scheduled draws, and payout logic. Understand the state machine, protect the critical path, make failures recoverable.

Production infrastructure

Linux, Docker, NGINX, Puma, Capistrano, MySQL/PostgreSQL, Redis, Cloudflare, SSL/TLS, queues, backups, monitoring, reverse proxies — and debugging the whole stack when a deploy, SSL, DB, or Docker networking issue doesn't appear in clean docs.

Self-hosted systems

Owning infrastructure when it makes sense: self-hosted GitLab, private services, Docker stacks, local AI servers, VPNs, mail, monitoring, and dedicated hardware — kept understandable enough to repair without begging a vendor dashboard.

AI, video & edge computing

AI that observes, detects, decides, and triggers an action — not a chatbot pasted onto a product. Local video processing, object detection, camera streams, Jetson devices, GPU servers, edge deployment, and practical security automation.

Logistics & operational platforms

Dispatch, routing, settlements, courier/merchant/customer/admin flows, marketplace logic, and financial settlement — the full operating model, usually a practical modular monolith with strong database design and events only where they help.

Technical areas

Experience

1. Working with Ruby and Ruby on Rails since 2012.

2. Freelance software engineer since 2015, with long-term clients — mostly Ruby-based applications.

3. Lead developer since 2016; CTO since 2024.

4. Co-founder & CTO at Itlogas (2014–2015) — personnel-management and election-management platforms, plus company IT and operations.

5. Software engineer at Wise Monks (2012–2014) — coding, system design and team lead on a Groupon-style Lithuanian daily-deals platform (akcijatau.lt) and e-commerce clients; built in-house systems including an SMS-delivery platform and a high-capacity email system (~400k emails/day). Where I first started with Ruby on Rails.

6. B.Sc. in Information Technology, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH).

How I think about engineering

Good engineering isn't using the newest tool for every problem. It means the system does what the business needs, handles failure, can be understood later, and doesn't collapse when the first real user or edge case appears. I care more about correct architecture than fashionable architecture.

• —Simple where possible
• —Explicit where needed
• —Observable enough to debug
• —Secure enough for the risk
• —Fast enough for the workload
• —Built around real constraints
• —Repairable by the people who own it

Services

Backend development

Rails applications, APIs, admin systems, authentication, background jobs, business logic, database-backed workflows, and integrations.

Infrastructure & deployment

Linux servers, Docker stacks, NGINX, SSL, Cloudflare, GitLab, databases, Redis, queues, deployment automation, and production troubleshooting.

System architecture

Technical planning for platforms, marketplaces, logistics, gaming, payment-heavy products, AI/video systems, and self-hosted infrastructure.

AI / video / edge prototyping

Local AI inference, camera/video processing, Jetson and GPU-server planning, object-detection workflows, and practical edge deployment.

Debugging & rescue work

Investigation and repair of broken production systems, failed deployments, database problems, networking issues, and unclear infrastructure failures.