I build software that turns complex problems into simple experiences.
Senior Software Developer and Project Manager with 10+ years of experience building, modernizing, and supporting mission-critical digital systems across enterprise, government, education, document management, e-commerce, and AI.
Years Building Software
Production engineering from architecture to long-term maintenance
Digital Products & Systems
Government, enterprise, education, e-commerce, and AI platforms
Academic Degrees
CMU Africa (MSIT), UoK (MS Project Mgmt), LPU (BCA)
Industry Domains
Proven multi-sector reliability and cross-functional leadership
Beyond the code.
“I don't just write code. I design systems, solve problems and build products.”
Yann Vladimir Bajeneza
Kigali, Rwanda · IST Africa
Idea → Architecture → Development → Deployment → Maintenance
I am a Senior Software Developer, Project Manager, and technology builder based in Kigali, Rwanda. For more than a decade, I have engineered mission-critical software solutions spanning government infrastructure, educational institutions, enterprise document management, e-commerce, and applied artificial intelligence.
My approach bridges the gap between deep technical code execution and high-level strategic business objectives. Whether modernizing legacy enterprise systems, fine-tuning neural speech models for low-resource languages, or leading cross-functional development sprints, I build software that is resilient, maintainable, and built for people.
System Architecture & Engineering
Deep experience designing modular backend microservices, clean REST APIs, resilient relational database schemas, and modern frontend SPAs that scale with stability.
Enterprise & Government Reliability
Proven track record delivering national-scale registries, legacy system migrations (WIPOFILE → IPAS), and high-availability digital platforms at Rwanda Development Board.
Applied AI, Speech & NLP
Graduate research at Carnegie Mellon University Africa fine-tuning OpenAI Whisper and transformer models for low-resource African language translation and real-time captioning.
Project & Product Leadership
Master's degree in Project Management coupled with a decade leading multidisciplinary engineering teams from initial product scoping through live production SLA maintenance.
Engineered for real-world impact.
Selected production systems, modernization architectures, and research initiatives delivered across government, education, and enterprise.
BIKA
Enterprise Digital Document Archiving & Workflow Platform
A high-security, multi-tenant digital document management and archiving ecosystem designed to transform paper-heavy institutional workflows into instant, searchable, indexed digital records.
- •Engineered full document lifecycle pipeline: Ingestion → Metadata Tagging → Fast Indexing → Workflow Routing → Secure Archival
- •Designed secure multi-tenant role-based access control (RBAC) with complete audit logging
- •Built resilient REST APIs powering responsive web workflows, bulk ingestion, and third-party integrations
WinSchool
Next-Gen School Management & Academic Administration System
Complete architectural modernization of a comprehensive school administration platform, migrating legacy desktop and monolithic paradigms into a responsive, modular Vue.js and Java Spring Boot ecosystem.
- •Modernized legacy codebases into decoupled Vue.js frontend with clean state management and atomic UI components
- •Engineered performant Java Spring Boot backend services and secure RESTful endpoints
- •Refactored complex database schemas to support high-throughput academic period reporting and fee reconciliations
Digital Signing Platform
Enterprise-Grade Cryptographic Document Signing & Workflow Engine
A reusable, shared digital signing micro-platform enabling legally compliant cryptographic signing, multi-party approval chains, and automated audit trails across enterprise applications.
- •Architected shared microservice architecture designed for seamless plug-and-play integration across diverse internal products
- •Implemented multi-party sequential and parallel signing pipelines with immutable verification audit trails
- •Constructed secure tokenized REST APIs and event-driven webhook listeners for real-time document status updates
Real-Time Kinyarwanda–English Speech Translation & Auto-Captioning
Applied AI & Low-Resource Speech Processing Pipeline
A real-time end-to-end speech recognition, machine translation, and automatic captioning system tailored for Kinyarwanda audio streams and low-resource African language NLP.
“Muraho, turishimiye kubagezaho iyi gahunda nshya.”
[mu.ɾaː.ho tu.ɾi.ʃi.mi.je ku.ba.ɡe.zaː.ho iː.ji ɡa.huː.nda nʃja]
- •Engineered end-to-end speech processing pipeline: Audio Ingestion → Feature Extraction → Whisper STT → Cross-Lingual Translation → Synchronized Captioning
- •Fine-tuned transformer models on curated domain-specific Kinyarwanda speech datasets to handle acoustic dialect variations
- •Optimized streaming inference latency to enable real-time synchronized caption rendering with minimal lag
Beneficial Ownership Registry
National-Scale Enterprise Compliance & Corporate Transparency System
A mission-critical national digital registry tracking legal entity ownership and compliance to satisfy international financial transparency and anti-money laundering (AML) standards.
- •Engineered high-reliability government-grade data workflows supporting thousands of registered corporate entities
- •Interfaced with national business registration platforms to cross-validate identity and ownership hierarchies
- •Enforced strict data governance, secure RBAC permissions, and comprehensive regulatory audit trails
FanaFootball
African Fantasy Sports & Community Engagement Platform
A dedicated fantasy football and digital sports community platform custom-tailored for African football leagues, real-time match stats, and fan gamification.
- •Architected high-throughput gamification engine calculating live player points, leaderboard rankings, and transfer logic
- •Designed responsive, mobile-first web and mobile user interfaces optimized for varied internet bandwidth environments
- •Scaled backend infrastructure to gracefully manage concurrent traffic spikes before kickoff and match conclusion
SCHOOLBOX
Holistic Digital Administration & Academic Records Platform
An integrated educational software suite unifying student lifecycle management, attendance tracking, fee collection, and report card generation for primary and secondary institutions.
- •Engineered flexible gradebook calculations supporting diverse curriculum standards and automated batch report card generation
- •Developed parent SMS/email notification bridges for fee reminders, attendance alerts, and term announcements
- •Implemented role-based portals for school administrators, teachers, accountants, and guardians
WIPOFILE → IPAS System Migration
Enterprise Intellectual Property Data Modernization & Pipeline
Seamless data extraction, validation, transformation, and migration from legacy WIPOFILE patent/trademark databases into the modernized WIPO Industrial Property Administration System (IPAS).
- •Designed and executed automated ETL pipelines for complex multi-decade patent, trademark, and industrial design registries
- •Authored custom data validation scripts resolving legacy schema discrepancies and missing historical references
- •Coordinated with international WIPO technical specialists to ensure strict compliance with IPAS relational standards
More things I've built.
Compact index of commercial ERPs, SACCO financial software, logistics dispatch tools, and business platforms.
The engineering map.
Curated architectural stacks and tools applied across a decade of enterprise, government, and AI production engineering.
Languages
Core programming languages utilized across production backends, scripts, and frontends
Frontend
Building responsive, accessible, and performant user interfaces
Backend & Architecture
Designing resilient REST services, microservices, and system workflows
Databases & Storage
Relational, document, and analytical data architecture
AI, NLP & Data
Applied machine learning, language models, and analytics
Engineering & DevOps
Production lifecycle, collaboration, tooling, and quality assurance
How I approach problems.
A disciplined four-phase methodology moving with precision from root domain analysis to long-term operational resilience.
Understand
Deconstruct the core business reality
Great software begins with rigorous inquiry into real user needs, business constraints, data lifecycles, and operational bottlenecks before writing a single line of code.
Design
Architect systems for longevity and clarity
Design the relational data models, service boundaries, API contracts, and intuitive user experiences that make subsequent development fast and predictable.
Build
Develop reliable, testable, maintainable code
Implement using proven architectural patterns, strong typing, clean abstraction layers, and continuous integration to guarantee high code quality.
Improve
Measure, debug, optimize and evolve
Software in production is a living system. Continuous performance monitoring, database query profiling, and iterative updates ensure long-term value.
Core principles.
Guiding beliefs refined over a decade of building, modernizing, and maintaining systems.
“Simple is harder than complex.”
Anyone can build a complicated system. The real craft lies in stripping away unnecessary layers until the solution is clear, understandable, and robust.
“Build for people, not just systems.”
Software exists to empower users, solve human bottlenecks, and drive organizations forward. Ergonomics and reliability are never optional.
“Good architecture makes change cheaper.”
Business requirements inevitably evolve. Well-structured codebases with clean service boundaries allow teams to pivot with confidence rather than fear.
“Technology should solve a real problem.”
Tooling and frameworks are means to an end. True engineering excellence is measured by real-world adoption, resilience, and business impact.
Experience & leadership.
A chronological track record spanning a decade of software engineering, public sector infrastructure, and enterprise technical management.
10-Year Progression Topology
Developer
Foundations & Web Systems
Hands-on software development, database design, and web application architecture.
GovTech & Public Systems
National Digital Portals
Managing high-visibility digital systems at Rwanda Development Board.
Enterprise & Mission-Critical
Registries & Migrations
National Beneficial Ownership Registry & zero-loss WIPO IPAS migration.
Carnegie Mellon University
Advanced Tech, AI & NLP
Master of Science in IT, low-resource speech translation, and deep research.
Senior Software Developer
Modernization & Infrastructure
WinSchool modernization and enterprise Digital Signing platforms at IST Africa.
Software · AI · Products · Leadership
Global Impact & Architecture
Building resilient digital products, leading engineering teams, and solving complex problems.
Senior Software Developer
PRESENT ROLELeading software modernization initiatives, architecting enterprise digital signing infrastructure, and building scalable Vue.js and Java Spring Boot services for academic and enterprise platforms.
- •Directing the frontend and backend modernization of WinSchool into modern Vue.js and Java Spring Boot microservices
- •Architecting a shared, enterprise-grade Digital Signing platform supporting cryptographic signatures and multi-party workflows
- •Designing resilient REST APIs, database schemas, and integration endpoints across enterprise client deployments
- •Championing AI-assisted development practices, disciplined code reviews, and Agile/Scrum sprint cadences
Founder & Project Manager / Software Engineer
Information Technology Applications Specialist
Web Manager
Junior Developer
Education & honors.
Rigorous technical training combining computer science fundamentals, graduate project management, and advanced AI systems research at Carnegie Mellon University Africa.
Master of Science in Information Technology
Carnegie Mellon University Africa
Kigali, Rwanda
Applied AI / NLP, Software Architecture, Enterprise Systems & Applied Machine Learning
Master of Science in Project Management
University of Kigali
Kigali, Rwanda
Strategic Project Governance, Agile Lifecycle Management & Resource Optimization
Bachelor of Computer Applications
Lovely Professional University
Punjab, India
Computer Science, Data Structures, Algorithms, Software Engineering & Systems Programming
Verified Honors & Awards
Hanga Pitchfest Runner-Up
Awarded runner-up among top national tech innovations for FanaFootball fantasy sports platform.
Outstanding Commitment to Quality Service Award
Recognized for exceptional engineering leadership, reliability, and service excellence across public digital systems.
IT Project Competition Winner
First prize for innovative academic software engineering project and architectural execution.
Building technology from Rwanda, for the world.
Rwanda has established itself as a vibrant hub of technological innovation and public digital transformation. Having contributed to national regulatory registries, modernized enterprise school infrastructures, and built localized AI speech pipelines at Carnegie Mellon University Africa, my work reflects a commitment to building software that solves deep regional challenges while meeting international standards of security, scalability, and craftsmanship.
Government & Civic Tech
National registries, transparency platforms, public portals
Education & Academics
School ERPs, gradebooks, institutional workflows
Enterprise & Modernization
Legacy migration, shared microservices, digital signing
Document Management
Digital archiving, OCR, workflow automation, indexing
E-Commerce & Retail
Multi-vendor marketplaces, mobile money integrations
AI, Speech & NLP
Whisper fine-tuning, real-time captioning, low-resource translation
Digital Platforms & Sports
High-concurrency fantasy sports, fan engagement
Business Systems & SACCOs
Microfinance ledgers, invoicing, custom ERPs
Let's build something meaningful.
Whether you need senior architecture leadership, legacy enterprise modernization, or guidance scaling reliable digital platforms, let's connect.