Nairobi, Kenya · UTC+3

Ian Dancan Mongare

Backend Software Engineer with 3+ years building production-grade Java and Spring Boot applications across distributed systems, REST APIs, event-driven architecture, and AI-powered services with Spring AI, deployed on AWS and Azure. Currently deepening into Applied AI Engineering — RAG, MCP, vector databases, and agentic workflows. Co-Founder of the Kenya Java User Group (500+ members), where I run recurring system design and architecture sessions.

Technical Skills

Languages

Java, Kotlin, SQL

Frameworks

Spring Boot, Spring Security, Spring Data JPA, Spring AI

Databases

PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, Flyway

Messaging

Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ

Testing

JUnit 5, Mockito, Testcontainers

APIs & Security

RESTful API Design, Swagger/OpenAPI, JWT, RBAC

Cloud & DevOps

AWS (EC2, IAM, S3), Azure, DigitalOcean, Docker, Maven, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, CI/CD

Architecture

Microservices, Event-Driven Architecture, System Design, Distributed Systems

Professional Experience

Sep 2026 – Present · Remote

Engineering Ambassador

Kimi (Moonshot AI)

  • Selected for the Kimi Ambassador Program, representing Kimi's engineering ecosystem to the global developer community.
  • Build and share hands-on projects, demos, and tutorials with Kimi's models and tools — Kimi Agent, Kimi Code, Kimi API, Deep Research.
  • Create technical content and talks on practical AI engineering: agentic workflows, LLM integration, and developer tooling.
  • Relay developer feedback to the Kimi team to help shape the product roadmap.

Dec 2025 – Present · Remote, Contract

Software Engineer & Instructor

Amigoscode

  • Mentor and train 100+ developers, from aspiring engineers to experienced devs, to become production-ready backend engineers — 10+ have landed new roles or promotions.
  • Design and deliver hands-on programs covering Java, Spring Boot, Spring AI, Data Structures & Algorithms, and System Design.
  • Reviewed 70+ production-style pull requests across Java and Spring Boot, catching data-access, security, and architectural issues before merge.
  • Conduct mock interviews and guide developers through real-world software architecture.

Nov 2025 – Feb 2026 · Remote, Contract

Backend Software Engineer

Rodela Techhouse

  • Designed GitHub Actions CI/CD pipelines for three production Spring Boot applications, automating build, test, and deployment to DigitalOcean.
  • Hardened authentication by migrating client-side JWTs to HTTP-only cookies with Spring Security.
  • Cut latency on transactional flows with an asynchronous Spring @Async email executor.

Mar 2025 – Aug 2026 · Remote, Part-time

Co-Founder & Backend Engineer

NHX Finance

  • Designed the backend for a Hedera-based stablecoin issuance platform, building secure, event-driven services in Java, Spring Boot, PostgreSQL, and Azure.
  • Implemented RBAC with Spring Security and JWT, enforcing strict separation between issuing companies and platform administrators.
  • Shipped paginated REST APIs backed by Flyway migrations.

Oct 2023 – Aug 2024 · Nairobi, Kenya

Backend Developer

SpaceYaTech

  • Built RESTful APIs for the Mentorlst mentor-mentee platform (Spring Boot, PostgreSQL), serving 500+ active users.
  • Tuned Spring Data JPA fetch strategies to eliminate N+1 queries, cutting average API response time by 20%.
  • Documented 20+ endpoints with Swagger/OpenAPI, removing contract ambiguity for frontend integration.

Leadership & Community

Nov 2024 – Present · Nairobi, Kenya

Co-Founder

Kenya Java User Group (KJUG)

  • Grew KJUG to 500+ developers through technical workshops, events, and mentorship.
  • Organized Kenya's first Java conference featuring DaShaun Carter, Venkat Subramaniam, and Ivar Grimstad.

Jan 2024 – Jan 2026 · Nyeri, Kenya

Ambassador

Microsoft Student Ambassadors

  • Led 15+ sessions on Java, Spring Boot, Spring AI, Azure, and CI/CD, mentoring 50+ students in backend development and cloud infrastructure.
  • Facilitated DevOps workshops, with 40% of attendees reporting improved project outcomes afterward.

Education

2026 – Present · Self-directed

Applied AI Engineering

Currently learning

  • LLM integration in backend systems with Spring AI: Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), Model Context Protocol (MCP), vector databases, and agentic workflows — with a focus on architectures that are reliable, maintainable, and production-ready.

Oct 2021 – May 2026 · Nyeri, Kenya

BSc Mechanical Engineering

Dedan Kimathi University of Technology · Second Class Honours, Upper Division