Software Engineer · Davao City, PH · Remote (GMT+8)
Marlo Barua
I build complete applications end to end: the interface, the API and data behind it, and the pipeline that ships it.
01 — About
About
I build complete applications: the interface people use, the API and database behind it, and the pipeline that ships it. Most of my work lives where business rules get complicated, like payroll, leave approvals and point-of-sale compliance. My job is to make those workflows reliable and uneventful to run.
At ActiveSystems I'm a core member of the R&D team. I architected the multi-tenant backend for ActiveWork, an HR and payroll SaaS on .NET 9 and Next.js with PostgreSQL Row-Level Security, and I own its CI/CD from GitHub Actions to AWS. On ActivePOS XA, a BIR-accredited POS serving 20+ businesses, I traced a connection-pooling defect to its root cause and raised throughput by about 60%.
I ship daily with an AI coding agent handling implementation, review and PRs, and I own every line that merges. I graduated Magna Cum Laude in IT (Information Security) from the University of Southeastern Philippines, and I work remotely from Davao City.
- 20+ tenant businesses
- ~60% throughput gain
- Magna Cum Laude
01 — Frontend
Interfaces built for real workflows
Dashboards, forms and approval flows people use all day. Typed end to end, tested in the browser, and fast with real data.
- Next.js
- React
- TypeScript
- Vue 3
- Nuxt
- Tailwind CSS
- Vitest
- Playwright
- Built payroll overtime approvals with optimistic UI and rollback
- Shipped a Vue 3 analytics dashboard with one-click Excel export across five DSWD divisions
- Improved load times and SEO on a client web system
02 — Backend
Multi-tenant systems that hold up under load
APIs, data models and background jobs where business rules, compliance and tenant isolation live in the core rather than being patched on at the edges.
- .NET 9
- ASP.NET Core
- NestJS
- PostgreSQL
- Redis
- Hangfire
- SignalR
- EF Core
- Enforced per-tenant isolation with PostgreSQL Row-Level Security across every service and job
- Built JWT auth, RBAC and searchable field-level encryption for employee records
- Raised POS data-processing throughput by ~60% by fixing an ORM connection-pooling defect
03 — DevOps
Releases that are routine, not risky
Containerized builds, automated pipelines and versioned migrations, so shipping to staging and production is the same predictable step every time.
- Docker
- GitHub Actions
- GHCR
- AWS EC2
- AWS S3
- Ubuntu
- Flyway
- Vercel
- Own the ActiveWork release pipeline end to end as platform release owner
- Automated deploys to an on-prem Ubuntu staging host and AWS EC2 production
- Versioned schema delivery with Flyway migrations on every release
04 — Work
~/projects
Ledger Sync
2024Backend Engineer
A reconciliation service that keeps three payment providers and an internal ledger in agreement.
- Node.js
- PostgreSQL
- Queues
05 — Experience
$ git log --graph
4a1f9c2
Software Engineer @ ActiveSystems Software Inc.
Jul 2024 — Present · Davao City
- ActiveWork · HR/Payroll SaaS
- ActivePOS XA · BIR-accredited POS
Core member of the R&D team building ActiveWork, a multi-tenant HR/Payroll SaaS (.NET 9 + Next.js), and ActivePOS XA, a BIR-accredited POS serving 20+ businesses.
- Architected a multi-tenant backend with PostgreSQL Row-Level Security and tenant-resolution middleware
- Automated leave-management and overtime-approval workflows with accruals, multi-level routing and audit logging
- Improved reliability with Hangfire background jobs, retries, Redis caching and SignalR real-time notifications
- Own the CI/CD pipeline end to end: GitHub Actions, Docker and GHCR to Ubuntu staging and AWS EC2
- Resolved a FireDAC connection-pooling defect, lifting data-processing throughput by ~60%
7d3e8b5
Project-Based Web Developer @ Global Staff Network
Apr 2024 — May 2024 · Davao City
Part-time, project-based web development for a client business system.
- Optimized website performance, improving load times and lifting SEO ranking
- Delivered data-driven enhancement recommendations from analytics and user feedback
2c6f0a8
Full-Stack Developer (Intern) @ Department of Social Welfare and Development
Sep 2023 — Dec 2023 · Davao City
Led a small team building a records-management and analytics dashboard spanning five welfare divisions.
- Designed a Laravel 8 REST API with Sanctum auth, role-based access and a full edit-history audit trail
- Built aggregation endpoints consumed by a Vue 3 SPA with one-click Excel export, deployed to Vercel
8e5b1d4
Frontend Developer (Intern) @ IdeaHub IT Solutions Provider Inc.
Jun 2023 — Aug 2023 · Davao City
Frontend work on a complex business web system.
- Contributed debugging, feature development and documentation to a production web system
- Extended custom WordPress functionality and built responsive MJML email templates
06 — Contact
Let's build something worth shipping
Currently building full-time, but always open to conversations about interesting products, freelance builds, and the right next role.
Open to select opportunities
$ contact --email