Backend & APIs
Developing and maintaining production software using Java/Spring and .NET, including REST APIs and service integration.
Hello, I'm
Ben Garaffa
Software Engineer // Java · .NET · Testing · Infrastructure
Backend development, testing, infrastructure, and the space between them.
I work across backend development, APIs, automated testing, enterprise systems and AI-assisted development. Day to day I mainly use Java/Spring and .NET, while continuing to build experience with infrastructure, deployment and Rust.
About
My background spans production software development, enterprise SaaS configuration, automation, API integration and machine learning. I enjoy understanding systems beyond the immediate ticket in front of me, especially testing, deployment, reliability and the tooling that makes engineering teams more effective.
What I work with
Automated Testing
Building a platform-wide end-to-end Playwright test suite to exercise complete user journeys and strengthen regression coverage.
AI-Assisted Development
Using modern AI-assisted development techniques for implementation, investigation, debugging and day-to-day problem solving.
Delivery & Collaboration
Working with GitLab, code review, agile development practices and CI/CD pipelines as part of the wider software delivery lifecycle.
Projects & learning
Self-Hosted Kubernetes & VPS Infrastructure
I build and maintain a personal VPS environment to practise application deployment, infrastructure management and production-style operational practices. I use k3s to host personal applications and apply GitOps practices to manage infrastructure and application configuration through version-controlled changes.
The environment is also a place to develop practical security knowledge, including VPS hardening, access control and automated TLS certificate management.
Chess Vision Training Application
A web application focused on chess visualisation training, combining an interactive frontend with server-side processing of historic game data to generate timed pattern-recognition and board-visualisation challenges.
Rust Learning
Building on limited commercial exposure to Rust through paired programming with continued independent learning and small personal experiments outside work.
Contact
If you'd like to talk about software engineering, backend development, testing, infrastructure or an interesting problem, feel free to get in touch.