Alexandru Burlacu

January 2025 – Present

Senior Software Developer (PHP)

• Develop and maintain backend systems for one of Germany's leading premium nutrition brands.
• Build and integrate REST APIs for e-commerce features, product catalog, and customer workflows.
• Integrated Algolia search from scratch to enable fast, accurate, and personalized product discovery across 1500+ high-quality, vegan/plant-based items.
• Participate in GDPR initiatives (data anonymization, consent management, privacy-by-design features) to ensure full EU compliance.
• Collaborate with frontend, DevOps, product, and R&D teams in Berlin to support sustainable sourcing, True Clean Label purity standards, and strong customer loyalty.

April 2014 – December 2024

Senior Software Engineer (PHP → Java / Microservices)

One core project / one consistent position across 3 company entities due to restructurings & spin-offs (Rocket Internet → Rocket Labs → GFG eCommerce Technologies).

Initiated in 2014 as a Rocket Internet startup initiative, SellerCenter served as the unified seller backend platform powering high-growth emerging-market e-commerce brands during Rocket's aggressive expansion phase, later consolidated under Global Fashion Group (GFG) for fashion-focused marketplaces while supporting general merchandise via partners like Lazada and Jumia.

• Developed, scaled, and maintained the SellerCenter platform (inventory, order management, promotions, payments, high-volume e-commerce for emerging markets brands: Zalora, Dafiti, Lamoda, Jumia, The Iconic, Lazada).
• Shifted to Java/Spring Boot microservices for better scalability, fault isolation, independent deployments, and performance during major revenue growth.
• Phases / Company Tree:
  • Apr 2014 – Feb 2015 Rocket Internet SE – Built SellerCenter startup from the ground up.
  • Feb 2015 – Apr 2017 Rocket Labs GmbH – Developed platform for high order volume and revenue growth.
  • May 2017 – Dec 2024 GFG eCommerce Technologies – Continued evolution & optimization as Senior Engineer.

April 2012 – March 2014

Software Developer (PHP)

• Payment processing gateway development (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, SEPA, Giropay).
• Integrated shop systems and invoicing solutions for e-commerce merchants.
• Built secure transaction handling and compliance features.

Project (masterpayment.de) was sold and integrated into another entity (acquired by Net1/Lesaka Technologies in 2016).

March 2011 – April 2012

Software Developer (PHP)

• Developed and optimized a high-performance search engine using Sphinx for journalist profiles, media contacts, and news/media tracking.
• Implemented indexing, full-text search, filtering, and relevance ranking features to enable fast querying of large media databases.

uwishofficial.com was a media intelligence/search platform at the time (domain later repurposed).

2008 – 2010

Software Engineer (C#)

• Developed and maintained .NET Framework backend applications for Cision's media monitoring and PR intelligence platform (now evolved into Cision Communications Cloud).
• Implemented features for journalist profiles database, media tracking, news aggregation, and search functionalities using C# and SQL Server.
• Optimized application performance, integrated with external media sources, and ensured reliable data processing for global PR clients.
• Collaborated with QA and product teams on agile iterations, contributing to platform stability during Cision's early digital transformation phase.

2007 – 2008

QA Engineer

• Performed QA testing for search systems, journalist profiles database, and media tracking modules on Cision's PR and monitoring platform.
• Executed manual and automated tests, identified defects in data ingestion and reporting features, and ensured high data accuracy for media intelligence use cases.
• Worked closely with developers on bug fixes and regression testing during active feature development cycles.

2006 – 2007

QA

• Conducted QA testing for Reuters real-time financial market data feeds and news dissemination systems (data validation, accuracy checks, latency verification).
• Performed UI and functional testing of news terminals, quote displays, and alerting interfaces (ensuring correct rendering of market data, headlines, and charts).
• Verified end-to-end workflows for data ingestion, processing, distribution, and client delivery (including error handling and failover scenarios).
• Executed regression testing after data feed updates, software patches, and configuration changes to maintain high reliability for financial professionals.

2007 – 2008

Master’s Degree – Information Systems

2001 – 2005

Bachelor – Computing