About

Bio

Hello, I am Francesco Pira, from Catania, Italy. I am interested in technology, business, and start-ups. I like working in team on projects that challenge me, and I’m fascinated by finding the best practice in doing something. I often describe myself as a curious mind, striving to learn and achieve more.

I’ve studied Mathematics and Physics in High School, taught myself English and how to code. Back then, I used to work as a self-employed computer technician before founding a small web development team when I was 18.

In 2013 I joined EESTEC, the European network of engineering students. The next year I became president of the local committee and coordinator of the International IT team. In 2015 I started a company with a university mate, Fileshute. I have been involved in the local startup scene both as start-upper and as VP of Youth Hub Catania, a no-profit association focused on enabling and supporting young entrepreneurship, matching people’s skills and organising startup related events (like #AppIdee and Startup Weekends).

Today I work as XR Tech Lead at Leonardo Company, in the Digital Platforms department. I usually work with terminal_app_I_like_here + zsh + VSCode or Neovim. If you’re curious about my setup, you can check it in my dotfiles.

Skills

  • Cloud-native: Kubernetes (including AKS and OKD), Apache Kafka and Strimzi
  • Front-end dev: Vue.js, CSS, SCSS. Some experience in Angular
  • Back-end dev: node.js, SpringBoot, Java EE, Flask. In the past: Ruby on Rails
  • J2EE Application servers: Oracle WebLogic, IBM WebSphere, Tomcat
  • Databases: MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle DB 9 and 12c, SQLite, CouchDB, MySQL/MariaDB
  • CI/CD: Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Jenkins
  • System Administration: Bash scripting, nginx configuration, server deployment, configuration and hardening (sshd hardening, Iptables, firewalld, OpenVPN, etc.)
  • Languages: Java 6+, Java EE 7+, JavaScript (ES5+), TypeScript, Python, C
  • VCS Git (including platforms for Agile project management like Azure DevOps and GitHub), SVN
  • Operating Systems: Debian Linux-based, CentOS 6+, macOS 10.6+, Windows XP+, iOS and Android
  • SOA products: Oracle Fusion Middleware 12c (including JDeveloper), Oracle Service Bus 12c, Oracle WebLogic
  • Cloud platforms: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Hetzner, Linode, Aruba Cloud, Scaleway
  • Other tools: Docker, XSLT, XQuery, Let’s Encrypt, GrSecurity, Webpack, Babel
  • Static-site generators and CMS: Jekyll. In the past: Wordpress and Prestashop
  • Other technical skills: Fundamentals of computer security and cryptography
  • Graphical tools: Photoshop (mostly for front-end assets), Sketch by Bohemian Coding, paint.net
  • Soft Skills: Problem Solving, Team Working, Project Management and Tracking, Team Leadership, Social Networking, Event Organisation

What’s next?

  • Advance my network and computer security skills
  • Machine learning and MLOps
  • Rust

Resume

Download my resume

Coding

I write little pieces of code to speed up my work and when I have some spare time I dedicate myself to weekend projects.

As usual, available on GitHub.

Talks and Events

Certifications

Badges are also available on Credly.

Honours

Languages

  • Italian, native proficiency
  • English, CEFR Level C1 (test results)
  • Spanish, elementary proficiency

Other things I like

Meeting people A good chat is a good moment and with people I haven’t met it’s even better. Valuable things happen when people share their experiences and thoughts.

Reading This is a pleasure I don’t want to miss. I read about programming, best practice, new technologies, startup stories and anything that can improve myself. Sometimes I find myself reading thrillers.

Jiu jitsu and running I have to admit, I’ve fallen in love with jiu jitsu and the Japanese culture. There’s so much to learn from them! Days I don’t have gym lessons, I go running at sunset. It’s my reset button.

DIY Something my father taught me. It’s fun to tinker away from keyboard, too.

Traveling Visiting new places and discovering new cultures widens your mind and challenges you. When I have the chance to leave, I always do.

Plus, every now and then I find quotes and media that inspire me. They are listed below.

Contact me

Get in touch.

Thanks for reading this page. I look forward to hearing from you.