Stephen M.

Senior Principal Engineer @Whitespace

Belfast, GB

In my role as a Principal Engineer, I take a hands-on approach that’s closely tied to the organisation’s technical direction.Much of my work focuses on building and evolving the platform services that support a growing set of AI-enabled applications. This involves designing backend systems that allow intelligent tools and workflows to be integrated into real-world products in a reliable and scalable way.Working across multiple products, I contribute throughout the full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) – from early proof-of-concept work through to production systems. A key part of the role is helping shape how new services fit into the wider platform while keeping things maintainable, secure and operationally sound.I spend most of my time building backend services, improving platform infrastructure and helping teams turn ideas into working systems. Increasingly this includes integrating large language models into applications and designing retrieval-based workflows that allow AI tools to interact effectively with organisational data.Alongside day-to-day engineering work I also contribute to improving development workflows and operational practices so teams can deliver software more efficiently while maintaining high standards of reliability.Outside of engineering work I regularly share ideas and lessons learned with the wider team through informal technical discussions and internal talks.Technologies:Python, FastAPI, Ollama, LLM integration, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), Redis, PostgreSQL, Docker, GitLab CI/CD, REST APIs, Linux, distributed systems, modern backend and AI platform architecture.

BIFHE

HND, Computer Software Engineering

NEIFHE

Bachelor of Technology (BTech), Computer Studies