Ping Zhao — Senior Full-Stack & AI Engineer

Overview

Senior full-stack and AI engineer with 12+ years shipping scalable products across fintech, healthcare, e-commerce, and enterprise SaaS.

I focus on end-to-end delivery: robust architecture, thoughtful UX, and measurable impact. My default lens is that technology should earn its place through business outcomes — performance, reliability, and clarity for users and stakeholders.

Core competencies

Full-stack architecture

Microservices, REST and GraphQL APIs, and rich frontends with React, Next.js, Vue/Nuxt, and mobile stacks where needed. Backend experience across Node (Express/Nest), Django, FastAPI, and PHP ecosystems. Strong data modeling with PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, and ORMs (TypeORM, Prisma, Sequelize). Cloud-native delivery on AWS, Vercel, Firebase, Docker, and CI/CD — with a track record of cutting latency and tightening query paths under load.

AI and machine learning

Pipelines through to production: data prep, training (TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn), and LLM-powered features (OpenAI, LangChain). Experience shipping NLP and predictive workloads that reduced manual work and supported large user bases, with solid Python, NumPy, and Pandas fundamentals.

Blockchain and Web3

Smart contracts (Solidity), dApp integration, and connecting on-chain systems (Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche and similar) to conventional backends and oracles where projects demand it.

Remote-first collaboration

Async-first habits, clear written communication, and comfortable leading or contributing across time zones on long-running, complex initiatives.

What I deliver

High-performance systems — APIs and UIs tuned for responsiveness under real traffic.
AI-driven automation — workflows that remove repetitive manual work where models fit the problem.
Scalable architecture — designs that grow from early traction to serious scale.
Secure, compliant builds — including regulated domains (e.g. healthcare) and careful treatment of sensitive data.
Technical leadership — mentoring, roadmaps, and alignment with product and stakeholders.

Open to senior and lead roles, contracts, and long-term partnerships. If you are building something ambitious, I would be glad to hear from you.

Services

I partner with teams to ship fast, scalable products with clean architecture, measurable outcomes, and long-term maintainability.

Build Full-stack development

End-to-end web and API delivery with modern frameworks and cloud deployment.

Intelligence AI integration

LLM features, ML pipelines, and production integration with your product stack.

Insights Data and analytics

Analysis, ETL-style pipelines, visualization, and modeling where it supports the product.

Execution Reliable delivery

Predictable milestones, clear communication, and pragmatic scope management.

Technical skills

React.js/Next.js
Angular / AngularJS
Vue/Nuxt
Styling & UI (Tailwind, MUI, AntD, Chakra UI, Radix UI, Bootstrap)
Flutter / React Native / Ionic / Kotlin
ORM (TypeORM/Prisma/Sequelize)
AI (TensorFlow/PyTorch/Keras/Scikit-learn)
Data Science (ML/LLMs/Mathematics & Stats/Scraping)

Node.js/Express/Nest
Django/Flask/FastAPI
GraphQL/Hasura
Laravel/Yii/Magento
Phoenix/Elixir
Database (PostgreSQL/MySQL/MongoDB/Oracle)
Cloud & DevOps (AWS, Heroku, Firebase, Cloudflare, Docker, CI/CD)
Web3.js/Blockchain

Languages

English (Fluent & Working Proficiency)

Resume

Working History
Lead Developer — Create (USA • Remote)
May 2022 – Feb 2024

Built and scaled multi-tenant platforms integrating Generative AI and Web3, shipping reliable product experiences with Next.js, GraphQL, Prisma, and optimized PostgreSQL/MongoDB query paths.
- Reduced API response time from ~800ms to ~150ms via caching and query optimization.
- Implemented wallet integration supporting 5 blockchain networks.
- Led AI feature rollout that increased user engagement by 35%.
Team Lead — BUDDI AI (USA • Remote)
May 2021 – Dec 2022

Led delivery of an AI-driven medical billing platform processing $50M+ annually, with automated pipelines (Python/Node) and HIPAA-focused security practices.
- Designed an NLP pipeline to automate claim categorization, saving 500+ hours annually.
- Mentored a team of 5 engineers and established architecture and quality standards.
- Deployed ML models achieving 94% claim prediction accuracy to reduce payment delays.
Senior Frontend Developer — Divergence Neuro (Canada • Remote)
Sep 2020 – Oct 2021

Owned frontend delivery for a neuro-feedback data platform with complex real-time visualizations, focusing on performance, state management, and reliable UX.
- Optimized rendering to reduce page load from ~3s to ~800ms.
- Implemented WebSocket integration for real-time data streaming.
- Recognized for instrumental work on core product features.
Full-stack Developer — Work Well Together (France • Remote)
Feb 2020 – Aug 2020

Built a psychological assessment platform with a data-heavy questionnaire engine (Django + React), using serverless components for scalable processing and analytics.
- Designed serverless architecture processing 100K+ records in real-time analytics.
- Implemented ML-based scoring algorithms for assessments.
Team Lead — KR Soft (China • Remote)
Aug 2018 – Jan 2020

Led cross-functional delivery for 15+ client solutions, improving engineering velocity through better CI/CD practices, testing, and modern frontend standards.
- Led architecture decisions across 5 high-impact projects.
- Introduced automated testing strategy reaching 80%+ coverage.
- Reduced deployment time from hours to minutes via CI/CD optimization.
Full-stack Developer — Cloudone (China • Onsite)
Nov 2016 – Aug 2018

Delivered web applications across multiple stacks, focusing on modular UI, scalable backend services, and dependable uptime for fast-moving teams.

Education History
Dalian University of Technology
2010 – 2015

Master of Science: Mathematics & Computer Science. Specialized in computational mathematics and algorithmic theory, forming a rigorous foundation for advanced data modeling, cryptography, and applied AI.

Specialized Mastery
DeepLearning.AI / Coursera
Certification

Advanced neural networks and generative AI architectures.
Udacity Nanodegree
Nanodegree

Blockchain architecture and data science for enterprise.
Codecademy Professional
Professional

Full-stack engineering and smart contract development (Solidity).
Technical leadership
Ongoing

Contributions to Towards Data Science and Web3 research.
OSS and documentation
Ongoing

Continuous research on Next.js, OpenAI API, and Ethereum EIPs.

Companies

Recommendations

Alex Ni
Founder, CEO, Divergence Neuro

Great work ethic, very skilled React developer. Attention to detail and pleasant to communicate with. Zhao was instrumental in building of our web frontend experience with major features that are complex. He is smart and patient, and does great work!

Rakesh Kumar
CPO of Hamilton Pay

It has been a pleasure to work with Zhao. He is a gem of a developer and a true asset to any team. While he is excellent in his technical capabilities, he stands out because of his calm demeandor, team spirit, and eagerness to learn. I wish him all the best and know for sure that any team that he works with will be lucky to have him!

Christopher Denczek
Owner of 4K Gallery LLC

Zhao and I have worked on multiple projects together. Zhao is great self starter, as well as a great listener of directions. Zhao pays great attention to detail. Zhao is capable of delegating tasks to others on a team in a lead position. Very happy to be working closely together.

Kathrine M. Mendoza
Head of Support - 5Loyalty Ltd.,

I've worked with Zhao with quite some time and I think his skills is something that he can boast. He can meet deadlines set by our clients & has positive attitude towards work. He is also very keen to detail & is really good at what he does. He has outstanding skills especially in building mobile apps using IONIC React, NodeJS, Django/Django Rest Framework! You have done an excellent job with 5Loyalty!!!

Himangshu Hazarika
CEO of Hamilton Pay

Zhao worked with me for building the initial version of HamiltonPay. We were working on a technically demanding product to combine multiple payments into one checkout flow. We had to work across multiple time zones and significant technical challenges. He is one of the best engineers I have worked with.