Senior Rust Software Engineer
Backend · Distributed Systems · WASM · CI/CD · E2E Testing

Solution-oriented, results-driven software engineer with 15+ years of experience in systems and backend development — currently specializing in Rust for full-stack, correctness-first applications. Skilled in Rust, Modern C++, and Python, with a strong focus on architectural clarity, modularity, and automated testing.

I'm currently leading development of cr8s, a full-stack Rust platform for managing crate metadata, release tracking, and user access — designed with a strong focus on correctness, modularity, and test coverage. It includes:

• cr8s: Rocket + PostgreSQL backend with Redis caching, CI pipelines, and comprehensive integration test coverage

• cr8s-fe: Yew/WebAssembly frontend with Playwright-based E2E testing

• A supporting CLI for batch operations, ingestion, and administrative workflows

• 📌 Featured

👉 🦀 Rust Project Portfolio – John Basrai
👉 🦀 LinkedIn Post: Rust vs Go

Other recent projects include:

• axum-quickstart — a RESTful Axum backend with async Redis integration and CI-ready dev tooling

• 🌍 Based in Yuba City, CA
• 🤝 Open to collaborating on Rust-based systems, CLI tools, or backend platforms
• 🎓 Contributed to GNU Emacs and the Flex lexical scanner; listed on the Flex authors page

Project Spotlight:

Open to roles in Rust-based backend/fullstack systems, distributed architectures, cryptographic protocols (ZKPs), or embedded platforms. Strong emphasis on test-driven development and quality engineering practices.

Currently expanding the cr8s ecosystem with enhanced CI/CD performance, cross-platform development workflows, and comprehensive E2E testing coverage. Recent work includes Docker optimization, GitHub Actions workflow enhancement, and solving complex permission handling across diverse development environments.

💼 Open to full-time Rust backend, system programming roles or select consulting engagements.
The best way to contact me is via LinkedIn.

Currently focused on Rust-based backend and distributed system development.

Areas of Expertise

• Rust-based Systems Programming
• Distributed Systems
• API Design
• Real-Time Processing
• Cryptography
• WebAssembly Frontend Development

Languages & Libraries

• Rust (since 2022)
• C / Modern C++ (STL, Boost)
• Python
• Java
• SQL
• WebAssembly (WASM)

Async & Networking

• Tokio / Async / Futures
• reqwest
• WebSocket
• TCP/IP / UDP
• RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol)
• Web-Sys

Cloud & Infrastructure

• AWS (Dev/Deploy)
• IronBank container hardening

Databases & Caching

• PostgreSQL / Redis / SQLx / Diesel

Testing Frameworks & Strategies

• Rust Testing - Unit and integration testing with cargo test framework
• Integration Testing - Database transactions, API validation, and service integration
• API Testing - RESTful endpoint validation and authentication flow testing
• E2E Testing - Playwright E2E browser automation and UI testing

DevOps & CI/CD

• Docker / Docker Compose (advanced container orchestration)
• GitLab CI/CD, GitHub Actions (performance optimization, cross-platform workflows)
• Test Automation - Automated test execution with Docker service orchestration
• Jenkins

Frameworks & APIs

• Axum / Rocket / Actix / Yew
• RESTful APIs
• gRPC (Tonic)
• GraphQL
• Apache Thrift
• Serde

Embedded & OS Platforms

• Linux
• MCOS
• VxWorks
• QNX
• Mercury RTOS
• DMA/RACEway Fabrics

Monitoring & Observability

• Prometheus
• Loki
• Grafana

Tools

• Git
• Cargo
• Docker
• Docker Compose

🧠 Work Habits & Culture Fit

• Agile / Scrum / Kanban
• Test-Driven Development (TDD)
• Pair Programming & Remote Collaboration
• Asynchronous Communication (remote-first / remote-only)

• Integration Testing Excellence: Implemented comprehensive integration test suite for cr8s backend
  with database transaction testing, endpoint validation, and automated CI/CD integration
• Performance Engineering: Optimized CI/CD pipeline for cr8s-fe, achieving 25% performance improvement
  (5m → 4m build times)
• Refined Docker-based local development for rapid iteration and frontend/backend parity
• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Solved complex Docker user permission issues across development environments
  (local dev vs GitHub runners)
• DevOps Excellence: Eliminated environment configuration drift by consolidating version management and improving
  container orchestration
• Release Management: Successfully coordinated dual-repository release (cr8s v0.4.6 + cr8s-fe v0.2.2)
  with full backward compatibility
• Added Playwright-powered manual E2E test suite for a fullstack Rust/WASM application
• Enhanced GitHub Actions workflows with workflow_dispatch, conditional steps, and Docker service orchestration

Full-Stack Test Coverage: Achieved comprehensive testing coverage across the cr8s stack:

• Backend Integration Tests: Database transaction testing, API endpoint validation, authentication flows
• Frontend E2E Tests: User journey automation with Playwright
• CI/CD Integration: Automated test execution with Docker service orchestration
• Test Isolation: Proper test database setup/teardown and transaction rollback patterns

Explicit Module Boundary Pattern (EMBP)

• A Rust architectural pattern I've documented that uses gateway files (mod.rs, lib.rs, main.rs) to create explicit module boundaries and controlled dependencies. EMBP enables complete internal refactoring freedom while maintaining clean public APIs and clear architectural layers.

Rust Dev Container CI

If you're hiring for backend, distributed systems, or Rust-focused roles, feel free to reach out on LinkedIn.