Muhammad Atif Ayaz Backend Engineer & Solution Architect
25+ years engineering the systems businesses run on — from telecom billing platforms to Django APIs that don't fall over.
Nearly three decades, one system at a time
From telecom billing platforms in the early 2000s to Django APIs and cloud integrations today — the roles and the tools changed, the discipline didn't.
Computer Engineering
Foundational degree in computer engineering — the starting point for everything that followed.
Programmer → Manager, Billing Systems Engineering & Operations
Seven years at CyberNET, a well-known Karachi-based telecom/ISP provider, progressing from programmer to managing the billing systems engineering & operations function. Worked hands-on with Oracle BRM (PORTAL Infranet) across versions 5.5.3 through 7.0, including international upgrade projects for MIMOS Malaysia and PT Telkom Indonesia.
Postgraduate study, Islamic Sciences
A four-year full-time postgraduate program, taken as a deliberate pause from industry — the kind of detour that doesn't show up on a typical CV but shaped how I approach long-term commitments.
Senior Software Developer → Software Development Manager
Built and helped manage a HIPAA-compliant healthcare SaaS platform on web2py and Django, with AES-256 encryption and a migration onto AWS. Moved from hands-on development into managing the development function.
Freelance Backend Developer & Solution Architect
Eleven years and counting of independent client work: Django/Python backends, REST APIs and webhooks, AWS EC2/RDS infrastructure, and third-party integrations (payment, e-commerce, shipping, CRM). Top Rated on Upwork with a 100% Job Success Score and a 5.0 rating.
What I actually build with
Two and a half decades of picking up what the job needed — from Oracle BRM in a telecom NOC to modern Django and cloud-native stacks.
25+ years · 37 technologies · 14+ systems shipped
Backend & Languages
Frameworks & Platforms
Databases
Cloud & Infrastructure
APIs & Integrations
Domain Expertise
Projects & case studies
A mix of client engagements and things I've built on my own time.
Telecom Billing Systems Engineering
Managed and customized Oracle BRM (PORTAL Infranet) billing systems for a telecom/ISP provider, progressing from programmer to manager of the billing systems engineering & operations function.
7 years · programmer to manager
International Billing System Upgrades
Contributed to PORTAL Infranet upgrade projects for international telecom operators, including MIMOS (Malaysia) and PT Telkom (Indonesia), working through cross-border technical requirements.
Multi-country deployment
Healthcare SaaS Platform
Senior developer and later development manager on a HIPAA-compliant healthcare SaaS product, including its migration onto AWS with AES-256 encryption throughout.
3 years · developer to engineering manager
Membership Management & Automation Platform
Built a complete membership system for a WordPress site — initially triggered by parsing PayPal notification emails, later migrated onto Stripe as the payment processor. Stripe events and membership levels drive automated access control: which services, site access, and Slack group membership each member gets. Also built a separate web-based admin app for member management with usage statistics and both individual and bulk profile operations, integrated Mailchimp for status/level-based member communications and transactional notifications (payments, failures, subscriptions, cancellations), and added Google Calendar integration so eligible member groups get monthly training sessions. Delivered numerous automation scripts over the engagement to solve ad hoc problems as they came up.
1,049 hrs · 5-year engagement
Server-Side Conversion Tracking Overhaul
Rebuilt server-side conversion tracking across Meta CAPI, Google Ads, GA4, Reddit CAPI, and TikTok Events API — all firing from a Django webhook off Stripe's checkout.session.completed event — replacing unreliable client-side tracking as the final phase of the broader membership-platform engagement.
Backend Support for a Recurring-Order Analytics Platform
Ongoing backend support for a web2py/pydal e-commerce platform, building customer-order analytics queries — first-time vs. repeat purchase segmentation across large order datasets.
485+ hrs · ongoing since 2022
Fintech Backend on AWS AppSync & DynamoDB
Built GraphQL APIs via AWS AppSync on top of existing DynamoDB tables for a fintech application's backend.
Production Bug Diagnosis via Log Analysis
Diagnosed a persistent, hard-to-reproduce production bug on a web2py/OpenCV server through careful log tracking and analysis, then took over ongoing server management.
Non-API Lead Source → CRM Integration & Monitoring Dashboard
Built an integration pulling leads from a non-API-friendly third-party source into a client's CRM, plus a monitoring dashboard to track data-output health for early error detection.
Python Feature Development & Linux Administration
Added scheduling/availability features (day, week, and month calendar views) to an existing Python web application, alongside ongoing Linux system administration and security tasks.
503 hrs
Lead-Gen Automation Pipeline
Built an automation pipeline pulling business leads via the Outscraper API, cleaning and filtering the data, importing contacts into GoHighLevel via its API, then re-exporting and re-importing as sales opportunities, with error alerting.
Flask Web App with AWS Infrastructure
Built a Python/Flask web app with AWS integrations and infrastructure-as-code via AWS CDK.
Al-Multaqa (الملتقى)
An Islamic community and personal-development platform built on Flutter with a self-hosted Discourse backend — covering daily practice tracking, a Sunnah module, mentorship, and collaborative community projects.
Kitab Ghar (کتاب گھر)
A full-featured Django bookstore application with Unicode and right-to-left language support, a session-based cart, and admin-managed catalog images.
What clients say
“You were great to work with, will do again.”
Upwork client, 2015 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“He was amazing to work with and was very cooperative with deadlines.”
Upwork client, 2015 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“It was nice to work with Atif.”
Upwork client, 2015 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“An excellent web developer with superb communication skills, Atif spent significant time at the beginning clarifying the overall requirements and breaking them down into milestones, then delivered each of them ahead of schedule. Furthermore, he made very wise suggestions as the project evolved, and was a valued partner in terms of meeting the business goals. I would not hesitate to hire him again on future projects.”
Upwork client, 2015 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Couldn't have done the job any better. Muhammad was on time, thinking along and flexible. Would work with him again.”
Upwork client, 2015 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Atif was an instrumental part of our journey in creating an amazing application. He was highly knowledgeable and was always able to complete tasks before or on the deadlines. We gave him a lot of complicated tasks, but he was able to quickly and effectively finish them. Not only was Atif highly cooperative of accommodating deadlines and giving the best price for the job, but he was also very friendly, approachable, and responsive in chat. He was the best person to work and communicate with here at Upwork. There were many instances where Atif would complete a task and then get paid, but he would still work further to ensure that minor issues were resolved and everything was perfect. One instance was when I needed a specific module completed and he stayed up late at night to help me even though he already got paid. He did not abandon me and he made sure that every detail was perfect the way I wanted it. Atif is someone who will produce high quality work that is beyond your expectations and he has definitely earned my trust and respect. If you do not utilize Atif's vast array of knowledge and expertise, then you are doing yourself a huge disservice. I have worked with a lot of people here at Upwork, but Atif was the best choice and he will be a valuable asset for any team.”
Upwork client, 2015 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Atif did an excellent job as usual.”
Upwork client, 2015 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Great to work with. Good set of skills!”
Upwork client, 2015 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Same as previous job. Perfectly done and super fast!”
Upwork client, 2016 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Great freelancer - experienced, competent, a pleasure to work with”
Upwork client, 2015 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Atif is my favorite programmer on upwork! Very communicative, kind, has a great quality of work and always manage the deadline. I cannot wish for anything else.”
Upwork client, 2016 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Atif is a great professional and I highly recommend him. He did his tasks on time, achieving desired quality and results. He has the necessary level of skills and expertise and it was a pleasure to work with him.”
Upwork client, 2016 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Great work. Very quick. Great communication. Thanks!!”
Upwork client, 2016 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Atif is very good at programming, he understood my needs very soon. The application is working cool! . The most important thing he develop the application really soon. I am grateful to Atif for his great work and indeed would return to work with him! 100% recommended.”
Upwork client, 2016 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“excellent communication, fast work. highly recommended”
Upwork client, 2016 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Fantastic work, highly recommended!...”
Upwork client, 2016 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Perfect, as always.”
Upwork client, 2016 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“This guy is great, he finished all tasks within the timeline. He did a great job. I can highly recommend him and will definitely use him again in the future.”
Upwork client, 2016 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Muhammad is a very knowledgeable, freelancer. He worked on a back-end job with python and he did an excellent job. His quality of work is excellent and he has always been available for communication. Muhammad is very professional and we will hire again in the near future.”
Upwork client, 2016 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Atif did an excellent job on this small project. He understood exactly what the requirements were and how to best fulfill them. Communication was also very good and he provided regular updates. For sure I will work with Atif in the future whenever the opportunity arises.”
Upwork client, 2017 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Atif is very supportive and he could provide right solution in reasonable lead time. Communication also smooth and nice.”
Upwork client, 2017 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Excellent work, highly recommended.”
Upwork client, 2017 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“great experience”
Upwork client, 2017 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Understood the problem/objective, communicated issues, found ways to solve issues. Delivered high quality work integrating perfectly with existing codebase.”
Upwork client, 2017 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Atif has been nothing but amazing. I'm new to this field of work and he took the time out to explain everything he was doing for me in the most articulate ways. The communication was as good as it gets in my opinion. I also can't forget to mention how skilled he is at coding. He really knows his stuff. I would highly recommend his services to anyone looking to hire someone of his skill set.”
Upwork client, 2017 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Muhammad is an excellent freelancer who took my requirements that were not fully defined and turned it into perfect working code. I will definitely hire him again.”
Upwork client, 2017 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Muhammad is a skilled developer and quickly understood my issues. We worked through a few variations and found the optimal way to solve the issue. Will gladly work with again!”
Upwork client, 2017 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Easy communication and great experience”
Upwork client, 2016 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Very helpful thanks”
Upwork client, 2018 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Well done and easy to communicate”
Upwork client, 2018 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“the project is working well”
Upwork client, 2018 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Great job again on this small project from Atif.”
Upwork client, 2018 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Perfect, as always”
Upwork client, 2018 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Always nice to work with Atif. Excellent work!”
Upwork client, 2019 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“A+ Highly Recommended.”
Upwork client, 2019 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Great work! Looking forward to more projects together”
Upwork client, 2020 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“He is the best~!”
Upwork client, 2018 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Python Coding. Data transferring. Articulate and thorough as a person can be. A1!!!!!!”
Upwork client, 2017 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Very articulate!”
Upwork client, 2020 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Muhammad did a great job on our LAMP AWS deployment job, and we'd be happy to work with him again.”
Upwork client, 2021 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Muhammad did a great job on a LAMP REST API deployment to Google Cloud Platform. We'd be happy to work with this freelancer again.”
Upwork client, 2021 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Muhammad is a really good guy and very professional. He has a very strong coding experience and he completed my coding job on time. I 100% recommend him”
Upwork client, 2023 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“It has been a great experience working with Muhammad so I want to recommend him here. He has been informative, skillful, professional, and proactive in letting me know in advance before going on vacation.”
Upwork client, 2023 — Upwork review (auto-imported)
“Everything in the project I hired Muhammad for works just as expected. He completed it in a timely fashion and was helpful when I had questions. Highly recommend!”
Automation project client — Upwork review, 2025
“Muhammad, did a great job coding a Python/Flask web app, adding AWS integrations, and building AWS CDK code. We’d be happy to work with this freelancer again.”
Client, 2025 engagement — Upwork review, 2025
“Muhammad is always professional, articulate, and explains his work so well. He also delivers on time with precision. He created an integration between my CRM and 3rd party lead generating websites that are not API friendly. He even created a monitoring dashboard where we can review the data output for potential future errors.”
CRM integration client — Upwork review, 2023
“Atif is a rare find. He is extremely clever, has a broad knowledge and the creative thinking skills required to drill down into a problem and find the issue that nobody else could. I cannot recommend him highly enough. It was only through Atif's careful, diligent, logical and skilled use of logs, tracking and analysis that we were able to narrow down a persistent and tricky bug and get it nailed. After that he managed our servers really well. Only ending the contract at Atif's request to clear out old jobs for him. Well done Atif, and thank you for your help.”
Long-term server management client — Upwork review, 2017–2019 engagement
“The freelancer made significant contributions to our Fintech App. We couldn't have built the backend and sophisticated, challenging backend system on AWS without Atif's help. A job well done! I believe he will succeed anywhere in his future work and we wish him the best.”
Fintech app client — Upwork review, 2022
“Was great working with Atif. Provided quality work and was willing to stretch into Linux system administration & security tasks. His communication was clear and included screenshots, and also provided written reports as needed.”
Client, 503 hrs — Upwork review, 2015–2019 engagement
“Super great experience! I've worked with a few Upwork pros for many years already - and the experience with Muhammad Atif was best of the best of all time. Really appreciate everything we have done. Thank you very much!”
Recurring-order analytics client, ongoing since 2022 — Upwork review, 2022
“Atif is a crucial part of our business and ensures many of the moving pieces are integrated seamlessly. He is responsive and has great communication, often suggesting potential solutions to the problems we are currently facing.”
Long-term client, 1,049 hrs — Upwork review, 2018–2023 engagement
Let's talk about your project
Tell me what you're building and what's not working yet. I'll reply within a day.
- muhammad.atif.ayaz@gmail.com
- Location
- Karachi, Pakistan · Pakistan Standard Time (UTC+5) working hours