I've been speaking with Eren Aykin, a Software Developer at Open Technica Ltd, who brings sixteen years of backend engineering experience across consultancy, media, and healthtech environments. From the moment we got talking, it was clear Eren is someone who operates at a genuinely senior level, not just technically but in terms of how he thinks about systems and the problems they need to solve. He came across as considered, articulate, and confident without being overbearing, which I think will land well with a hiring manager looking for someone who can lead without needing to be managed.

What really stood out to me in Eren's background is the work he did building the streaming infrastructure behind BBC iPlayer. He told me this system was serving fifteen million average weekly users, and hearing him talk through the architectural decisions involved, the scale challenges, the reliability requirements, it was obvious this wasn't a peripheral contribution. That kind of experience, delivering and maintaining infrastructure at genuine national scale, is not something you come across often, and I think it speaks directly to what a lead-level backend hire should be able to bring to a team.

In terms of his technical stack, Eren works primarily in Java and Python on the backend, with AWS as his main cloud platform. He's comfortable with Docker and Terraform for infrastructure and containerisation work, and uses PostgreSQL on the data side. Day to day he strikes me as someone who sits at the intersection of hands-on engineering and technical leadership, the sort of developer who is still writing and reviewing meaningful code while also shaping how a team approaches architecture and delivery. He's not a manager looking for a way back into code, he's a lead engineer who takes craft seriously.

On motivation, Eren has indicated he's open to his next move, and his preference is for a hybrid or fully UK-remote working pattern, which gives a reasonable range of opportunities here in the UK. I don't yet have a confirmed notice period, so that's worth clarifying early if things progress, but I don't anticipate it being a blocker. He's based in Cambridge. Overall, I'd strongly recommend putting Eren in front of your team. Sixteen years of experience, a flagship achievement at BBC scale, and a grounded, professional manner make him one of the more compelling backend candidates I've spoken with in a while.