Kidus Abdula Get in Touch
Backend Engineer at Quantum Technology Addis Ababa ·

Kidus AbdulaBackend & Full-Stack Engineer

I build the systems money moves through, and the products around them.

Payment rails, identity and approval engines, on-device machine learning. Backend engineer at Quantum Technology, and since 2023 founder of VersaLabs Studio, where we build our own products and software for businesses in Addis Ababa.

Selected Work
fig. 01a payment request, end to end

01Selected Work

Four projects, end to end

The ones I'd show you first. Each one I built from the data model to the deploy.

SafeFrame home page in dark mode: Video safety that never leaves the device
01In Production2026

SafeFrame

Video content detection that never leaves the device

No server, no database, no external inference API, and nothing is uploaded. A MobileNetV2 classifier screens every sampled frame, and a quantized ViT re-checks only the borderline ones, on hardware that can afford it. Device-capability gating means the same build runs on a 2016 phone and a current flagship. It ships as a web app, an Android app and a Manifest V3 extension over one typed core. Built in two days against an external brief.

  1. Sample frames
  2. MobileNetV2 screen
  3. Borderline?
  4. Quantized ViT
  5. Verdict on device
Role
Sole engineer
Stack
ONNX Runtime · WebGPU · TypeScript · React Native
Live Demo Source
PrintOnline.et product options picker
02In Production2026

PrintOnline.et

An online print shop with instant prices

A live storefront for a print and branding house in Addis Ababa. Customers configure a product and see the price update with every choice, pay through Chapa, and the order moves through an eight-step pipeline the shop runs from its own dashboard. A payment only counts once its webhook is verified.

  1. Configure
  2. Matrix price
  3. Chapa checkout
  4. Webhook verified
  5. 8-step pipeline
Role
Built end to end at VersaLabs
Stack
Next.js · TypeScript · PostgreSQL · Chapa
Visit the Site
Versa FX dashboard with rates, branch cash and teller activity
03Coming Soon2026

Versa FX

Forex bureau management, counter to compliance

The teller counter, rates, branch cash, compliance and reports for a licensed forex bureau, in one place. A new rate sheet or a transfer between vaults waits for a second person's approval, a deal can be held for a compliance check, and every sign-in, settings change and transaction lands in a permanent audit trail. Reports follow the Ethiopian fiscal year, and the menu switches to Amharic.

  1. Rate sheet
  2. Second approval
  3. Teller quote
  4. Compliance check
  5. Audit trail
Role
Product & engineering
Demo
Three fictional bureaus, sample data
Live Demo Studio Page
Versa Ops order screen with sample data: a walk-in order, its lines, VAT and the deposit still due
04Coming Soon2025 – 2026

Versa Ops

An ERP where each business is configuration, not code

Orders, jobs, stock and payments run on one engine, and each business's way of working is a preset: data, not a fork. The first presets are a made-to-order print shop and a display-hardware importer. Version 5 is a from-scratch rebuild of earlier versions that ran on ERPNext.

  1. Order
  2. Job
  3. Stock
  4. Payment
  5. Preset per business
Role
Product & engineering
Stage
Version 5 rebuild
Product Site Studio Page

02Experience

Where I've worked

  1. Nov 2026Present

    Backend Engineer Quantum Technology PLC

    Addis Ababa

    Backend engineer on the lending platform team.

  2. Jun 2026Oct 2026

    Backend Engineer EagleLion Systems Technology

    Banking platforms for Ethiopian banks · Addis Ababa

    NestJS and TypeScript microservices over PostgreSQL and MongoDB, on four production codebases at once. 450+ commits in four months; top contributor on three codebases.

    • GetFee, platform owner. A 10-service platform behind one API gateway. I built the gateway, sign-in and sessions, role and scope-based authorization, the shared approval engine, the audit trail, the payment rails (one-time password and USSD push payments, a status sweep, daily reconciliation), health checks, production images and CI. 164 commits and 2,600+ automated tests.
    • Dashen Wallet. Owned the customer, log and action services, and built the reconciliation service from scratch along with the portal dashboard API.
    • CBE Connect. Owned KYC and identity verification, documents and receipts, and merchants and mini-apps on the v2 rebuild, with a live end-to-end test suite. On v1, resolved a priority-zero identity-verification defect.
  3. Jan 2023Present

    Founder & Engineer VersaLabs Studio

    Product studio · Addis Ababa

    A small studio that builds its own products alongside software for local businesses. I make the product and engineering calls, write the code and own the result, from the data model through deployment and maintenance.

    versalabs-studio.com ↗
  4. Jan 2024Oct 2025

    Full-Stack Engineer Gensys Tech

    Contract, part-time, remote

    Built Potentia, a Bitcoin-mining fleet telemetry and P&L platform with real-time dashboards and financial modelling, and Pavilion360, which turned a static marketing site into a CMS-driven platform. Also worked on the Gensys company website and the team's Agora web app.

  5. Feb 2023Dec 2023

    Full-Stack Engineer Wovera Solutions

    Contract, remote

    Built the frontend for Fidel, a school-management system, in strict TypeScript with TanStack Query to keep types from drifting across a large codebase.

  6. Mar 2022Mar 2026

    BSc, Computer Science HiLCoE School of Computer Science & Technology

    Addis Ababa · Completed March 2026

    Capstone: ThreatMatrix AI, real-time network threat detection, built in a team of four.

03Index

Everything I've built since 2023

Products we're building at VersaLabs, banking platforms from EagleLion, client work, engineering and AI, and the projects I learned on. Open any row for the details.

  1. Versa OpsERP for Addis Ababa businessesProduct2025–26
    Versa Ops order screen with sample data

    Orders, jobs, stock and payments on one engine, with each business set up as preset data instead of custom code. Version 5 is a from-scratch rebuild of earlier versions that ran on ERPNext.

    Coming SoonProduct SiteStudio Page
  2. Versa RentRent management for commercial buildingsProduct2026
    Versa Rent arrears view with sample data: who owes what, today

    Rent, utilities and arrears for owners and property managers of office, commercial and mixed-use buildings in Addis Ababa, so they know who owes what, today.

    Coming SoonProduct SiteStudio Page
  3. Versa EstateReal estate CRMProduct2026
    Versa Estate product site

    A CRM for developers who sell off-plan and lease commercial space, from the first inquiry to the last instalment, white-labelled for each developer.

    Coming SoonProduct SiteStudio Page
  4. Versa FXForex bureau managementProduct2026
    Versa FX dashboard

    The teller counter, rates, branch cash, compliance and reports for a licensed forex bureau. A live demo runs on sample data.

    Coming SoonLive DemoStudio Page
  5. VersaLabs ADEA desktop workspace for AI coding agentsProduct2026
    VersaLabs ADE product site

    A desktop app for developers who run several AI coding agents side by side. It tells you the moment an agent finishes or needs you.

    Coming SoonProduct SiteStudio Page
  6. SafeFrameOn-device video content detectionProduct2026
    SafeFrame home page

    A two-tier model cascade that runs entirely on the device, shipped as a web app, an Android app and a browser extension from one shared core.

    In ProductionLive DemoSource
  7. GetFeeFertilizer subsidy platformBanking2026
    GetFee wordmark

    Connects farmers, sales agents and banks: allocations, agent point-of-sale and bank payments. I was the platform owner, at EagleLion.

    • NestJS
    • TypeScript
    • PostgreSQL
    • MongoDB
  8. Dashen WalletMobile wallet for Dashen BankBanking2026
    Dashen Bank logo

    Payments, transfers, airtime and bill pay for Dashen Bank customers. I owned the customer services and built the reconciliation service, at EagleLion.

    • Node.js
    • TypeScript
    • MongoDB
  9. CBE ConnectCross-border wallet for Commercial Bank of EthiopiaBanking2026
    Commercial Bank of Ethiopia logo

    A wallet for the diaspora in ETB and USD. On the v2 rebuild I owned KYC and identity verification, documents and receipts, and merchants and mini-apps, at EagleLion.

    • NestJS
    • TypeScript
    • MongoDB
  10. PrintOnline.etOnline print shop with instant pricesClient2026
    PrintOnline.et product options

    A live storefront for a print and branding house: an 8-step order pipeline, a matrix pricing engine, and Chapa payments with webhook verification.

    In ProductionVisit the Site
  11. Pana SportsEthiopian football, in English and AmharicClient2026
    Pana Sports on a phone and laptop

    Live scores, tables, fixtures, team and player profiles, and news for Ethiopian football fans, in English and Amharic.

    In ProductionVisit the SiteCase Study
  12. Pavilion360Rentals, quotes and leads from one websiteClient2025
    Pavilion360 home page

    A CMS-driven website for an event production company in Indianapolis, replacing a static marketing site. Their team updates it without a developer, and quote requests arrive as leads. Built at Gensys.

    In ProductionVisit the SiteCase Study
  13. PotentiaBitcoin-mining fleet telemetry and P&LClient2024–25
    Potentia site

    Fleet telemetry, real-time dashboards, P&L and financial modelling for a Bitcoin-mining operation. Built at Gensys.

    Visit the Site
  14. Live AddisWebsite for an Addis Ababa NGOClient2025
    Live Addis home page

    A clean, mobile-friendly website for a non-profit that supports vulnerable young people: mission, programs, team and news.

    In ProductionVisit the SiteCase Study
  15. Tamem KitfoOrdering and table bookings, bilingualClient2026
    Tamem Kitfo website

    A restaurant website in English and Amharic. Customers read the menu, order, book a table or ask about catering, and staff keep the menu up to date themselves.

    In ProductionVisit the SiteCase Study
  16. EventologyEvent discovery, ticketing and check-inClient2026
    Eventology home page

    An event platform for Addis Ababa in English and Amharic. Guests register in a few taps and carry a QR ticket, and organizers check them in at the door.

    In ProductionVisit the SiteCase Study
  17. Unlock Ethiopia PotentialBitcoin mining summit websiteClient2025
    Unlock Ethiopia Potential summit website

    The website for a two-day Bitcoin mining summit in Addis Ababa: agenda, speakers, partners and registration in one place.

    Visit the SiteCase Study
  18. OSKAZ E-CommerceAn online store built on the company ERPClient2025
    OSKAZ online store cart

    Let an importer's customers order online, not just by phone. Products and stock came from the company's ERP, and every order went back there for the sales team.

    Visit the StoreCase Study
  19. Ma Ma Beignet ERPCustom ERP dashboardClient2025
    Ma Ma Beignet ERP dashboard

    A custom ERP and operations dashboard built during the earlier, ERPNext-based versions of Versa Ops: accounting, HR, manufacturing, stock and orders in one view.

    Open the Dashboard
  20. Printing House WebsiteCorporate site for a printing and branding companyClient2025
    Printing company corporate website

    The corporate website for a printing and branding company in Addis Ababa, built with a teammate at VersaLabs.

    Visit the Site
  21. LiveTrackLivestock supply-chain dashboardClient2026
    LiveTrack dashboard

    A traceability platform for a meat exporter, from the animal to the finished product: the proposal, the data model and a clickable demo running on sample data.

    Live Demo
  22. Gensys WebsiteCompany website for Gensys TechClient2024
    Gensys company website

    The marketing website for Gensys Tech, the software firm I contracted with from 2024 to 2025.

    Visit the Site
  23. ThreatMatrix AIReal-time network threat detection · capstoneEng & AI2026
    ThreatMatrix AI command center

    An ML ensemble (isolation forest, autoencoder and random forest) scores network flows streamed over Redis Pub/Sub, and an LLM gateway writes each alert up in plain language. Built in a team of four.

    • Python
    • FastAPI
    • scikit-learn
    • Redis
    • Next.js
    Live Demo
  24. EventEyeEvent and venue intelligence dashboardEng & AI2026
    EventEye logo

    Pulls events from ticketing platforms, plus weather and traffic, into one operations map, removes duplicates across sources and scores each venue and night. Adds an AI nightly brief and a venue portal for permits and compliance.

    • Next.js
    • TypeScript
    • LLM
    Live Demo
  25. JARVIS CoreSelf-hosted AI coding orchestratorEng & AI2026

    Routed work across multiple LLMs with automatic fallback and 5+ MCP integrations (GitHub, Vercel, Notion), with schema-validated guardrails on every tool call. It ran autonomous development workflows on a self-managed Linux VPS until it was retired in October 2026.

    • TypeScript
    • MCP
    • LLM Routing
    • Linux
  26. Net GuardAnomaly detection for network security logsEng & AI2024–25

    Anomaly detection over network security logs, the groundwork for what became ThreatMatrix AI.

    • Python
    • Machine Learning
  27. StockETStock market viewerEng & AI2024–26

    Company search and pages, watchlists and portfolios built from transactions. A new version with an Ethiopian Securities Exchange board is in the works.

  28. Minab ClothingDemo storefront for Ethiopian fashionEarly2024
    Minab Clothing storefront

    A full shopping experience for a fashion brand, from browsing collections to checkout, stocked with sample products.

    In ProductionOpen the DemoSource
  29. TibebHabesha clothing e-commerceEarly2025

    An online store for traditional Ethiopian clothing (handcrafted dresses, menswear and couples' sets) with Stripe checkout.

    • Next.js
    • Supabase
    • Stripe
  30. Hospital BookingPatient appointments and staff schedulingEarly2025

    Patients book and manage appointments, staff work their schedule, and administrators get a dashboard.

    • Next.js
    • TypeScript
  31. Waste Management AppPickup requests on mobileEarly2025

    A mobile app where residents sign in and request waste pickups, built with a teammate.

    • Flutter
    • Firebase
  32. Task ManagerMobile applications course finalEarly2025

    A task manager app with gestures, forms and navigation.

    • Flutter
  33. AccessNodeUser management appEarly2024

    A full-stack app for signing up, signing in and managing users.

    • Next.js
    • PostgreSQL

04How I Work

Four habits I don't skip

  1. 01

    Prove it against the real system

    A passing test proves the code matches my model of the system, not that the model is right. Behaviour changes get checked against the live thing, with a control that can actually fail.

  2. 02

    Money code is different

    Idempotency keys, decimal money, reconciliation and an append-only audit trail from day one. A payment either happened once or it didn't happen.

  3. 03

    Own it end to end

    The data model, the API, the screen, the deploy and the 2 a.m. fix. I'd rather ship one thing whole than five things halfway.

  4. 04

    Write it down

    Handoffs, decisions and runbooks live next to the code, so the next person, or the next me, can pick it up cold.

Kidus Abdula in a dark suit and blue tie, smiling, outdoors in Addis Ababa
Now: Backend Engineer at Quantum Technology

05About

Engineer, founder, Addis Ababa

I studied computer science at HiLCoE and have been shipping production software since 2023: contract work for teams abroad, banking platforms for Ethiopian banks, and a studio of my own that builds products and client software. I like the parts of a system where being wrong costs money.

  • 3+years shipping production software
  • 10+products shipped at VersaLabs Studio
  • BScComputer Science, HiLCoE, 2026

Languages

TypeScript · JavaScript (Node.js) · Python · SQL

Backend

NestJS · Express · FastAPI · gRPC & Protobuf · REST & OpenAPI · Webhooks

Data

PostgreSQL · MongoDB · Redis · Prisma · TypeORM · Mongoose

Payments & Fintech

Payment rails · Idempotency keys · Reconciliation · Audit trails · Maker-checker approvals · Decimal money

Security

JWT sessions & revocation · Role & scope-based access · OTP lockout & throttling · Rate limiting

AI & ML

ONNX Runtime · WebGPU & WASM · Quantized models · scikit-learn · MCP servers · LLM routing

Frontend

React · Next.js · React Native · TanStack Query · Tailwind CSS · PWAs & extensions

Delivery

Docker · GitLab CI/CD · GitHub Actions · Vercel · Linux VPS · Nx & pnpm monorepos · Jest & live E2E

English (fluent) · Amharic (native)

06Contact

Let's build something that has to work.

kidus489@gmail.com

Based in Addis Ababa (GMT+3). I work async across time zones.