HEAD OF İT

Deputy Chief Technology Officer
Idrak Technology Transfer, Azerbaijan | May 2025 – Sep 2025
Leading the development of a comprehensive IT strategy to diversify income streams, improve cross-team collaboration, establish a structured workflow management system, expose R&D teams to real-time, field-tested challenges, and strengthen the company's public image.
Achievements:
Negotiated and initiated the signing process of a potentially highly profitable framework contract, while also contributing to drafting its terms.
Demonstrated strong foresight by accurately anticipating company changes more than 6 months before they occurred. Developed and proposed a strategy to navigate the challenging situation, which the company eventually decided to implement.
Established a strategic framework agreement with the country’s top scientific institute, laying the foundation for commercialization of high-impact R&D projects.
Senior Embedded Systems Engineer
Idrak Technology Transfer, Azerbaijan | Mar 2024 – May 2025
Architected and developed the complete embedded system software for hardware devices in flagship projects
Designed and implemented smart embedded devices, including tracking bracelets for law enforcement, biometric-based smart door systems, and a central hub for smart home automation.
Mentored junior developers, improving team productivity and technical skill levels.
Configured development environments for embedded C projects.
Revamped and optimized legacy projects, enhancing system performance, reliability, and efficiency.
Co-Founder / CTO
Multiple ventures, Azerbaijan | Oct 2020 – Jul 2023
Spearheaded product and operations across a portfolio of tech-enabled small businesses, focusing on education, and automotive prototyping.
· Defined product strategy, built roadmaps and operational processes for multiple revenue streams (online education, 3D-printed automotive spare parts, exam-preparation platforms).
· Recruited and managed remote teachers, instructors and external vendors.
· Designed and launched digital marketing programs (acquisition funnels, content & social campaigns) that drove user signups and engagement.
· Established an end-to-end 3D printing supply chain for automotive spare parts: prototyping, materials sourcing, quality controls and customer fulfillment.
· Led development of near-real practice testing platform (requirements, vendor selection, UX oversight, and ongoing improvements based on user feedback).
· Responsible for P&L oversight, vendor contracts and cross-functional coordination between product, marketing and operations.

Project Manager / Solutions Architect
UNDP @ ICTLab, Azerbaijan | Aug 2019 – Jan 2020
Led technical delivery of multiple IoT and embedded projects from concept through prototype, production readiness and initial commercialization.
· Owned solution architecture, technical specifications and project plans for IoT initiatives (Air Quality Monitor, Parking Observer, Fleet Management, Cleaning Drone, Sound Analyzer).
· Coordinated multidisciplinary teams (hardware engineers, firmware developers, data scientists, and external manufacturers) and managed stakeholder relationships with UNDP and local partners.
· Delivered production-ready outcomes: prepared Air Quality Monitor for serial production and delivered working hardware/software prototypes for the Parking Observer.
· Advanced commercialization: secured a customer prospect for the Fleet Management solution and established handoff documentation for scale-up.
· Led R&D efforts for the Cleaning Drone’s turbine prototypes and supervised iterative testing cycles to reach stable designs.
· Directed data/ML experimentation for the Sound Analyzer — achieved 79% model accuracy during neural-network training and documented model performance and deployment constraints.
· Link: https://ted.az/az/view/news/9634/bakutel-2019-sergisinde-eshyalarin-interneti-helleri-teqdim-edilecek
IoT Projects Founder
Self-Employed, Azerbaijan | Oct 2016 – Aug 2019
Founded and led multiple IoT initiatives from concept to pilot deployment, combining hardware, firmware, and cloud components for smart automation solutions.
· Directed end-to-end development of “LivingGarden”, an intelligent plant monitoring and irrigation system (status: under development).
· Delivered the “SmartFacility” project for Gilan Holding, overseeing firmware, connectivity, and dashboard integration (status: pilot testing).
· Designed and developed custom LED controller software for light and aroma therapy systems (status: completed and delivered).
· Conducted feasibility studies, managed technical documentation, and coordinated prototyping and field testing.
· Trained Cisco Enhanced ITE courses during the same timeframe, mentoring students in networking, Linux administration, and IoT fundamentals.
Head of IT Infrastructure Division
FINCA, Azerbaijan | May 2016 – Oct 2016
Managed a Level 3 support team for 50 branches and HQ.
Conducted internal IT audits.
Provided monthly and annual reports (active projects, outages etc.)
Achievements:
Reduced annual network costs by $40,000 and enhanced backup reliability.
Implemented fire safety compliance for server rooms
Introduced zero cost network High Availability solution for the branch offices (ADSL + 3G).
Revealed and fixed severe backup malfunctions.
Initiated the reconfiguration of the global domain structure, laying the groundwork for improved system organization and efficiency.
Head of IT Department
Intellectual Transport Management Centre, Azerbaijan | Aug 2014 – May 2016
Directed an 11-person team, providing technical guidance and performance evaluations.
Conceptualized and delivered multiple innovative IT solutions and reports.
Achievements:
Developed and implemented new report formats for executive management.
Developed new bus arrival time prediction algorithm.
Redesigned the company’s website, including a live bus route feature and trip planning service.
Minimized website downtime by 60–70% and doubled its performance.
Led the development of a next-generation traffic light system with enhanced efficiency and functionality.
Initiated low-cost hardware and software upgrades for smart traffic lights.
Introduced ticket management software for the helpdesk.
Developed core system's database update procedures and step-by-step manuals.
Reduced the system failure probability by 80%.
Optimized the cooling system according to the temperature requirements of the server equipment.
Reduced hardware resource consumption by 35% through optimized usage policies.
Created policies and step-by-step guides for server and client operating systems, and for our own custom software.
Successfully completed multiple medium- and large-scale projects.
Professional Experience not Relevant to the Role:
Leading DevOps Engineer
Prosys, Azerbaijan | Jul 2023 – Feb 2024
Introduced Docker containerization and automation scripts, reducing deployment time by 70%.
Developed an automated test generator for database tables and views.
Improved security and compliance by enforcing best practices across the DevOps lifecycle.
Enhanced user experience and satisfaction by implementing resource usage forecasting.
Mentored and guided junior DevOps specialists.


System Administrator / Project coordinator,
Government organizations, Azerbaijan: Aug 2012 – July 2014
Achievements:
· Lead the IT team during “Final Four” game preparations (European Volleyball Championship)
· Initiated the deployment of the hardware monitoring
· Conducted IT audits. Initiated major security changes for the network infrastructure as a result
· Participated in the “TIER 3 Data Center” project (negotiations and documentation)
· Optimized ArcGIS database server and client software. Greatly increased read/write speeds
System Administrator / Project coordinator
International Airport, Azerbaijan | Nov 2008 – May 2012
Achievements:
· Migrated AZAL’s Microsoft Exchange (Mail) Server from 2000 to 2007, improving system reliability and performance.
· Coordinated urgent repairs of business-class multimedia systems, completing the task in just three days despite initial expectations of impossibility.
· Developed automated monitoring and self-recovery scripts for a mission-critical yet highly unstable software system, ensuring continuous operation.
· Identified the root cause of the “Kido” virus outbreak within the network and initiated organization-wide security policy reforms across headquarters and all branches.
· Mentored IT personnel from multiple organizations operating within the airport, enhancing their technical skills, security awareness, and operational efficiency.