Stephan Grobler CV
Software Solutions Architect · Perth, Western Australia
Software Solutions Architect with 15+ years across the full delivery lifecycle, progressing from senior and principal developer to architect. I design and deliver enterprise process automation, systems integration, and web APIs, most recently on a regulated defence programme migrated to Azure PaaS. Strong in .NET, cloud (Azure, Entra ID), API and integration design, release governance, and mentoring engineering teams. Microsoft-certified: Azure DevOps Engineer Expert and Azure Developer Associate.
Skills
- Solution Architecture: Requirements analysis, process mapping & solution design; SDLC & delivery governance; technical design authority
- Integration, APIs & Messaging: Web API design; enterprise systems integration; event-driven & asynchronous patterns (messaging, pub/sub); REST & reporting integrations
- Cloud & DevOps: Azure (App Services, PaaS, Entra ID); Azure DevOps; CI/CD; Git branching & release management
- Languages & Frameworks: C# / .NET; JavaScript / TypeScript; Node.js; Angular; PHP
- Data: MS SQL Server (stored procedures, query optimisation); MySQL; MongoDB; Firebase
Experience
Software Solutions Architect · Flowcentric Technologies (Australia)
December 2021 – Present · Remote (South Africa) → Perth, Australia (Dec 2024)
- Solution architect on an enterprise process-automation programme for a defence shipbuilder, operating under strict release governance and audit requirements.
- Delivered the migration of the core workflow platform to Azure PaaS (App Services), including Entra ID authentication and Azure-hosted data sources.
- Designed and implemented the platform’s web API: reporting and integration endpoints with pagination, filtering, and aggregate metrics feeding enterprise reporting.
- Delivered systems integrations with enterprise asset-management and document-management systems, including engineering-change processes, data exchange, and offline-capability APIs.
- Modernised the platform by upgrading its managed-code and database stack to current .NET across all environments.
- Designed and implemented role-based access control and identity provisioning (Entra ID) governing production access for the user base.
- Owned end-to-end release management across dev, test, pre-production, and production, introducing a Git branching workflow that separated development, testing, and release paths.
- Consulted with customers and stakeholders to capture business requirements and map processes, applying SDLC discipline and best-practice governance to design fit-for-purpose solutions.
Principal Developer, Digital Solutions · Britehouse Automotive
January 2016 – November 2021 · Centurion, South Africa
- Worked across the Gears, McCarthy, and Toyota teams, delivering digital solutions and cross-system integrations.
- Built a real-time vehicle auction and bidding platform for the Toyota dealer network: a C# background service over a Redis backend with lightweight publish/subscribe (MQTT) messaging pushing live bid updates to participants.
- Introduced asynchronous architecture patterns (C# async/await, non-blocking data loading across client and service layers) to improve responsiveness and throughput.
- Acted as technical lead, setting engineering standards (dependency injection with unit-test mocking, CI/CD pipelines, standardised bug-report templates, and formal root-cause analyses for production incidents) with Jira-based task governance across the team.
- Improved client-ecosystem stability through better logging and effective error handling.
- Reduced fraud from incorrect banking details by implementing a bank-details verification system.
- Mentored and developed team members through regular one-on-one sessions, strengthening engagement and retention.
Senior Developer · Britehouse Automotive
July 2013 – December 2015 · Centurion, South Africa
- Redesigned customer systems, reducing ongoing maintenance effort.
- Implemented a vehicle reservation system that reduced dead stock.
- Developed a stock management system that reduced fraudulent transactions.
Developer · Eliance
July 2010 – July 2013 · Pretoria, South Africa
- Used open-source CMS platforms including Joomla and WordPress to improve customer-facing digital experiences.
- Improved customer engagement for Standard Bank by developing an ecommerce and loyalty platform.
- Increased property sales for Wakefields Estate Agents by building a custom property sales portal.
Graphic Designer · Seriti Printing
March 2006 – June 2010 · South Africa
- Designed and laid out a wide range of print materials (books, annual financial reports, flyers, posters, and business cards) and developed corporate identities.
- Taught myself web and systems development in my own time during this period, building websites and small applications that became the foundation of my move into software.
DTP Operator · Pro Graphics
2005 – 2006 · South Africa
- Handled page impositioning to ensure print-ready accuracy before producing film.
Projects
- AI-assisted development accelerator (2025 – Present): A .NET MAUI desktop application that uses a multi-agent LLM pipeline to generate application boilerplate (SQL, stored procedures, and C# code) from process designs, currently achieving ~60% automated code generation in practice. Designed the agent pipeline (planning, database design, stored-procedure, and event agents) with sequential, concurrent, and human-in-the-loop orchestration, plus vector embeddings and retrieval (RAG). C# / .NET MAUI, Microsoft Semantic Kernel, LLM agents, vector embeddings / RAG.
- McCarthy API (2014 – 2021): Central API for nine frontend implementations across HR, surveys, online training, parts ecommerce, vehicle stock management, and fraud prevention. C# (ASP.NET), MSSQL, AngularJS, Angular.
- Budgelope (Freelance · 2018 – 2022): Budget and expense tracking application built on the Firebase platform, including Realtime Database, Firestore, Cloud Storage, and Cloud Functions. Firebase, Angular, Node.js, MongoDB.
- Ciplavet (Freelance · 2015): iOS tablet sales-rep application tracking visits and locations for field calls, with Laravel APIs, an AngularJS admin portal, and an Ionic mobile app. PHP (Laravel), MySQL, AngularJS, Ionic.
- Vetlink / Vet360 (Freelance · 2012 – 2017): Continuing professional development application for veterinarians with in-app questionnaires, real-time polling, and location-based conference attendance tracking. PHP (WordPress plugins), Ionic, MySQL, JavaScript, Cordova.
Certifications & Awards
- Customer Support Award, Flowcentric Technologies, 2025
- Innovation Award, Flowcentric Technologies, 2024
- Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400), Microsoft, August 2023
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204), Microsoft, August 2023
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900), Microsoft, June 2023
- Angular Web Developer, Level 3, PluralSight, December 2018
- Zend Certified PHP Engineer (PHP 5.3), Zend, December 2013
Education
- Diploma studies, CTI, Pretoria (2003): Relational databases, Visual Basic, C++, and Networking. (Not completed.)