Nelson Durañona

Software Engineer & Applied Data Scientist

📧 pdmlenson@gmail.com 📞 +595 983 610 544 📍 Paraguay 🔗 linkedin.com 🐙 GitHub / GitLab

Summary

Results-driven Software Engineer with over 9 years of experience in backend development and a recent MSc in Applied Data Science from Utrecht University. Proven track record in building high-throughput APIs, real-time analytics pipelines, and deploying ML models to production. Passionate about both traditional software engineering (backend and frontend) and data-driven solutions. Seeking a role where I can contribute as a Software Engineer, ML Engineer, or Data Engineer, bridging scalable systems.

Skills

Coding Python (expert), Java (expert), SQL, Typescript, PHP, Bash, R; Adequate in C

AI/IDE Cursor, VS Code, Jupyter

Machine Learning PyTorch, OpenCV, Scikit-learn, spaCy, Pandas, Numpy, Seaborn, Weka

Data Engineering ETL, Apache Spark, data pipeline orchestration, familiar with Databricks

Frameworks Django, Flask, Spring Boot, JavaEE, Symfony

Databases PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, Elasticsearch, MongoDB

Infrastructure Docker, Podman, Linux, AWS (ECS, EC2, S3, SQS, SNS, CloudWatch), Grafana, Graphite, Traefik

DevOps Tools Jenkins, Gitlab-CI

Tools Git, Maven, npm, QGIS

Web Servers NGINX, Apache Tomcat, NodeJS

Languages (Spoken) English (professional), Spanish (native), Guarani (native), Dutch (A1 – learning)

Work Experience

Software Engineer · Kenility LLC (Remote · Client: TruVideo, USA)

Oct 2021 – Present

Designed and maintained marketing platform REST APIs focused on high-volume delivery of messages and campaign processing for nationwide (US) dealership customer communication workflows.
Integrated SMS, WhatsApp, and Google Business Communication APIs into a unified notification system, addressing delivery reliability and provider-specific constraints.
Managed AWS services and infrastructure monitoring (S3, SQS, EC2, CloudWatch) and optimized database performance (30% CPU reduction) through data access optimizations.
Maintained and upgraded a sentiment analysis microservice for inbound replies, including evaluation and alerting pipelines.
Stack: Java (Spring Boot), PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, DynamoDB, Docker, Elasticsearch, Python, AWS (Lambdas, ECS), observability tools.

Master Thesis Intern · Readar (The Netherlands)

Apr 2025 – Jun 2025

Developed an algorithm for height model adjustment to calibrate aerial and LiDAR heights. Effectiveness assessed by comparing original and adjusted DSMs through visual inspection and volume computation, which decreased by approximately 10%.
Stack: Python, GDAL libraries, scikit-image, Bash, Docker, QGIS.

Software Engineer · Cosmosoft S.A

May 2019 – Oct 2021

Designed architecture, REST APIs, and integrated modules for e-commerce, chat, payments, and video conferencing on SmartumTrading.com.
Dockerized and migrated on-premises servers to the cloud, reducing downtime and stability issues from outdated operating systems by 30%.
Developed and deployed a secure digital signature module using Java Cryptography Architecture (JCA), and implemented DevOps practices including Jenkins CI/CD pipelines.
Stack: PHP7, PrestaShop, Jitsi, Docker (Swarm), MongoDB, NGINX, Linux, Grafana, Graphite, JavaEE, Jenkins, Maven, Traefik, Bash, GlassFish, Micronaut, Scaleway API, Apache Tomcat, JAXP, React.

Software Engineer · Centro de Desarrollo Sostenible S.A.

Jan 2017 – May 2019

Integrated First American payment API into a sales management platform, enabling secure payment processing.
Built motion detection and computer vision pipelines for a CONACYT-funded sports training system.
Backend services (RESTful APIs) and ETL/Pentaho pipelines for a dengue disease monitoring platform, delivering data alerts to the Ministry of Public Health for outbreak tracking and response.
Debugged and optimized performance issues for an ERP system used by an agro & livestock client, improving software stability and efficiency.
Stack: JavaEE8, Spring Boot, Python (Django), OpenCV, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, Redis, Elasticsearch, Kibana, Pentaho/ETL, Wildfly, Docker, PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, Bootstrap, Angular.

Education

MSc. Applied Data Science (Highest Degree) · Utrecht University

2024 – 2025

Utrecht, The Netherlands
Thesis: A Digital Surface Model Adjustment Method Using a Reference-Based Correction Approach – Readar Case Study.
Relevant topics: Text and media analysis, causality and social dynamics, recommendation systems design, spatial statistics, and machine learning.

BSc. Informatics Engineering · National University of Asuncion

Graduated

Asunción, Paraguay
Thesis: RGB Inter-Channel Measures for Morphological Color Texture Characterization.

Diploma in Computer Programming · National University of Asuncion

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Achievements & Publications

Publication: A DSM adjustment method using a reference-based correction approach, Readar Case Study
Master Thesis Utrecht University, 2025 — https://studenttheses.uu.nl/handle/20.500.12932/50063

Third Place, TruVideo Code Challenge 2023 — With eight teams competing. Our team was honored with a financial award. Built a PDF-processing and indexing tool using NLP and text mining techniques.

Publication: RGB Inter-Channel Measures for Morphological Color Texture Characterization
Journal: MDPI Symmetry, 2019 — https://doi.org/10.3390/sym1110190

Publication: Dengue disease, Open data and alerts
Journal of the National Council of Science and Technology of Paraguay, 2015.

🔹 Additional highlights
• CONACYT-funded computer vision pipelines (sports training system).
• Published open-data alerting system for Ministry of Public Health (Paraguay).
• MSc thesis at Readar (Netherlands) — LiDAR/DSM calibration & volume error reduction (~10%).