digitalcat

Limited availability

From green field to fully integrated.

Former CTO, hands-on engineer.

I build B2B platforms from scratch in Java & Kotlin and connect them to the systems your business runs on. I have 20+ years of experience, from PayPal to smart factories. I work remotely from Croatia (CET), and clients keep me for years.

Tell me about your system See my work
Damir Palinic, Java & Kotlin engineer and former CTO
Damir Palinic Senior engineer · former CTO Digital Cat · Split, Croatia LinkedIn profile →
Years in software
20+
How long my last three clients stayed
4–7 yrs
Platforms built from scratch, one as CTO
2
Airlines using the onboard retail platform I worked on
20+

Worked with

  • PayPal
  • PDF Solutions
  • eGate Solutions
  • Myosotis
  • Rhapsody
  • ReversingLabs

Sound familiar?

Services

What I can take off your plate

01

Green-field platforms

I build Java & Kotlin backends from a blank page and design them to handle real load and stay easy to change.

  • Spring Boot & Quarkus microservices
  • Event-driven messaging with Kafka & MQ
  • APIs and data models on SQL & NoSQL databases
02

Integrations & deployment

I connect machines, platforms and third-party APIs, and ship it all to Kubernetes.

  • Apache Camel integration pipelines
  • Connectors for third-party APIs & legacy systems
  • Docker & Kubernetes deployments
03

Legacy rescue & modernisation

I'll take over the codebase nobody wants to touch and make it safe to work on again.

  • Incremental refactoring instead of a risky rewrite
  • Test coverage first, then changes
  • Database & platform migrations

Selected work

Long engagements, real systems

Care & healthTeam lead → CTO

Myosotis: secure care communication

Challenge
A care-communication startup needed its platform built from zero.
What I did
I built the backend from scratch, then led the engineering team and later became CTO.
Outcome
The platform went through several investment rounds, and caregivers use it to share content securely with residents' families.

Kotlin · Spring · Kubernetes

Semiconductor manufacturingGreen-field build

PDF Solutions: low-code integration platform

Challenge
Semiconductor companies needed a faster way to build their factory integrations.
What I did
I designed and built, from a blank page, a low-code/no-code integration platform.
Outcome
Customers build their own integrations without writing code.

Java · Quarkus · Apache Camel · Kubernetes

Airline retail7-year engagement

eGate Solutions: onboard retail platform

Challenge
An established buy-onboard sales platform (TS5) needed ongoing development for its airline customers.
What I did
Full-stack work across the backend and the web frontend on the airline side of the product.
Outcome
Seven years of continuous delivery on a product used by airlines worldwide.

Java · Spring · Angular

Payments & locationTeam lead

PayPal: location-based services

Challenge
The legacy mobile REST services and their MySQL data store, holding millions of points of interest and offers, needed modernising.
What I did
I led a team of 7 through the legacy refactoring and a full migration from MySQL to MongoDB.
Outcome
The system delivered offers, fuel prices, weather and cinema showtimes to mobile users across the USA.

Java · REST · MySQL → MongoDB

Toolbox

Technologies I work with daily

Languages
JavaKotlin
Frameworks
Spring BootQuarkusApache Camel
Messaging
KafkaMessage queues (MQ)
Data
PostgreSQLMongoDBCassandraElasticsearch
Frontend (when needed)
ReactRedux
Infrastructure
DockerKubernetes

How I work

A long-term partner, not a short-term fix

I work full-time on a monthly retainer (about 20 days a month) as part of your team, so you get a senior engineer who knows your system inside out and stays with it. My clients have stayed with me for 4, 6 and 7 years.

Retainers start from €8,000 / month.

Why not just hire?

Hiring a senior engineerRetainer with me
Time to start3–6 months to recruitWeeks, not months
Ramp-upMonths to become productive20+ years of seeing similar systems
Extra costsRecruitment fees, benefits, equipmentOne monthly invoice
CommitmentEmployment contract30-day notice on either side

  1. Tell me about your system

    Use the form below to tell me what you're building, what's broken, and what you need.

  2. Async scoping

    I send written questions, and if needed I review the code under NDA.

  3. Video call & proposal

    If there's a fit, we have one video call to meet properly. Then I send a proposal with scope, start date and monthly price.

  4. Ongoing delivery

    Pull requests your team can review and a written update every week. I'm on CET hours, which overlap with all of Europe and US mornings.

Commercials

  • All code and IP belong to you
  • Happy to sign your NDA and GDPR data processing agreement
  • Invoiced monthly in EUR or USD by a Croatian (EU) company, with reverse-charge VAT for EU clients
  • I work in your tools: GitHub or GitLab, Jira, Slack or Teams

Continuity

  • Documentation as I go: architecture notes and runbooks in your repo
  • Holidays announced weeks in advance
  • 30-day notice on either side
  • A structured handover to your team whenever the engagement ends

Contact

Let's talk about your system

Tell me a bit about the project. I read every enquiry and reply within 2 business days.

References from past clients are available on request.

I don't work with recruiters or take sales pitches.

Prefer email? dpalinic [at] digitalcat.io

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