Hello 👋
I am Ricardo Canastro,
a Fullstack Software Developer
based in Portugal, specializing in frontend development.

About me

Ricardo Canastro

My name is Ricardo Canastro, a 37-year-old Software Developer from Porto, Portugal, proud father of two and blessed with a beautiful wife.

From my earliest years, I found myself captivated by computers, undoubtedly fueled by my love for gaming. With over 13 years of immersion in the software development industry, I can affirm my unwavering dedication to my profession. My thirst for knowledge is unyielding, and I am committed to both expanding my expertise and imparting it to others.

Career

  • Founding Engineer at Arro

    2022 - 2024
    I joined Arro as one of the founding engineers, tasked with developing an AI Research Assistant to support teams in crafting superior products.
    A few highlights of my time at arro:
    • Developed a series of proof-of-concepts to test various hypotheses.
    • Created a modular monolithic Node.js backend with Hexagonal Architecture.
    • Developed a design system.
    • Implemented a real-time chat system including interface design, event-sourcing, and real-time communication protocols.
    • Developed the AI engine responsible for agent conversations, summarizations, and generating reports.
    • Built a proof-of-concept for a voice-based chat system.
    • Built a proof-of-concept Web SDK to embed Arro in customer's websites.

  • Lead Frontend Developer at Rows

    2018 - 2022
    Joined Rows at an early stage to help build the next generation of spreadsheet tools.
    A few highlights of my time at rows:
    • Created our in-house spreadsheet engine with React.js + Canvas.
    • Created a formula composer parser with ANTLR for both Typescript and Dart.
    • Created a open-source dart statemachine library.
    • Created a desktop application with Dart/Flutter.

  • Senior Fullstack Developer at PaddyPower - Betfair

    2014 - 2018
    At PaddyPower Betfair, my team led the development of a platform aimed at accelerating the creation and distribution of new internal tools.
    A few highlights of my time at paddypowerbetfair:
    • Created a micro-frontend architecture to allow teams from multiple offices to create and deploy internal tools

Side projects

On my journey as a developer, I've had the opportunity to work on a variety of side projects. Some were just for fun, others were to learn a new technology, and a few were for clients. Here are some of the projects I've worked on.

  • Rome Foundation

    Flutter iOS and Android app for the Rome Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with functional GI disorders.

  • Custom's Tshirt designer

    Created a custom t-shirt designer for ASI Custom, a company that provides custom apparel and promotional products.

  • Video-scene shopping

    Created a working prototype for a custom video player with a built-in shopping experience where user's could buy products shown in pre-configured scenes.

  • Sleep tight little one

    As I was learning Flutter, I created this small application to help parents put their children to sleep.

  • Automata

    While developing Rows' flutter app, I created a small library to create state machines and state charts.

  • Chronical

    (work in progress)
    A web3 platform to empower content creators to monetize their content.

Elsewhere

You can find me around the web as @canastro in most places.