Alexander TankSystem Architect
Systems Thinker
.NET & Azure

Alexander Tank

The work no one sees, so everything else just works.

I've spent almost 20 years at SoftwareONE, growing from full-stack developer to system architect. Along the way I've learned to look for the big picture and to build trust, so people tell me what's really going on, even when it's uncomfortable. I aim for software that is good enough for what it needs to do, and no more complicated than that.

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How I work

Where technology meets business, I build the bridge.

TechnologySoftware architectBusiness
  1. Listen

    Listen to both sides

    Business talks about goals, customers and deadlines. Engineering talks about services, data and failure modes. I learn both languages until I can explain each side to the other.

  2. Design

    Design what connects them

    Good architecture is translation. I turn business goals into clear boundaries and explicit data flows, and I hold the system to one consistent set of ideas. That's conceptual integrity. Written-down decisions make it visible, so everyone can see why the system looks the way it does.

  3. Connect

    Close the gap

    A bridge only works when traffic flows both ways. Requirements come in, working software goes out, and feedback finds its way back.

Values

Good architecture starts with the business problem, not the technology. I look at the whole system, question assumptions, and keep the people who build and use it in mind.

Trust first

I talk to people openly, listen closely, and try to understand where they're coming from. I explain difficult situations honestly and help out where I can. Over time, people come to me with the real story, including the problems they wouldn't raise anywhere else. That's how hidden risks surface early and teams fix them together.

Systems thinking

A change in one service ripples through teams, data and operations. I look at the whole picture before I optimize a part.

Critical and empathic thinking

I question ideas directly, including my own, and I listen to the people affected by a decision before I make it.

Business problems first

Technology is a means. Every design should make a real process faster, cheaper or more reliable for the people using it.

Simplicity

The simplest system that solves the problem is the easiest to run, change and hand over. That is what keeps customers satisfied.

People come to me for
Advice on architecture and hard technical decisions, an honest second opinion, exchanging experiences
Colleagues say
Structured, reliable, trustworthy and empathetic. A good listener who brings people together, and a clear, patient mentor with the big picture in mind.
Background
Trained IT specialist for application development (Fachinformatiker Anwendungsentwicklung)
Languages
German, English

Skills

Architecture

Macro architecture today, micro architecture from ten years of hands-on development.

Systems thinkingArchitecture & process diagramsMicroservicesModular monolithEvent-driven architectureDDDCQRSHexagonal / Ports & AdaptersVertical slicesTeam Topologies

.NET backend

Production C# since the .NET Framework days, now on modern .NET.

C#ASP.NET CoreEntity Framework CoreDapperMediatRREST & RPC APIsOpenAPIT-SQL

Azure & DevOps

Provisioning, deploying and securing Azure services as code.

App ServicesAzure SQLService BusBlob StorageKey VaultPulumiTerraformAzure DevOpsPowerShell

Security & identity

Secret-free service-to-service access and solid authentication flows.

Managed IdentityAzure RBACEntra ID (Azure AD)OAuth / OpenID ConnectAuth0OWASP

Quality & observability

Automated tests first, and visibility once it runs.

Unit testingMockingBDDSOLIDApplication InsightsGrafana

Ways of working

Agile in national and international teams, in client projects and in-house products.

ScrumKanbanLeanMentoringTech talksWriting docs

Frontend

UI work from my full-stack years. I can still build it, but it has rarely been my focus in the last five years.

HTMLCSSJavaScriptTypeScriptAngular

Career

Full CV on LinkedIn
  1. 2022 – 2027
    SoftwareONE

    System Architect · Product System

    Architecture and implementation of a central product system that digitizes SoftwareONE's software delivery process.

  2. 2020 – 2027
    SoftwareONE

    Member of the Architecture Chapter

    Architects from different teams solving cross-team problems: a shared library for automatic access-token renewal, plus guides on Managed Identity, Key Vault and zone-redundant Azure services.

  3. 2019 – 2022
    SoftwareONE (formerly COMPAREX)

    Software Engineer → System Architect

    Front-office automation for quotes connected to the ERP, a product and price system with automated price-list imports, and a purchase price API for inside sales and customers. Onboarded new colleagues to Azure and infrastructure as code.

  4. 2012 – 2019
    COMPAREX AG

    Software Developer · UI Lead

    UI lead for the COMPAREX Online license procurement portal, a Microsoft CSP subscription portal and an early microservice proof of concept on Azure. Client projects for Swiss retailers (VB6 to .NET migration), Saxony's population register (SAKD), the German Environment Agency and a video portal on Azure Media Services for Deutsche Wohnen.

  5. 2018 – 2019
    TechTeens Leipzig

    Mentor

    Taught teenagers JavaScript, HTML and p5.js by building a small jump-and-run game together, in an initiative of COMPAREX and the City of Leipzig.

Certifications
  • AZ-900Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
  • 70-533Implementing Microsoft Azure Solutions
  • MCSAWeb Applications
  • 70-486Developing ASP.NET MVC Web Applications
  • 70-480Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3
  • 70-516Data Access with .NET Framework 4

Selected projects

2022 – 2027

Central product system

Designed and built the system at the heart of SoftwareONE's software delivery process, replacing manual steps with one digital flow.

MicroservicesDDDAzure.NET
2020 – 2021

Product & price system

A central product and price catalog that imports price lists from many sources automatically, monitored end to end.

ASP.NET CoreAzure SQLHangfireGrafana
2020 – 2027

Shared Azure foundations

In the Architecture Chapter: a token-renewal library used across teams and guides that made Managed Identity and Key Vault the default.

PulumiManaged IdentityAzure RBACAuth0

Beyond work

Sim racing

F1 esports driver

Racing EA Sports F1 in the MRL Sim Racing league. Consistency and race craft matter more than one fast lap, much like running production systems.

Outdoors

Running, cycling, hiking, kayaking

Time away from the screen is where many designs get clearer.

Team & fitness

Volleyball and the gym

A team sport where nobody wins alone, and training that rewards showing up regularly.

Making things

Cooking, baking, woodworking

Building something with my hands, with real materials and no undo button.

Travel

Seeing the world

Places I've been and what I took away from them, written up on my travel blog.

Sharing

Passing knowledge on

Talks at our internal Developer Open Space, many internal wiki guides, and mentoring at TechTeens Leipzig.

Blog

Tech All posts →

Travel All posts →

First trips coming soon.

Contact

I'm open to roles as a system or solution architect, or as a software or platform engineer. If that fits your team, let's talk.