About Dirk
About me
Approach
Background
Dutch
Native or bilingual
English
Fluent
French
Fluent
Experience
- Art Now DatabaseFull-Stack Engineer — AI-Powered Data PlatformSOFTWARE PUBLISHINGJanuary 2025 - Today (1 year and 5 months)Brussel, Belgium=> Art Now Database — artnowdatabase.eu (in development)Commissioned by ANDDesign and development of a scalable platform aggregating international art data into a unified, searchable system.
- Architecting a high-performance search engine combining data from multiple international art sources into a single structured database
- Building fully automated data pipelines (Python) for web scraping, normalization, deduplication, and continuous updates
- Implementing AI-assisted data enrichment using locally hosted language models (LLMs), enabling intelligent content extraction, classification, and enhancement without external APIs
- Designing a scalable data architecture (MongoDB) optimized for fast search, filtering, and geolocation-based queries
- Developing a performant front-end with Next.js, focused on usability, SEO, and fast data retrieval
- Handling heterogeneous and unstructured data sources, transforming them into consistent, high-quality datasets
Environment: Python, MongoDB, Next.js, CloudflareFocus: Data pipelines, AI integration (local LLMs), search optimization, scalable architecture - Tomorrow Never KnowsLead Full-Stack Engineer (SaaS / Real-time)SOFTWARE PUBLISHINGApril 2024 - April 2026 (2 years)Brussel, Belgium= > Assessment Tool — SaaS platform (Volvo Cars Benelux)
- Lead engineer responsible for the technical ownership and evolution of a large-scale assessment platform used in production.
- Took over and stabilized a complex, single-developer codebase, improving structure, maintainability, and long-term scalability
- Led large-scale refactoring efforts to transform a fragile system into a more reliable and robust platform
- Diagnosed and resolved critical performance issues, significantly improving responsiveness and system stability
- Designed and implemented real-time features (Ably), enabling synchronized multi-user sessions and complex workflows
- Contributed to both front-end and back-end architecture, ensuring consistency and performance across the full stack
- Worked closely with stakeholders to align technical solutions with business needs and product requirements
Environment: Next.js, React, Node.js, TypeScript, GraphQL, Google Cloud PlatformFocus: Real-time architecture, performance optimization, large-scale refactoring- Strong client satisfaction — reference available on request, including direct discussion with the project owner
- Multiple organizationsWeb Platform Optimization — GDPR, Analytics & SEOSOFTWARE PUBLISHINGNovember 2023 - December 2025 (2 years and 1 month)Brussel, Belgium= >Web Platform Optimization & Compliance (Freelance)
- Audited and improved multiple websites to ensure GDPR compliance, including removal of tracking risks and implementation of privacy-friendly solutions
- Replaced Google Analytics with Umami (self-hosted, Neon PostgreSQL) to provide compliant and lightweight user analytics
- Conducted SEO improvements leading to increased visibility and search performance
- Delivered practical, business-oriented solutions balancing compliance, performance, and usability
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Education
- Complete Python DeveloperZero To Mastery Academy2023Complete Python Developer
- JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures MasterclassUdemy Alumni2023JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures Masterclass
Certifications
- Aard- en delfstofkunde (geologie)KULeuven1990