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zlatanov

Tested. Shipped. Changeable.

Engineering habits for boring deploys.

The Dwarves delved too greedily and too deep. So did your codebase.

drums in the deep

Every long-lived system has a Moria: the module that was built fast, built deep, and woke something nobody wants to face.
You can hear the drums.

  • Releases that need a weekend.
  • Fixes that break two other things.
  • Estimates that start with "it depends".

The way through is TDD, clean code and CI/CD.

  • TDD

    A test before every change, so nothing breaks in the dark.

  • clean code

    Refactoring under that cover, so the code says what it means.

  • CI/CD

    A pipeline that judges every commit, so the lights stay on.

I'm Boyan Zlatanov, a software architect with 19 years in enterprise software. On my last platform ~1,500 unit tests, ~70 end-to-end tests and an 80% coverage gate kept bug recurrence near zero and let us drop manual QA; trunk-based development and CI/CD took releases from two weeks to under an hour.

I bring that to teams as an independent consultant: talks that make the case, workshops that build the skills, and time embedded in your team until your engineers can walk the mine on their own.

Tell me which module everybody is afraid of.

boyan@zlatanov.xyz

services

Three ways teams bring me in. Every engagement starts with a short conversation about what is slowing you down, and ends with your team owning the result.

Java & Spring delivery

Senior hands on the systems that matter, from greenfield services to legacy modernisation.

you get

  • Production-ready Spring Boot services with clear module boundaries
  • Legacy code brought under test and refactored without a big-bang rewrite
  • Architecture decisions written down and understood by the whole team

a good fit if

  • Your Spring codebase has grown faster than its structure
  • Releases feel risky and refactoring keeps getting postponed
  • You need senior capacity now, without a long hiring cycle

engagement: Embedded in your team for a fixed scope or on a rolling monthly basis.

TDD & DDD coaching

Turn testing and modelling from a chore into the way your team designs software.

you get

  • Fast, trustworthy test suites that make change cheap
  • A shared domain model and language across product and engineering
  • Engineers who drive design from tests without a coach in the room

a good fit if

  • Tests exist but nobody trusts them, or they take too long to run
  • Business rules are scattered across services, controllers and SQL
  • You want the practices to stick after the consultant leaves

engagement: Pairing and mob sessions on your real codebase, plus short focused workshops.

CI/CD & developer experience

Pipelines that make every commit deployable and every deployment boring.

you get

  • Trunk-based delivery with automated quality gates and fast feedback
  • Repeatable builds, environments and releases as code
  • Lead time and change-failure rate you can actually measure

a good fit if

  • Deployments are manual, scheduled or something people dread
  • The pipeline is slow, flaky or understood by one person
  • You are moving to containers or the cloud and want to get delivery right first

engagement: A short assessment first, then hands-on implementation with your platform or delivery team.

how I work

Tests first, always
Every change starts with a failing test. It keeps the design honest and turns refactoring from a risk into a routine.
Model the domain, not the database
Code that speaks the language of the business stays understandable when the business changes.
Small, releasable steps
Trunk-based development and pipelines that deploy on green. Feedback in minutes, not at the end of the sprint.
Leave the team stronger
I pair, write things down and hand over. The engagement has worked when the team no longer needs me.

what clients say

  • “I've worked with many architects throughout my career, and Boyan stands out because his contribution went far beyond architecture. He supported the team with hands-on management, proposed new processes that made us work better, and consistently defended the domain model so it stayed clean, clear, and meaningful to the business.

    He also championed acceptance test driven development, which cut our bugs to almost zero, with only a handful of edge cases. That's a level of quality I haven't seen on many other projects. I'd gladly work with Boyan again and recommend him to any team that needs a technical leader who cares about both people and product quality.”

    Tsvetomir Ivanov, Product Manager, TINQIN (part of BeYs group)
    1/3Next testimonial

  • “A dedicated professional who takes every task to heart. He delivers solid solutions with clear costs, pros, and cons analysis.”

    Nikolay Oblakoff, Founder, Conservative.bg
    2/3Next testimonial

  • “I've had the pleasure of working with Boyan on several software projects over the years. He is both a great team player and someone you can trust to deliver tasks and entire projects independently. He brings many years of experience across different technology stacks and has a strong understanding of what makes software projects successful. He pays attention to the things that really matter, from choosing the right architecture to building reliable, maintainable software and following good development practices. I would gladly recommend Boyan to any team looking for an experienced software developer and project lead.”

    Todor Ivanov, Technical Lead / DevOps
    3/3Next testimonial

contact

The quickest way to reach me is email. Tell me a little about your team and what you are trying to change, and I will get back to you.

boyan@zlatanov.xyz LinkedIn

what helps me reply well

  • The size of the team and the stack you run
  • What is slowing you down or worrying you right now
  • Whether you are after hands-on delivery, coaching, or an assessment
  • Rough timeline and where the team is based