// software engineer
MatthewHahn
Software engineer at Amazon, based in Toronto. Six years building systems at scale. Computer engineering graduate from Queen's University. Currently building Beemoot on the side.
./about
Queen's University
BASc Computer Engineering
Class of 2017
I graduated from the computer engineering program at Queen's University in 2017. I have a passion for technology, building, and programming.
After graduating, I joined Grip Limited, a Toronto advertising agency, where I rebuilt their proprietary ad software from the ground up into a fully serverless, scalable product. 1.5 years of deep full-stack work across Python, TypeScript, React, and a suite of AWS services.
In 2020 I joined Amazon, where I've spent the past five years building software at a scale (world-wide marketplaces, hundreds of millions of customers). Working at Amazon has sharpened my instincts for systems design, operational excellence, and customer obsession.
Outside of work, I'm building Beemoot. It is a side project I've been working on and plan to launch soon. I'm also starting to write regularly here, mostly about the experience of building something from zero.
// recognition
- 1st PlaceQueen's IEEE Student Papers Competition, 2017
- FinalistProfessional Engineers Ontario Kingston Chapter Student Papers Competition, 2017
- Dean's ScholarQueen's University Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, 2016–2017
./work
Work Experience
Amazon
currentBuilding software at scale across Amazon's infrastructure. Six years of shipping production systems used by millions of customers.
- →Joined as SDE I in 2020 and promoted to SDE II in 2022
- →SDE for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), building and maintaining inventory placement systems to manage all Amazon Seller shipment placement decisions, optimizing placement logic to reduce Amazon's costs and improve the Seller experience.
- →Currently working in Amazon Books, for the Author Follows team. Tech lead for the Amazon Author page, one of Amazon's highest traffic pages world-wide.
Grip Limited
Worked on a small development team to rebuild Grip's proprietary advertisement software from the ground up into a fully scalable, serverless architecture on AWS.
- →Full stack web development with Python, DynamoDB, TypeScript, ReactJS, and Webpack
- →Designed and implemented a scalable NoSQL database schema with AWS DynamoDB
- →Wrote 30+ API endpoints in Python controlling the entire business logic of Grip's ad builder software, including authentication and authorization
- →Implemented real-time web chat using WebSockets with AWS IoT Core as the message broker
- →Configured and shipped with AWS API Gateway, Cognito, DynamoDB, ECS, IoT Core, Lambda, S3, and SES — learning each service from scratch
- →Continuous integration and deployment of web applications using Docker containers
London Hydro
Learned Python to write scripts for internal operations. Worked with cloud infrastructure monitoring.
- →Created a log parser that reads large volumes of server log data, parses it, and inserts into Oracle database — runs on production daily
- →Wrote Nagios plugins to monitor London Hydro's cloud usage on Google Cloud Platform and AWS
- →Built a Flask web application for internal registration, deployed via Google App Engine
./projects
Selected Work
Drone Detection System
Award-winning final year engineering project. C++ program that analyzes radio signals to detect drones operating nearby — capable of detection up to the maximum physical range of the drone controller.
Garnet Language Compiler
Built a complete compiler for Garnet, a new programming language based on Ruby. Implemented all phases: scanner, parser, semantic analysis, and code generation in S/SL and PT Pascal.
Game AI with Neural Networks
Neural network that reads in-game player actions and predicts engagement, frustration, and challenge levels — trained on a dataset of Mario players.
QBNB — House Renting Service
Full-featured AirBnB-style rental platform for Queen's alumni. Built with two teammates as a third-year database course project.
Queen's Rocketry Website
Designed and built the team website for Queen's Rocketry Engineering Design Team. Consulted with the team to determine features.
Arduino Robotic Arm
Constructed an Arduino-controlled robotic arm for circuitry exploration and embedded programming. Capable of moving and grabbing objects in 3 dimensions using servos.
Hangman++
Group project with 6 team members. Full-featured hangman game with a complete dictionary, three difficulty levels, multiple custom game modes, and a fully designed UI with dynamic themes.
Solar-Powered Digital Sign
First-year engineering design project. Portable, programmable, solar-powered digital sign that can be transported by a single person and reprogrammed in the field. Donated to a local organization.
// currently building
Beemoot
Find your next best friend. Get involved in your community.
Beemoot is a platform to help you find your next best friend and get involved in your community doing the things you love.
// currently building
ViewMyVault
A single place to store all of your favourite things, and share with friends.
A fun way to show people what you can about, and it grows with you over time. You can truly show how long you've loved something.