About
Hi, I’m Rodolfo Mendes
Senior software engineer helping Java developers build cloud-native AI applications with Spring AI.
My work
Production-ready AI for Java
I’m a senior software engineer from Brazil, and I’ve been building backend systems in Java since 2008. That work has taken me from enterprise software in Uberlândia to cloud services at Microsoft and product engineering at ClassPass.
This site is where I help Java developers build cloud-native AI applications with Spring AI, using the habits that keep production systems healthy: automation, testing, security, and safe deployments.
My story
A career shaped by Java, cloud platforms, resilient systems, and practical engineering.
2008–2018
Learning the craft
Moving between companies and industries over those years gave me a lot of practice at learning a new business quickly, from sales territories and exclusivity contracts to airline portals and payments.
2018–2021
Going remote
In 2018 I joined BairesDev and started working remotely on projects for international clients. For inPowered.ai, I built REST API integrations with Facebook, Twitter, Taboola, and Outbrain that kept a high-volume ad distribution pipeline running. For BrightInsight, I built backend services with Spring Boot on Google Cloud and Kubernetes for a Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) platform, helping it reach the market faster while maintaining regulatory compliance.
2021–2026
Cloud and product engineering
At Microsoft, I worked on the Defender Experts team, building security services for premium customers. I automated the provisioning of the Azure resources the service depended on, which helped it reach general availability. I led engineering initiatives that improved the availability and resilience of the team’s microservices, and I wrote Azure Policies, with automated deployment, that flag and block non-compliant resources across the team’s cloud estate.
Along the way, I trained engineers across the organisation on internal infrastructure-as-code tools, deployment automation, and safe deployment practices. Helping other engineers adopt practices like these is what I want to keep doing here.
Backend development since 2008
AI and Java
Why Spring AI
Alongside my day jobs, I’ve spent years studying artificial intelligence. I completed Coursera programs in machine learning, the mathematics behind it, natural language processing, and generative AI with large language models.
In 2019 I started rodolfomendes.ai, a blog about AI, machine learning, and data science. I’ve written articles and tutorials there using Python with NumPy, pandas, Matplotlib, Seaborn, scikit-learn, and Google Colab.
Spring AI brings my Java engineering experience and AI study together. I write for developers who want to take AI features past the prototype and into production.
Education
Education and certifications
I hold a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from São Paulo State University (UNESP).
My Coursera certifications include Generative AI with Large Language Models, Natural Language Processing Specialization, Mathematics for Machine Learning Specialization, and Machine Learning.
Every article on this site is grounded in resilient microservices, cloud automation, security and compliance requirements, and testing what actually works for users.
Let’s connect
What are you building?
If you’re a Java developer exploring AI, I’d like to hear what you’re building. Connect with me, explore the articles, or send me a message.