Software engineer / Backend & distributed systems

Shuai Zhang.

I build backend systems and write about the decisions behind them.

I’m a Software Engineer III at Zuora, previously at ByteDance. My experience spans backend development, distributed workflows, and engineering tools—with a foundation in software quality that shapes how I design, debug, and deliver.

Writing & notes Selected work

01Selected writing

Questions worth working through.

Notes on software architecture, reliable systems, and the way we build with AI.

Software architecture2026-02-28

An AI-Native Architecture Control System

Why architectural context needs the same discipline as the code it describes.

Read essay

Backend engineering2025-11-20

Building Better Monetization Systems

Engineering lessons from charge models, rating pipelines, and observability.

Developer workflows2026-02-18

Spec-Driven Vibe Coding vs. Claude Code Plan Mode

Choosing between fast iteration and reliability under complexity.

All writing

02Experience

Systems I’ve worked on.

Zuora

Software Engineer III

2022 — Present

Tech Lead for a one-year prepaid billing & subscription orchestration initiative.

Platform scale: 100K+ subscriptions and 100B+ usage transactions annually. 60% fewer state-flow failures; 75% better processing performance.

Read the engineering case study

ByteDance

Software Engineer in Test

2021–2022

Elink Elite

Software Testing Engineer

2019–2020

Background & engineering approach

03Beyond the job title

Still curious after work.

Outside engineering, I’m interested in hiking and outdoor decision-making. I also build small tools to explore ideas—from trail planning to AI infrastructure—and write about what I learn.

More about me

Personal explorations

Hiking route calculator

An experiment in turning trail data into practical outdoor decisions.

AI usage infrastructure

An independent exploration of metering and consumption controls. Personal work, not affiliated with my employer.

04Let’s connect