Hi, I'm Alex

I'm Alex Mboutchouang, a Python developer and IT consultant based in Hannover, Germany. I build AI applications, APIs and process automation on Azure, and on the side I build and run my own products from the first line of code to the server they live on.

This is the longer version of the story.

How it started

I studied computer science at the African Institute of Computer Science from 2013 to 2016. The focus was networking, systems and programming, and it's where I wrote my first lines of Python in 2015. I haven't really stopped since.

Hannover and machine learning

In 2019 I moved on to a Master of Science in Computer Science at Leibniz University Hannover, focusing on machine learning, artificial intelligence and data mining.

For my master's thesis, Pre-Training for Non-English Neural Retrieval Models, I worked on teaching search models to handle languages other than English: preparing training data and pre-training retrieval models with Python, Transformers, BERT and Haystack. It was my first deep dive into the kind of AI work I do today, and it taught me that most of the effort in machine learning goes into the data, not the model.

From web apps to automation

My professional Python career started in September 2020 at Sneo GmbH, where I worked as a full-stack web developer until February 2022. I built web applications with Flask and Vue.js, wrote automation and scripting tasks in Python and contributed to the CI/CD pipelines behind our web projects.

In April 2022 I joined IT-P GmbH as a working student in process automation. That meant software development, robotic process automation (RPA), SharePoint development and Power Platform solutions: less glamorous than machine learning, but it showed me how much time companies lose to manual, repetitive work.

What I do today

Since March 2023 I've been an IT Consultant at IT-P, where I bring both worlds together: AI and automation for real business processes.

• Quotation automation: AI-assisted quotation processes for manufacturing, built with Python, FastAPI, Azure, Azure Foundry and Power Automate.
• Order capture: an AI-based MVP using Python, Azure Functions, pandas, NumPy and Power Automate.
• Data integration: n8n workflows that keep two systems automatically in sync.

The common thread is simple: take a process people do by hand, make it faster and more reliable, and leave the team with more time for the work that actually needs them. I also enjoy the part around the code, contributing to the technical decisions that shape a project.

Scoreboards, my own project

Since 2024 I've been building Scoreboards on my own: a platform for Cameroonian football with live scores, statistics and standings. I develop both sides, a Django and PostgreSQL backend and a Next.js frontend, and I run it myself on Linux with GitHub Actions, Docker, Docker Swarm, Traefik and NGINX.

Being the developer, the ops team and the product owner at the same time teaches you a lot, fast. Lately Scoreboards also predicts match results; I wrote about how its Elo-based engine works in this article (in French).

My toolkit

• Languages: Python, TypeScript, SQL
• Data: pandas, NumPy, PostgreSQL, data preparation, database design, data synchronisation
• AI and machine learning: Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Document Intelligence, Azure Foundry, Transformers, BERT, Haystack, PyTorch, TensorFlow
• Azure: Azure Functions, Azure Storage, Azure web services
• Backend and web: FastAPI, Django, Flask, Next.js, Vue.js
• Automation: Power Platform, Power Automate, n8n, RPA
• DevOps: Linux, Git, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, CI/CD, Ansible, Docker, Docker Swarm, Traefik, NGINX

I'm a Microsoft Certified Azure AI Engineer Associate and Azure Administrator Associate, and I hold the AZ-900 and AI-900 fundamentals certifications.

I speak French natively, German at C1 level and English at B2.

What's next

After years of building for clients and for Scoreboards, I'm now building my own SaaS products: small, focused tools that solve one problem well. This blog is where I'll write about that journey, about AI and automation in practice, and about whatever I learn along the way.

If you'd like to work together, have a question or just want to say hello, write me an email. I read every message myself.