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Alfredo Torre Alfredo Torre
About

I lead and build intelligent, distributed systems. These days I work as a technical project manager who still writes code: I coordinate delivery across teams, and I build the parts I care most about myself.

What I’m working on

  • Agentic systems: orchestrating multiple AI agents with Semantic Kernel, plus my own experiments with the Hermes agent orchestrator.
  • RAG with knowledge graphs and ontologies: retrieval that follows explicit relationships and meaning, not only vector similarity.
  • Machine learning and deep learning: models and pipelines on Azure AI Foundry and Azure Machine Learning.
  • Cloud-native .NET: .NET 10 and Aspire services, containerised on Kubernetes, AKS and Azure Container Apps.

How I got here

My career started where AI and the Semantic Web meet. Between 2011 and 2013, at the University of Catania, I co-authored three peer-reviewed papers (ICEIS, Springer) on integrating government data with ontologies, then worked as an HPC system administrator on genomic research projects. The ideas behind today’s GraphRAG, meaning captured in a graph that software can reason over, are the ones I started with. I graduated with a Master’s in Computer Engineering, summa cum laude.

In 15+ years since, I’ve worked across very different industries:

  • Industrial automation: designed CNC robotics platforms in .NET/C#.
  • Scala and functional programming: for years I built distributed systems in Scala with Play, Akka HTTP, Cats and http4s. That work is behind most of the older posts on this blog and projects like PureCSV, and it still shapes how I design software.
  • E-sports: drove the evolution of the monorepo CI/CD platform at ESL Gaming.
  • Global logistics: as Tech Lead at Descartes Systems Group (NASDAQ: DSGX), coordinated software delivery for containerised shipping, combining architecture, DevOps culture and mentoring across international teams.

I’m pursuing ML specialisation alongside project-management certifications (IBM IT Project Manager, PMI PMP). I’m open to senior leadership roles where people, systems and AI meet.

Outside work I read a lot of science fiction, and I keep a few functional-programming side projects going. More on LinkedIn.

Skills & Technologies

  • AI & intelligent systems: agent orchestration, Semantic Kernel, RAG / GraphRAG, ontologies & knowledge graphs, Azure AI Foundry, machine learning, deep learning
  • Platform & cloud: .NET 10, Aspire, Kubernetes, AKS, Azure Container Apps, Docker, CI/CD, AWS, GCP
  • Languages: C#, Typescript, Python, Scala (functional programming background), Java
  • Architecture & leadership: software architecture, microservices, project management, technical leadership, mentoring
  • Data & search: PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Qdrant, Redis
  • Frontend: Angular

Experience

  • Technical Project Manager, Darwin Technlogies - Harmonic Innovation Tech - Catania, Nov 2025 → Current
  • Tech Lead, Descartes Systems Group (Kontainers) - Worldwide, Jun 2021 → Current
  • Senior software engineer, ESL - Germany - Worldwide, Nov 2019 → May 2021
  • Lead software engineer, Further - London (UK), Mar 2017 → Nov 2019
  • Lead software engineer, FCS System - Treviso (IT), 2014 → Jan 2017
  • General system administrator, COMETA, Catania (IT), Mar 2014 → Sep 2014
  • Information Technology and Services Consultant, DIEEI, Catania (IT), Jun 2014 → Aug 2014
  • Mobile app backend developer, A2PLAB, Dec 2013 → Feb 2014

Education

  • Master of Science in Computer Engineering, University of Catania (IT) — thesis presentation, Nov 2011 → Nov 2013
  • Scholarship holder, University of Catania (IT), Jan 2013 → Jun 2013

Certifications

  1. GCP: Securing and Integrating Components of your Application. Certification date: September 2019. See certificate.
  2. GCP Developer Enablement Program. Certification date: June 2019. See certificate.
  3. Google Cloud Platform Fundamentals: Core Infrastructure. Certification date: May 2018. See certificate.
  4. Angular 7 (formerly Angular 2) - The Complete Guide. Certification date: October 2018. License UC-9SPINQOW. See certificate.
  5. Functional Programming Principles in Scala by École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne on Coursera. License ALDULU43AC. Certificate earned on 29th June 2014.
  6. Computer Forensics by Università di Catania, earned on September 2012. Course syllabus. (ITA)

Publications

  1. Giordano D., Torre A., Samperi C., Alessi S. and Faro A. (2013). An Ontology based Approach to Integrate Data and Maps - In the Government Enterprise Architecture: A Case Study. In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems - Volume 3: ICEIS, ISBN 978-989-8565-61-7, pages 356-362. DOI: 10.5220/0004558403560362.
  2. Giordano D., Torre A., Alessi S., Costanzo A. and Faro A. (2013). Integrating Distributed Data Bases in a Semantic Framework - The K-Metropolis Project. In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems - Volume 1: ICEIS, ISBN 978-989-8565-59-4, pages 322-328. DOI: 10.5220/0004558203220328.
  3. Giordano D., Torre A., Samperi C., Alessi S. and Faro A. (2013). Joining Data and Maps in the Government Enterprise Architecture by a Semantic Approach: Methodology, Ontology and Case Study. In: Hammoudi S., Cordeiro J., Maciaszek L., Filipe J. (eds) Enterprise Information Systems. ICEIS 2013. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 190. Springer, Cham.

Books I like

  • Remembrance of Earth’s Past Saga, by Cixin Liu
  • Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (ZAMM), by Robert M. Pirsig
  • Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Harari, Yuval Noah
  • The Mystery of the Aleph: Mathematics, the Kabbalah, and the Search for Infinity, by Amir D. Aczel
  • The Dark Tower, by Stephen King
  • The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography, by Simon Singh
  • Foundation, by Isaac Asimov
  • Terra!, by Stefano Benni

Films I like

  • Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan (2014)
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick (1968)
  • The Matrix, directed by the Wachowskis (1999)
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day, directed by James Cameron (1991)
  • The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan (2008)

Find me on GitHub, GitLab or LinkedIn.