Schalk Pienaar

Software · Architecture · Leadership

Notes on building software that lasts, and the teams that build it.

I’m Schalk, an engineering leader and software architect based in Auckland. I’ve spent more than twenty years building trading and financial platforms for investment banks and asset managers in London and New Zealand. This is where I write up what I’ve learned along the way.

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Illustration: domain services and a legacy core connected through an event busevent busClient APIsGatewayTradesPricingRiskLegacy core
fig. 1 · growing a new design around the old one
  • Legacy modernisation
  • Clean Architecture & DDD
  • API design & integration
  • Engineering leadership
  • AI-assisted engineering

01 Latest writing

Latest4 min read

Modernising a trading platform without stopping the desk

Big-bang rewrites of front-office systems rarely end well. Here is how I approach changing a legacy platform while traders keep using it every day.

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02 Context

Currently

Technical Consultant, Modern Integration at ASB Bank

Helping move the bank’s API platform onto BIAN-aligned service domains, and building AI-assisted workflows for API design and review.

Career history

Previously

Two decades in financial services technology

Jarden · Legal & General Investment Management · BlueBay · Commerzbank · Credit Suisse · Bank of America Merrill Lynch · Calyon · ABN AMRO · RBS

Elsewhere

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See it differently? Let’s compare notes.

The best ideas in these articles came from conversations with colleagues. If something here resonates, or you’d push back on it, I’d like to hear from you.

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