Hi, I'm Alex

A software engineer building scalable backend systems, with a focus on cybersecurity and machine learning.
ANT

About

I am Tulbure Alexandru Nicolae, a Computer and Information Technology engineer from Timișoara, Romania, currently pursuing two master's degrees in parallel: Machine Learning at the Politehnica University of Timișoara and Cybersecurity at the West University of Timișoara. Although I am primarily a Platform Engineer, specializing in building scalable and robust backend systems, I also do enjoy working on the Frontend side of things. Additionally, I have a passion for content writing and conducting research on various topics, particularly in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and System Architecture.

Work Experience

O

OPSWAT

April 2025 - Present
Associate Software Engineer
  • Joined OPSWAT as a Part-time Associate Software Engineer in June, 2025.
  • Began my journey with OPSWAT through LigaLabs, a 3-month program by Politehnica University of Timișoara that connects students with industry opportunities.
  • Continued as an Associate Software Engineer, working on an Email Phishing Detection project.
A

AUMOVIO

April 2023 - July 2023
Liga AC Labs Intern
  • A three-month internship (April – July 2023) through Liga AC Labs, the industry programme run by Politehnica University of Timișoara.
  • Implemented and analysed core automotive functionalities in C, working hands-on with embedded systems concepts and automotive software development practices.

Education

P

Politehnica University of Timișoara

2026 - 2028
Master's Degree in Machine Learning | Faculty of Automation and Computers | Taught in English, 120 ECTS
W

West University of Timișoara

2026 - 2028
Master's Degree in Cybersecurity | Faculty of Informatics | Taught in English, 120 ECTS
P

Politehnica University of Timișoara

2022 - 2026
Bachelor's Degree in Computer and Information Technology | Diploma project: 10/10 | Four-year average: 9.78/10
G

Grigore Moisil Theoretical High School

2018 - 2022
High School Diploma | Grade 9-12 | Final average: 9.92/10

Skills

Next.jsNext.js
Typescript
Node.js
Python
Postgres
Docker
C / C++
Rust
C# / .NET
Java
Spring
Machine Learning

Projects

I like to build projects. I have built a lot of projects, here are just some of my favorites.

TripleA — Argus · Aegis · Athena

TripleA — Argus · Aegis · Athena

Bachelor thesis platform, graded 10/10: two native detection engines plus an explainer, behind a single web interface. Argus classifies files, Aegis classifies URLs, and Athena turns each verdict into plain language. Every result sits side by side with the MetaDefender equivalent — Argus against its 21-engine multiscan, Aegis against its aggregated URL reputation.

React 18 (Vite)
Tailwind CSS
Node.js (Express 5)
Rust (FFI via koffi)
Python (FastAPI)
MongoDB
Qdrant
Redis
Docker Compose
OPSWAT MetaDefender
Argus — File Detection Engine

Argus — File Detection Engine

A native multi-layer file scanning engine (Rust cdylib, shipped as argus.so/argus.dll) that fuses three layers into one verdict: hash and reputation lookups in LMDB, deterministic byte-pattern and fuzzy-similarity signatures, and an XGBoost model exported to ONNX and routed per file format by a selector. Format-aware PE and PDF parsers build the feature vector, and hyperlinks embedded inside documents are scored too. Standalone evaluation reaches F1 0.97–0.98 and ROC-AUC above 0.99 for both formats.

Rust
ONNX Runtime
XGBoost
LMDB
PE / PDF parsing
Docker
GitHub Actions
Aegis — URL Classification Engine

Aegis — URL Classification Engine

A native URL-classification engine (Rust cdylib) that reduces a URL to a canonical 107-feature lexical vector — structural, character, length, entropy, ratio and security signals — and scores it through an XGBoost model exported to ONNX, returning Clean / Suspicious / Infected without ever fetching the target page. Trained on nine public corpora deduplicated into a single set; F1 ≈ 0.96, ROC-AUC ≈ 0.99. Also embedded inside Argus to score hyperlinks found in documents.

Rust
ONNX Runtime
XGBoost
Optuna
SHAP
Athena — RAG Security Assistant

Athena — RAG Security Assistant

The component that makes a verdict intelligible: a retrieval-augmented assistant answering questions over OPSWAT documentation and live scan results. Query rewriting contextualises follow-ups, hybrid dense + sparse retrieval over Qdrant fuses results with RRF, a cross-encoder reranks them, parent-child assembly builds the context, and a 24h Redis cache fronts generation — with Prometheus timings on every stage.

Python
FastAPI
OpenAI
BGE-M3
Qdrant
Redis
Prometheus
ML Training Pipeline

ML Training Pipeline

The model supply chain behind both engines: a ten-step DAG covering feature extraction, filtering, statistical profiling, Optuna tuning (a cold search then a warm-started refinement), XGBoost training, SHAP explainability, ONNX export and held-out evaluation — running either as an AWS SageMaker Pipeline or as local subprocesses. Feature parity is guaranteed by construction: the engine's own Rust extractor is vendored in and called through ctypes, so training sees exactly the features production computes.

Python
XGBoost
Optuna
SHAP
ONNX
AWS SageMaker
S3
Docker
DarkRISCV — RV32I Soft-Core CPU

DarkRISCV — RV32I Soft-Core CPU

A working RISC-V RV32I processor written from scratch in Verilog, with a three-stage fetch/decode/execute pipeline wrapped into a System-on-Chip — memory, serial port, timer and LEDs — targeting a Terasic DE2 Cyclone II FPGA and simulatable on any PC with Icarus Verilog. Documented for readers meeting processor design for the first time.

Verilog
RISC-V
FPGA
Icarus Verilog
Terasic DE2
BattleShip

BattleShip

A modern, full-stack implementation of the classic Battleship game with real-time multiplayer capabilities, built using Test-Driven Development (TDD) principles.

React.js
Node.js
Express.js
MongoDB
TailwindCSS
Axios
BuildSync

BuildSync

BuildSync is a MERN-based construction management platform that streamlines workforce administration, attendance, leave, salaries, and client work requests through role-based dashboards for Admins, Employees, and Clients.

React.js
Node.js
Express.js
MongoDB
TailwindCSS
Axios
Uno Game

Uno Game

Uno Game is a digital version of the classic card game Uno, featuring real-time multiplayer gameplay, customizable rules, and an engaging user interface.

React.js
Vite
Tailwind CSS
Framer Motion
Lucide React
React Hot Toast

Get in Touch

Ask me anything you would like. I always respond :D

Or just want to have a casual chat? you can just shoot me a dm on Twitter or LinkedIn.