Software engineering · Technical leadership

I build systems.
I grow people.

I'm Palesa Thulo, a Software Engineering Lead with a .NET and Azure background, a systems-analysis mindset, and a practical understanding of how software moves from business need to production.

Explore my journey ↓Connect on LinkedIn ↗
Build: C# · .NET · APIsCloud: Azure · Service Bus · FunctionsData: SQL Server · EF CoreDelivery: Git · Azure DevOps · CI/CD
Beyond the job titles

My journey is more than a list of technologies.

Each chapter gave me a different way to look at a problem—and those perspectives now shape how I lead engineering work.

I began with a foundation in IT, software development and system analysis. That combination taught me to look beyond the code: understand the requirement, consider the people using the system, and think about how the solution fits into a wider business process.

My early IT experience gave me practical grounding. At SigniFlow, I developed further as a core software engineer, working on application features and integrations in a business-critical product environment. I then moved into engineering leadership at SMSFlow, where the work extends beyond implementation to technical decisions, delivery, code quality, team support and production-minded problem-solving.

Alongside my engineering journey, my business-analysis work has strengthened the bridge between stakeholder needs and technical execution. My studies in China, including Mandarin and systems analysis, also helped shape my communication skills and my comfort working across different perspectives.

Today, I'm interested in opportunities where I can contribute hands-on technically, take ownership of delivery, mentor engineers, and keep growing in .NET, cloud architecture and system design.

Career timeline

From learning the foundations to leading delivery.

A career shaped by technical depth, business context and increasing responsibility.

Software Engineering Lead

SMSFlow

Leading engineering delivery for a cloud-connected messaging platform, from implementation and review through testing, releases and production support.

  • Support team delivery, task readiness, code quality and engineering standards.
  • Work across .NET services, Azure Functions, Service Bus, APIs, SQL and authentication.
  • Investigate production behaviour and integration issues, balancing reliability, performance and delivery priorities.
  • Help engineers unblock work, clarify scope and improve implementation quality.
  • Coordinate changes across DEV, QA, staging and production, including release readiness and deployment communication.
  • Work on SMS provider integrations, delivery-status callbacks and API reliability, and investigate messaging failures and performance.

Software Core Engineer

SigniFlow

Built and maintained software in a digital-signature and enterprise workflow environment.

  • Worked with C#/.NET, APIs, databases and application integrations.
  • Contributed to single sign-on and third-party service integrations, including certificate and digital-signature-related workflows.
  • Developed experience in troubleshooting, maintainability and delivering software within an established product.

ICT Intern

South African Diamonds and Precious Metals Regulator (SADPMR)

Built the practical IT foundation that started my professional journey, developing an understanding of support, systems and how technology serves an organisation.

Business Analyst

Blacksheep Media

Bring a business-analysis perspective to work—helping connect requirements, business objectives and digital solutions.

Explore Blacksheep Media ↗

What I bring

Technical depth, with the bigger picture in view.

I work across implementation and delivery, and I keep developing the architecture and leadership skills needed to build dependable software.

01 / ENGINEERING

Application development

Building and maintaining application services with attention to readable code, maintainability and practical problem-solving.

C#.NET / ASP.NETBlazorEF CoreREST APIs
02 / CLOUD

Azure & integrations

Working with cloud services and asynchronous messaging patterns that connect applications and business processes.

Azure FunctionsService BusApp ServiceAzure B2COAuth / JWT
03 / DATA

Data & persistence

Working with relational data, SQL troubleshooting and database-backed application behaviour.

SQL ServerT-SQLMySQLData modelling
04 / DELIVERY

Engineering practices

Supporting a dependable path from changes in source control through validation and deployment.

GitAzure DevOpsCI/CDTestingSDLC
05 / LEADERSHIP

Team & technical delivery

Clarifying work, helping engineers navigate blockers, reviewing quality and keeping delivery aligned to scope.

MentoringCode qualityPlanningProblem-solving
06 / ANALYSIS

Business & systems thinking

Translating business needs into clearer requirements, considering data and process, and communicating across technical and non-technical contexts.

RequirementsSystem analysisDocumentationStakeholders
Selected work & problem spaces

The problems I know how to work through.

Professional systems often contain confidential information, so I describe the engineering problem spaces without exposing company code, internal architecture or customer data.

Enterprise integrations

Identity, signing & third-party services

Experience connecting applications to external services, authentication flows and digital-signature-related capabilities. The engineering challenge is making systems communicate reliably while handling errors and edge cases.

.NETREST APIsOAuth / OIDCIntegration design
Cloud messaging

Asynchronous processing & message delivery

Work in a messaging-platform context involving cloud functions, queues, batch processing and troubleshooting. These systems require careful attention to throughput, retries, observability and delivery state.

Azure FunctionsService BusSQLMonitoring
Engineering leadership

Making delivery clearer for a team

Helping a team move from a ticket to a production-ready change: clarify scope, identify blockers, support implementation and keep quality visible throughout delivery.

PlanningCode reviewMentoringQuality
Independent projects

Small projects that show my foundations

Earlier projects gave me space to practise front-end fundamentals, interaction and practical problem-solving. They remain part of my journey, but they are not the full measure of my professional experience.

Tip calculatorQuote generatorHTML / CSS / JavaScriptView tip calculator ↗View quote generator ↗

Note: These are professional experience summaries rather than public case studies. Add verified outcomes and approved technical details when available.

Education & credentials

A technical foundation with a global perspective.

2011 — 2013

National Diploma in IT

Durban University of Technology · Software Development and System Analysis

2016 — 2018

Business & Systems Analysis / Mandarin studies

Jiangxi University of Technology, China. International student leader, 2017–2018; English–Mandarin translation experience.

Microsoft Azure Fundamentals ↗Technical Team Management · UCT ↗
The next chapter

Let's talk about what we could build.

I'm interested in roles where strong engineering, thoughtful technical leadership and meaningful delivery meet—particularly in .NET, Azure, enterprise integrations and system design.

Email me about an opportunity ↗
LinkedIn ↗DEV Community ↗Beyond Tech with Mbalz ↗Current live portfolio ↗