Lucas Achaval

Tech Lead and Software Engineer in fintech, payments, and stablecoins

• Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina (UTC−3) · Remote
• Email: achaval.lucas@gmail.com
• Website: https://lucasachaval.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucas-achaval
• GitHub: https://github.com/LucasACH
• PDF: English resume · Spanish CV

Summary

Tech lead and software engineer with 4 years building systems that move real money, from US banking and stablecoin payments to on-chain automation. Early engineer at Shield (a16z crypto CSX), a fintech that has moved $600M+ for businesses in 120+ countries. Ships much of the product with AI coding agents like Claude Code and Codex.

Experience

Tech Lead, Shield

Jun 2024 – Present · Remote · Cross-border banking, stablecoin payments, and cards · Backed by a16z crypto CSX, Giant Ventures, Factor Capital

• Joined early and now lead architecture on a small, flat team, directing the AI agents that implement most of the code.
• Built the stablecoin payments system end to end. It processed $10M in its first six months.
• Work across the whole TypeScript stack, from the Fastify API and PostgreSQL to the Next.js dashboard.
• Set up how we build with AI agents, giving each task its own isolated environment and writing down architecture decisions so agent-written code stays easy to review.
• Built the controls that protect customer money, like multi-factor payment approval, limits, screening, and account freezes.
• Worked with compliance to move KYC/KYB onboarding into the product.
• Manage all AWS infrastructure as code in Terraform, with services running on ECS Fargate. Every PR runs sharded integration tests and Playwright E2E tests.

Blockchain Developer, Self-employed

Oct 2022 – May 2024 · Freelance · Remote · Argentina

• Built and ran on-chain automation in production on Ethereum and Layer 2 networks, swapping tokens, bridging assets, and providing liquidity on DeFi protocols through direct smart-contract calls.
• Handled everything that keeps these systems reliable, from transaction signing, nonces, and gas to RPC providers and failed transactions.
• Designed and built an algorithmic cryptocurrency trading system from scratch.

Digital Designer & Composite Laminator, ScarlessFoils

Jan 2019 – Mar 2020 · Part-time · On-site · Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

• Designed carbon-fiber hydrofoils in Autodesk Fusion 360, CNC-machined their molds, and laminated the final parts.

Education

• Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) — Bachelor’s degree in Data Science · Aug 2023 – Jul 2027 (expected)
• University of Buenos Aires (UBA) — Computer Science studies · Mar 2019 – Jul 2023
• Goethe Schule Buenos Aires — Trilingual High School Diploma, Natural Sciences · 2006 – 2018

Skills

• Languages: TypeScript, JavaScript, SQL, Python, Solidity
• Backend: Node.js, Fastify, Express.js, PostgreSQL, REST APIs, OpenAPI, Zod
• Frontend and testing: Next.js, React, Tailwind CSS, Vitest, Playwright
• Cloud and DevOps: AWS, Terraform, Docker, GitHub Actions, Vercel, Cloudflare
• AI engineering: Claude Code, Codex, agentic development workflows
• Domain: Payments, stablecoins, KYC/KYB, Ethereum and EVM, Layer 2, DeFi

Languages

Spanish: Native · English: Professional (Cambridge B2 First) · German: Limited working (DSD II)