About
My two cents before you read it: never underestimate what you pick up along the way, even if it doesn’t seem useful at the moment. It might come in handy later. (even if not directly)
So hi 🙋♂️, I’m Netanel, a software engineer based in Israel, building end to end production-ready systems, from backend services and infrastructure to cloud-native applications and native iOS apps (in my free time).
I started out in IT and networking (mainly L2–L4), where I was already exposed to security and offensive security practices early on. Later, while working full-time in parallel, I studied computer science at the Open University of Israel, which helped me formalize and deepen how I think about systems.
Through all of this, I learned fundamentals, not frameworks.
Books that changed how I think about software (and still do):
- Computer Networks
- The Art of Software Security Assessment
- Modern Operating Systems
- Introduction to Algorithms
- Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach
- Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques
Around 2018, alongside my IT work, I trained in Offensive Security (pentesting), which gave me an attacker’s perspective I still rely on today.
What I work with
My background leans security and low-level, since this is where i started, and I’m comfortable moving across the stack depending on what the system needs.
- Systems & performance: C / C++, memory, operating systems, concurrency, and performance-oriented design.
- Networking & security: L2 and above, TCP/IP, routing, and a pentester’s mindset.
- Backend & data: C++ (boost,cryptopp,openssl), Python (async, FastAPI, data & ML libraries), APIs, and data pipelines.
- Infrastructure: Docker, Kubernetes, GCP, AWS, and operating cloud-native systems in production.
- Product & frontend: Swift (iOS), React, TypeScript (Next.js), and building interfaces that people enjoy using.
I care about understanding how things work under the hood, and how to build systems that are performant and reliable.
This blog is where I write about building systems, the lessons I pick up along the way, and projects I'm working/worked on.