Hákon Þrastar Björnsson
Lead backend developer
Reykjavík, Iceland
I lead backend development at Reon, where I've spent more than a decade building platforms for clients like Elko, Krónan, N1 and Vörður. I also look after the hosting, releases and security that keep them running long after launch. Most of my work is in Python and Django, with some TypeScript and Next.js. Lately I've been doing a lot of agentic coding, building with AI agents while keeping the habits that make software last: a plan first, small reviewable changes, tests and CI.
Outside work, I like making things by hand: I grow vegetables, work with wood, sing in a choir and go river fishing.
Experience
Lead Backend Developer · Reon ehf.
2013 – nowLead the backend team on Reon's client projects, including every project below. Also responsible for hosting, the release process and making sure our systems meet cybersecurity requirements.
- Festi group. E-commerce platforms including Elko's web store, the Krónan app and N1's EV charging platform.
- Byko and Icewear. Their online stores.
- Vörður. The insurer's digital transformation: a customer portal, automated claims and applications, and bringing Vörður into the Arion Banki app together with Arion's team.
- Icelandic Transport Authority and RSF. Helped them take ownership of long-running, business-critical systems by writing the documentation and deployment pipelines their in-house teams needed. The systems were Iceland's fresh-fish auction and NorType, the shared vehicle-type database used to register new vehicles in Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Programmer and technical support specialist · IT Department, Kópavogur
2009 – 2013Worked in IT user support during summers while studying. After graduating in January 2013, worked as a programmer maintaining internal systems until joining Reon that September.
Projects
Íslendingabók app (2013)
Won deCODE genetics' competition to build a mobile app for Íslendingabók, the genealogy database of Icelanders going back 1,200 years. Two people bump their phones together and the app tells them how closely they're related. Built with fellow University of Iceland students, it drew worldwide attention, including an interview on BBC News.
Featured in Bloomberg, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, NBC News, Wired
Plex Notifier
Emails invited people when new episodes of the shows they follow appear on a shared Plex server. Invite-only magic-link login, a background worker, and one digest per person. Built with AI coding agents as practice in agentic development.
Next.js · TypeScript · SQLite · Drizzle · Docker
Skills
- Python
- Django
- TypeScript
- React
- Next.js
- Node.js
- SQL
- Docker
- AI
- Requirements analysis
- Release management
- Systems operations
- Data processing
Education
BSc in Software Engineering · University of Iceland
2009 – 2013Upper Secondary School Diploma, Physics Programme · Reykjavík Junior College (Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík)
2005 – 2009