Portrait of Rafael Sargento

Rafael Sargento

Master in Computer Science and Engineering

Lisbon, Portugal

About

I'm a Computer Science and Engineering graduate from Instituto Superior Técnico, specialized in distributed systems and IT service management. I enjoy solving complex problems by designing, building and evaluating large-scale systems. I'm determined and outgoing, enjoy connecting with others, and thrive on taking on new challenges. I'm looking to join a team where I can keep growing as an engineer.

Education

Master Degree in Computer Science and Engineering

2024 - 2026

Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa

Porto Salvo / Alameda, Portugal

Final Grade:

Focused on Distributed Systems and Management of IT services

Thesis: Supporting Streams in Shared Logs. This work led to a publication at the INForum 2026 conference.

Awards

KPMG Merit Award in Cloud Computing and Virtualization (2025)
Academic Excellence (2024-2025)

Bachelor Degree in Computer Science and Engineering

2021 - 2024

Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa

Porto Salvo, Portugal

Final Grade:

Awards

Academic Excellence (2023-2024)
Academic Merit (2022-2023)
Academic Merit (2021-2022)

Secondary Education in Science and Technology

2018 - 2021

Escola Secundaria S. João do Estoril

Estoril, Portugal

Final Grade: 17/20

Work Experience

Full Stack Developer Intern

06/2024 - 06/2026

Instituto Superior Técnico

Part-Time · On-site Portugal
  • Worked with the IT Services team at IST to build and improve features for academic and admin applications
  • Connected existing systems and supported new projects, contributing to software that thousands of people use every day.

Backend Developer

02/2024 - 11/2024

Junitec

Part-Time · Remote Portugal
  • Part of a 6-person team developing a bank API
  • Used .NET for API development
  • Utilized Stoplight for architecture design and team alignment

Software Engineering Intern

07/2023 - 09/2023

Zoi

Full-Time · On-site Lisboa, Portugal
  • Developed an innovative AI-powered chatbot
  • Built serverless web application using SST framework
  • Integrated Google Calendar with AI functionality
  • Implemented personalized user experience using Langchain and OpenAI API

Delivery Driver

2022 - 2023

Uber & Bolt

Part-Time · Driving
  • Managed time-sensitive delivery operations
  • Developed strong problem-solving skills under pressure
  • Maintained high customer satisfaction

Languages

Portuguese

Mother Tongue

English

CEFR B2

Upper Intermediate

German

CEFR A2

Elementary

Interests & Activities

Sports

  • Running
  • Gym
  • Tennis (7 years, federation member, participated in competitions)

Interests

  • Car enthusiast, especially motor racing
  • Closely follows political news

Volunteering

Maré Viva Summer Programme · Cascais Town Council

07/2018 - 08/2018

Completed 125 hours of work, including giving directions to holidaymakers and maintaining beach access