Carlo Cancellieri
Lead Software Engineer
Building cloud-native geospatial platforms at the United Nations FAO to advance food security and sustainable agriculture. 20 years architecting systems that serve 50+ countries.
About
Lead Software Engineer at FAO
I'm a lead software engineer at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, architecting cloud-native geospatial platforms that enable data-driven decision-making for food security, climate resilience, and sustainable agriculture across 50+ countries.
With 20 years of experience in software engineering and an MBA (First Honours), I specialize in designing scalable systems, cloud infrastructure, and geospatial technologies that have real-world impact on global food systems.
Based in Rome, I work across the full technology stack — from backend Python/Java services on GCP to React frontends, infrastructure-as-code with Terraform, and containerized deployments on Kubernetes.
Tech Stack
Featured Projects
DynaStore
The multi-tenant geospatial engine powering FAO's data infrastructure. Designed to scale to thousands of tenants and millions of records via pluggable storage drivers (Iceberg, DuckDB, Parquet), serving 50+ countries.
- Data Catalog: data.apps.fao.org/catalog — Multi-tenant metadata discovery with pluggable storage backends
- Remote Sensing Portal: data.apps.fao.org/remote-sensing-portal — Built on OGC STAC, FastAPI, Elasticsearch
- Vector Tile Services: High-performance tile delivery for web mapping
- Dual GeoServer Clusters: Read and authoring instances for geospatial data management
- GeoID Service: Spatial identifier service for standardized geographic references
Architected from scratch to handle continental-scale data ingestion, real-time metadata indexing, and multi-tenant access control across FAO's member nations. Designed to scale to thousands of tenants and millions of records.
Keystone
FAO's unified identity and access control platform. Integrates Keycloak with GCP IAM, supporting RBAC and ReBAC policies designed to scale to millions of users per realm.
- OpenID Connect: Industry-standard authentication for federated identity
- Cloud Identity Integration: Seamless sync with GCP organization structure
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Traditional role hierarchy for application access
- Relation-Based Access Control (ReBAC): Fine-grained permissions based on data relationships
- Multi-tenant Support: Isolated realms for different FAO divisions and external partners
Replaced legacy single-sign-on with a modern, zero-trust IAM platform. Reduced access provisioning time from weeks to minutes, enabling agile organizational changes.
Hyrax SQL Handler
A C++ BES module enabling relational database access through the OPeNDAP Hyrax data server. Exposes SQL databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB) as standard OPeNDAP datasets.
- Google Summer of Code: Mentored by Patrick West (Senior Engineer at Workday)
- Database Support: PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB via ODBC/SQL interfaces
- OPeNDAP Integration: Exposes tabular data through standard netCDF, HDF5, FITS, ASCII formats
- Production Use: Deployed at FAO, NATO, NURC, LaMMa research institutions
- Maintenance: Still actively maintained and used in production environments
This project bridged the gap between enterprise databases and scientific data discovery workflows, enabling transparent access to geospatial and climate data stored in relational databases.
CKAN Extensions
Suite of 5 open-source CKAN extensions for open data platform enhancement, metadata management, and visualization integration.
- ckanext-jsonschema: JSON Schema-based metadata editing (5 GitHub stars)
- ckanext-publisher: Publishing workflow management for CKAN datasets
- ckanext-terriajs: TerriaJS map visualization integration for geospatial data
- ckanext-scheming_dcat: DCAT metadata schema support for semantic web interoperability
- ckanext-cloudstorage: Cloud storage backend support for CKAN resource files
These extensions extend CKAN's capabilities for geospatial data publishing, metadata standardization, and modern web-based data discovery interfaces.
GeoServer Ecosystem
Core contributor to GeoServer (4.3k+ stars), GeoNetwork, GeoTools, and GeoBatch. Led development of advanced features and performance optimization tools.
- GetLegendGraphic JSON Output: Community-adopted feature for JSON-based map legends
- JMX/REST/JMS/WPS Interfaces: Enhanced monitoring, REST API, message integration, processing services
- GeoServerStressTest: Load testing tool for GeoServer performance evaluation (5 GitHub stars)
- Production Deployments: FAO, NATO, NURC, LaMMa research institutions
At GeoSolutions (2010–2014), led development of enterprise features for OGC Web Services, metadata management, and high-performance geospatial data serving.
GeoID Service
Geospatial identifier service for standardized geographic references. Provides unique, resolvable identifiers for geographic entities across FAO systems.
- Persistent Identifiers: Resolvable URIs for geographic entities (countries, regions, administrative boundaries)
- Standards Compliance: Aligned with OGC, ISO-TC211, and Linked Data principles
- Semantic Integration: RDF/OWL ontologies for geographic relationships
- Multi-language Support: Geographic entity names in multiple languages
- API-First Design: REST and SPARQL endpoints for programmatic access
This service enables consistent geographic data integration across FAO systems and facilitates interoperability with other UN agencies and international organizations.
MCP Skill Hub
A local MCP server that gives Claude Code semantic skill search, cross-session task memory, and zero-token command interception — all powered by Ollama running entirely on your machine.
- Semantic Skill Search: Find Claude Code skills by meaning using Ollama embeddings — no keywords needed
- Zero-Token Hook: UserPromptSubmit hook intercepts "save task", "close task" commands locally before Claude sees them
- Cross-Session Memory: Save open tasks, compact closed ones with a local LLM (~200 tokens vs ~5000 raw)
- Three-Signal Learning: Teachings, feedback ratings, and passive session history improve rankings over time
- Plugin Management: Enable/disable Claude plugins live; suggest relevant disabled plugins by context
- Token Profiling: Tracks estimated Claude API tokens saved per hook interception
Designed for developers who run many Claude Code plugins and want to keep context lean.
Runs entirely offline on your machine using Ollama (deepseek-r1, nomic-embed-text).
Install in one command: ./install.sh
Open Source Contributions
Organization Memberships
Experience
Lead Software Engineer, AgroInformatics Division
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
2020–Present | Rome, Italy (Remote)
Architect and lead engineer for cloud-native geospatial platforms serving 50+ countries. Design and deliver production systems for global food security data infrastructure. Lead team of engineers, manage GCP cloud infrastructure, mentor junior developers.
Principal Data Architect (Consultant)
Philip Morris International
2018–2020 | Remote
Designed enterprise data infrastructure and geospatial analytics platforms for supply chain optimization. Led architecture reviews and cloud migration strategies.
Senior Engineer, Geospatial Services
GeoSolutions
2010–2014 | Viareggio, Italy
Core contributor to GeoServer, GeoNetwork, and GeoTools open-source projects. Led development of enterprise OGC Web Services, REST APIs, and high-performance geospatial data serving.
Google Summer of Code Participant
OPeNDAP Organization
2009–2010
Developed SQL Handler module for OPeNDAP Hyrax data server. Mentored by Patrick West. Module enables SQL database access through standard OPeNDAP interfaces, still in production use.
Software Engineer & Architect (Various Roles)
SIGEO, Intecs, Esri, and Various Startups
2005–2010 | Italy & Remote
Built expertise in geospatial systems, remote sensing, OGC standards compliance, and cloud architecture. Worked on projects spanning environmental monitoring, land use analysis, and enterprise GIS systems.
Education
MBA
Università degli Studi di Pisa
2015 | First Class Honours
Advanced studies in business strategy, organizational management, and technology leadership. Thesis on cloud architecture for enterprise systems.
Master's in Computer Science
Università degli Studi di Firenze
2005
Specialization in distributed systems, database design, and software engineering. Early focus on geospatial technologies and OGC standards.
Languages
Linguistic Proficiency
2024
Italian (Native), English (C1), Spanish (B1 DELE). Fluent in technical and professional communication across international teams.
Get in Touch
Open to collaborations, consulting opportunities, and conversations about geospatial systems, cloud architecture, and sustainable technology. Let's build something impactful together.