Martin Forstner - Profilfoto

Hey there! 👋 I'm

Martin Forstner

Lead Software Architect

Lead Software Architect @ Zühlke · Cloud-Native · AI-First · Zürich, Switzerland 🇨🇭

Get to know me

What I'm About

I build software systems that work today — and still scale tomorrow. As Lead Software Architect at Zühlke Group, I combine technical depth with organisational understanding: designing cloud-native architectures, leading engineering teams, and guiding companies through complex technological transformations.

My sweet spot? The intersection of systems thinking and people. I'm passionate about AI-first engineering, web accessibility, and making complex architectures feel clear. At Dynatrace I led global Team Captain Syncs with 200+ attendees; at Raiffeisen I shaped the solution architecture for MEIN ELBA — Austria's leading banking app.

When I'm not architecting systems, you'll find me at tech meetups like Technologieplauscherl or SoCraTes Linz, working on my MBA in International Management, or experimenting with the latest AI tooling. 🚀

0 Years in Tech
0 Global Team Syncs Led
0 Daily Standups

Right Now 📍

New Chapter

Just joined Zühlke Group as Lead Software Architect — diving into enterprise consulting and cloud-native transformations.

MBA in Progress

Studying International Management at MCI with a focus on IT Strategy — bridging tech leadership with business thinking.

AI-First Patterns

Exploring agentic workflows, LLM-powered tooling, and what AI-first engineering truly means for architecture and teams.

My Journey 🚠

– Now

Lead Software Architect @ Zühlke Group 🏗️

Cloud-native architecture for enterprise clients · Zürich, Switzerland

  • Designing cloud-native architectures and guiding companies through complex technological transformations
  • Combining technical depth with organisational understanding at enterprise scale
  • Engineering leadership in a global consulting environment
Architecture Cloud-Native Leadership Java Kubernetes
–

Team Lead & Senior Software Engineer @ Dynatrace 🚀

Engineering leadership in a global SaaS platform · Linz, Austria

  • Drove Dynatrace's AI-first strategy across the full development lifecycle
  • Defined and evolved technical architecture of central platform components
  • Led global Team Captain Syncs with 200+ attendees
  • Mentored engineers, conducted 1:1s, and drove promotions & hiring
Leadership Kubernetes AI-First Java Spring Boot
–

Solution Architect @ Raiffeisen 🏦

MEIN ELBA — Austria's leading banking app · Linz, Austria

  • Solution architecture for MEIN ELBA for up to 4 parallel development teams
  • Built a Cloud-Native Java Framework from scratch with Quarkus
  • Led migration from AngularJS to Angular
  • Founded and led the company-wide Accessibility working group
Architecture Quarkus Angular Accessibility
–

Software Developer @ Raiffeisen 💻

Where it all started professionally · Linz, Austria

  • Full-stack development on MEIN ELBA with Java & Angular
  • Learned enterprise software development at scale
Java Angular Full Stack

Tech I Love 🛠️

Languages & Frameworks

Java
Spring Boot
Quarkus
Angular
React
TypeScript

Cloud & Infra

Kubernetes
Helm
Docker
PostgreSQL
Kafka
Observability

Architecture

Microservices
Microfrontends
Solution Architecture
API Design
Cloud-Native Patterns

AI-First & Tooling

AI-First Engineering
AI Agents
GitHub Copilot
CI/CD
Gradle
Maven

Engineering Leadership

Engineering Leadership
Coaching
Project Management
Strategic Planning
Change Management

Web Accessibility

WCAG 2.1
WAS Certified
Inclusive Design
Screen Readers
Accessibility Auditing

Writing & Thinking ✍️

I write about the things I care about: building systems that last, leading teams well, and the intersection of AI with software architecture.

Cloud-Native Architecture

Microservices, Kubernetes, distributed systems — building platforms that scale without breaking teams.

AI-First Engineering

How AI tooling changes the way we design, write, and review software — and what it means for engineering teams.

Web Accessibility

WCAG, inclusive design, and why building accessible software isn't a constraint — it's a superpower.

Read the Blog →

Let's Connect 🤝

Got an interesting project? Want to chat about tech? Or just say hi? I'd love to hear from you!

Drop me a line martin@forstner.dev Let's connect LinkedIn
Based in Zürich, Switzerland 🇨🇭