JRL
João Ricardo Lourenço
JRL
João Ricardo Lourenço

Hi!

I'mJoão Ricardo Lourenço

CTO by day, poet by night.

get to know me

About Me

JRL

João Ricardo Lourenço

I'm a 31-year-old software engineer from Coimbra, currently based in Porto, Portugal. My career spans academia, industry, and open source contributions. In my spare time, I write lots of poetry and dabble in photography.

As CTO of CRON STUDIO, a venture studio I profoundly believe in, I lead the development of innovative products across AI, IoT, health, wellness, and more. I'm particularly proud of our work on Bloq.it, the leading smart locker solution, whose hardware and firmware was built by CRON.

I'm also passionate about teaching the next generation of software engineers, and am currently lecturing at my alma mater, the University of Coimbra. My academic research on NoSQL databases and a novel exception handling technique based on AI has garnered over 280 citations.

In love with science, philosophy, and the arts, I have a deep appreciation for elegant code, efficient algorithms, and, above all, the transformative potential of the right people, in the right place.

Professional Journey

A timeline of my professional experiences, academic achievements, and (a tiny subset of) my creative pursuits.

Projects

A collection of noteworthy projects I've contributed to throughout my career, showcasing my expertise in various technologies and problem domains.

Image for Bloq.it

Bloq.it

2019 - 2023

The fastest-growing smart locker provider in the world.

CRON was responsible for the hardware and firmware development, and I was the lead firmware developer of Bloq.it OS from its inception in 2019 all the way until 2023, after which I transitioned all technical know-how from CRON to Bloq.it's internal team.

Python
Linux
MQTT
Docker
Embedded Systems
Scalability
IoT
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Open Elevation API

2017 - Present

Open-source Google Elevation API alternative

Processing 500k requests per day and serving 200k+ unique IPs, this project provides free access to global elevation data. Hard to believe it's been almost 10 years!

API Design
Geospatial Data
Open Source
Python
Scalability
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jar2app

2015

JAR-to-macOS app converter

A tool that converts Java JAR applications to native macOS applications, improving user experience for Java desktop applications on Mac. One of my first open-source projects.

Java
macOS
Desktop Applications

Links:

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Chess-playing Robot

2010

High school robotics project

I have been in love with programming for as long as I can remember. This was an early foray into programming and robotics: a mechanical system capable of playing chess against human opponents using computer vision, AI, and robotic control.

C++
Hardware Integration
Robotics
Computer Vision

Publications

I would love to get back into research! Here are some of my publications, with a focus on database systems and AI-enabled exception handling systems.

Choosing the right NoSQL database for the job: a quality attribute evaluation

JR Lourenço, B Cabral, P Carreiro, M Vieira, J BernardinoJournal of Big Data 2, 1-26 (2015) • 206+ citations

NoSQL databases: A software engineering perspective

JR Lourenço, V Abramova, M Vieira, B Cabral, J BernardinoNew Contributions in Information Systems and Technologies: Volume 1, 741-750 (2015) • 47+ citations

NoSQL in practice: A write-heavy enterprise application

JR Lourenço, V Abramova, B Cabral, J Bernardino, P Carreiro, M Vieira2015 IEEE International Congress on Big Data, 584-591 (2015) • 11+ citations

For a complete list of publications, please visit myGoogle Scholarprofile.

Teaching

I love teaching and firmly believe that students need a balance of academic and industry experience. These are some of the courses I have taught — and I hope to add more soon!

Algorithms & Data Structures

2024–Present

University of Coimbra

Core computer science course covering fundamental algorithms and data structures, their implementation, analysis, and applications.

Advanced Programming

2024–Present

University of Coimbra

Advanced programming course focused on Java and react.js, for the "Acertar o Rumo" course.

Introduction to Programming

2014–2016

University of Coimbra

Introductory programming course focused on teaching basic programming concepts to the "Acertar o Rumo" students.

My Hobbies

A (very small subset) of things I'm passionate about beyond my professional life.

When I'm not immersed in code or academic research (or playing some video/board game), you'll find me exploring various creative and relaxing pursuits. Here are some of those passions:

📝

Poetry

Maybe one day I'll publish a couple of books.

📷

Photography

I wish I'd known earlier how much I love photography!

🤖

AI & LLMs

I am excited about the future of humanity!

💭

Philosophy

I love ethics and epistemology.

FC Porto

I'm a diehard fan of the Dragons, but I'm not a hooligan!

🐱

Cats

Spending quality time with my feline companions.

Above all, I'm grateful for my wonderful friends and family, with whom I spend so much time.

My cat

Meet one of my cats!

Coming Soon

I'm currently working on adding more content to this section, including a blog, a photography portfolio, and perhaps some of my poems. Check back soon for updates!

Contact

Get in Touch

Feel free to reach out through any of these platforms

© 2025 João Ricardo Lourenço. All rights reserved.