Team
Who you would be working with
Systra is a technology solutions provider in Manila. We design, build and run the software, data, integration and cloud systems businesses depend on.
The company
Companies often have to choose between a large vendor that separates account management from delivery and a small supplier that covers one part of the problem. That choice breaks down when the work crosses a website, an internal application, enterprise data, APIs, cloud infrastructure and production operations.
Systra is a five-person senior practice built for work that crosses those boundaries. The engineers responsible for the architecture also build, review and release the system, and when an engagement needs several disciplines, the same small team works across them instead of passing the client between vendors.
The practice was formed in 2026 by people who had already built and operated systems inside insurance, consumer finance, construction, global consulting and early-stage technology companies, and it has delivered for Philippine, US and UK-owned organisations. We work with growing companies putting durable systems in place and with enterprises that need specialist capacity for a defined piece of work.
We are useful when a business has outgrown the way its systems were assembled:
- Customer-facing software is slow, hard to change or disconnected from the systems behind it.
- Reports disagree because source data, business rules and metric definitions are spread across files, applications and teams.
- Important processes depend on manual transfers between CRM, ERP, document, payment or messaging systems.
- An AI prototype works in a demonstration but has no grounding, evaluation, access separation or operating controls.
- Releases depend on manual infrastructure work, inconsistent environments or security checks performed after deployment.
- Cloud operations consume senior staff through recurring incidents, patching, access work, vulnerability remediation and cost drift.
We start by measuring the current system. The result may be a focused diagnostic, a new build, a migration, an integration programme or an operating arrangement. Scope follows the evidence.
Mission
Put the engineering standard of large organisations within reach of a business of any size.
That standard is high, and it reaches smaller companies unevenly. Systra exists to close that gap, with people who stay accountable from the first conversation to the handover.
Vision
Every engagement should leave behind more capability than it consumed.
A system the client runs better than before, a team that can operate and extend it without us, and methods and tools that mature into products used far beyond the practice that built them. We would rather be judged on what a client can do after we finish than on how long they need us.
Aaron Dela Cruz
Founding Partner · Data, AI and delivery
Aaron leads strategy, operations and technical direction. He owns client relationships, service definitions, scope, pricing, commercial terms, the company roadmap and delivery sequencing, while remaining hands-on in architecture and implementation.
His engineering work spans governed data platforms, event-driven backends, enterprise API gateways, AI systems and product delivery. His background covers both corporate and startup work: enterprise platforms in insurance, consumer finance and construction, where governance and regulation set the pace, and an early-stage AI startup where he was technical co-founder through several product pivots. He has led engineering teams and has also delivered production systems as the only engineer on them. His record includes a US construction data platform, production services for a UK insurance group, API and ERP integration in Philippine consumer finance, Chancery and Oceanic Atlas.
Ralph Jayson Guinucud
Platform, SRE and DevSecOps
Ralph has more than six years of experience building and operating cloud-native infrastructure on Azure. He has provisioned private Kubernetes through Terraform, standardised delivery across microservices, built developer self-service, automated Databricks releases and completed a zero-downtime PostgreSQL migration.
His DevSecOps work places security scanning and release policy in the delivery path, including coverage for dormant repositories and evidence for audit teams. He has mentored engineers across platform and development roles. Within Systra he also supports finance and legal administration.
- Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate, CNCF
- Kubernetes security certification track in progress
Ron Salvacion
Cloud Infrastructure and Security Operations
Ron operates Azure and AWS environments for global enterprises. His scope covers compute, networking, managed cloud services, monitoring, critical incidents, identity, certificates, patching, backup, disaster recovery, firewalls, load balancers and vulnerability remediation.
He works through ITIL, ServiceNow and formal change boards, including GxP-controlled environments. His sector experience includes aviation, healthcare and medical devices, entertainment, automotive and financial services.
Deniel Von Nioceña
AI Application Development
Von builds AI applications, multi-agent systems, retrieval pipelines, automation and the web interfaces around them. He delivered a seven-agent production system with separate knowledge stores for two business partners, along with applied products for job matching, prompt engineering, medical study and lead scoring.
His work covers prompt design, model routing, vector search, evaluation, workflow automation, Next.js, TypeScript, Node.js and Supabase. He takes AI products from working concept through deployment.
- Licensed Electronics Engineer
Mahmoud Hajij
Sales and Client Relations
Mahmoud owns the commercial conversation before and around delivery. His background covers inbound and outbound sales, independent project delivery, client communication and people operations. He works with clients to understand requirements, coordinate proposals, maintain communication and carry feedback into the team.
He holds a Google Workspace Sales Credential, an Extreme Networks certification in solutions selling, training in outcome-based sales design and a Certified Human Resource Associate designation. His business-tool experience includes SAP ERP and CRM, Excel, Google Sheets, Notion and Google Workspace. He works in English, Filipino and Arabic.
- Google Workspace Sales Credential
- Extreme Networks certification in solutions selling
- Certified Human Resource Associate
Where we stand
Systra was formed in Manila in 2026. Incorporation is planned for January 2027. Until then, engagements are contracted and invoiced through a named individual, and the arrangement is stated in the commercial terms before work begins.