I am a full-stack software developer pursuing a career with forward-thinking, dynamic people. I want to build solutions for real-world problems within a team that supports and nurtures growth and success. I want to join a company that promotes lateral thinking and encourages input from all perspectives to develop well-rounded, user-friendly software. I have experience managing teams and developing products across various disciplines. It is satisfying to demonstrate these skills in a team environment, delivering efficient and effective solutions to make the tedious bits of life less tedious.
Profile
Experience
I have extensive in the food & drink industry, both managing and developing products and businesses in retail and hospitality. The frustrations I had using the tech available to that sector were part of the motivation I used to seek a career in software development, coupled with my curiosity surrounding problem-solving, my furtive imagination, and my drive to make the tedious bits of life less tedious. I have recently completed a fixed term internship at Yearbook Machine, where I was able to apply my skills in a professional environment and learn from a team of experienced developers.
Yearbook Machine
[Development, Management]
2023 - 24
Junior Developer/Project Manager
Remote (London)
I joined Yearbook Machine on a short-term contract to handle smaller tickets and implement plans for longer-term development.
- I learned the codebase quickly, contributing my first fix within a month. In this case, using my experience with Cypress to improve their tests and CI pipeline.
- I undertook project management tasks, where I successfully executed plans for several medium-term projects that had been pending development. I was able to work alongside the other developers at the company to deliver four new features, and I completed my internship, leaving behind a strong foundation for the continuation of several other projects.
WD Restaurant Group, Meadows LTD, Culinaris & side-hustle SamBakes
[Development, Management]
2015 - 23
General Manager
East Anglia
Designed and managed operations for independent food businesses.
- Self-started career in the food industry, moving from shop assistant to General Manager through chef, product scout and product development. Working in the food and drinks hospitality/retail sector has armed me with fantastic communication skills evidenced when explaining food products to customers or agreeing trading terms with international suppliers.
- Designed and implemented several analytical reports to guide the development of businesses and successfully pivoted two local businesses quickly through the pandemic, hosting an 800 product strong online shop to maintain cash flow of the business and maintain our client base.
- Successfully developed ranges of fermented foods to handle a rise in fresh vegetable wastage at the start of the pandemic. Introduced a fermentation handbook and led product development collaboratively together with a team of five through packaging design, production protocols and distribution.
Chapel Studios, AIR Studios, Abbey Road, BRRecording, Tesseract, and Animals as Leaders
2010 - 15
Recording Engineer
UK
- Critical, time-sensistive problem solving within large teams or as a sole engineer on location and studio recording sessions for a wide variety of musicians and vocalists.
Projects
I believe in language-agnostic development, where the application governs the tool. In my most recent role, I developed across a range of languages with several interconnected services. Good developers write good code regardless of the technology. I have experience writing Javascript, Python, and PHP in full-stack applications using a variety of frameworks and associated tools, including CI/CD with Circle CI, containerised development with Docker, TDD/E2E testing with Jest, PHPUnit & Cypress, NoSQL (MongoDB) and SQL (MySQL, Postgres) databases.
Brielievers
[Full-stack, Team, Development, MERN, Agile]
A cheese Sommelier app for users to rate, view and get recommendations on over 800 international cheeses. Written using the MERN stack with a bespoke Atlas database of cheeses. Working in a team of five, we used Agile methodologies to deliver a full-stack app in two weeks.
- Front end written in React with Material UI styling
- Back end written in Node.js with Express, interacting with a bespoke MongoDB database of cheeses as well as a collection for users and ratings
- Collaborated with four other developers to deliver a full-stack app in two weeks.
- Front-end repo Back-end repo
Lighthouse Automation
[Automation, Reporting, Accessibility]
A lightweight Javascript application that automates the running of Lighthouse reports on a list of URLs and outputs the results to an HTML file for easy sharing and comparison.
Gig List
[Front-end, React, Vite]
A front-end application for listing and favouriting gigs supplied by a static backend
- Interactive favouriting feature implemented on single event page
- Favourites stored in client-specific storage
- Deployed with Render
Dev Top Trumps
[Front-end, React]
Work-in-progress browser card game that users can play to pit their hand of programming language cards against each other.
Education
Having completed a BSc in Music and Sound Recording at the University of Surrey, I have a strong academic background in the technical aspects of sound and music production. Studying this subject gave me skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication, as well as a strong work ethic and a passion for learning.
University of Surrey
2009 - 13
Music and Sound Recording
BSc
Theoretical physics and practical aspects of sound engineering alongside technical aspects of recorded media, music production, and sound design.
- Technical paper on the perception of snare drum samples: conclusive evidence that several descriptive words have measurable meaning in the context of snare drum samples.
Interests
Avid music fan, performer, foodie, cook, reader, cyclist, hobbyist DIYer, and coffee enthusiast.
Self-evaluation
I am a highly collaborative and communicative individual, I am extremely motivated by efficient problem-solving and seek to inspire as much as be inspired by a team. Comfortable in leadership roles as well as being a team player, I am always looking to learn in any aspect of my life. I am a big believer in the benefits of a diverse team and welcome input from any perspective. Although I am young in this industry, I have a strong work ethic, a drive to excel and a thirst for knowledge.