a full stack React and Node developer, based in Birmingham, UK. I'm a results and impact driven developer with over 15 years of experience and a love for FOSS. I write scalable, maintainable web apps, with a focus on clean and agile code to support product growth and stability.
Mastodon is a FOSS social network. I contributed a fix for the broken emoji picker, which got merged into the code base, benefiting over 1+ million users.
A FOSS, local, subscription free CMS for 11ty, powered by React & Electron! It's been featured on THE 11ty Meetup and has 100+ Mastodon followers. Open beta soon...
My freelancing career started with the innovation team at a local firm, developing software for major car manufacturers. I developed a prototype React app that integrated with established intranet APIs, providing factory staff real-time data on equipment failure.
I began my teaching and consulting practice in late 2020. My 1000+ hours in teaching have refined my mentorship skills and strengthened my communication. I guided students in best practices, fostered their growth, and helped many land their first developer jobs.
My consultancy work prepared me for developing high quality, production-ready solutions across varied industries alongside multidisciplinary teams. It taught me a lot about working with established code bases, and working with developers from a range of backgrounds and skill levels.
More recently, I've been supporting a client build their product. From consulting on security, infrastructure and dev ops, to pair programming and contributing my own code to their product... I've collaborated with the lead developer and other team members to deliver a product their customers can depend on.
Developing 11tyCMS has taught me so much about the impact of agile code on productivity. In early alpha, the code was inconsistent and difficult to follow. There were many quirks, all causing frequent bugs, slowing down debugging and draining my energy. It was starting to put me off working on it.