Quest log · Experience
Talelock, Founder & engineerSep 2026 to now
- Building my own product: story-driven treasure hunts played on your phone. No app, no account, just a link.
- A Studio for writing hunts (riddles, QR codes, GPS and photo steps) and a Play side for walking them, with answers checked server-side.
- Stripe payments, with webhooks setting up each player's session and sending it straight to them.
Long restMay 2026 to Aug 2026
- Took time out to travel and volunteer full time.
Red Badger, Senior software engineerFeb 2025 to Apr 2026
- Worked full stack on a React Native app built with Expo, from early development to its App Store launch, drastically improving its accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA) and stability.
- Consolidated the data layer across the app and the backend, replacing custom GraphQL and state code with Apollo Client and Zustand, and made the app work offline.
- Introduced Architecture Decision Records, standardised team processes and coordinated work across multiple teams.
YLD, Senior software engineerMay 2021 to Oct 2024
- Built a Next.js application, later turned into a white-label product used by third parties, and maintained the REST service that brought together data from various sources.
- Standardised and modernised the codebase, improved accessibility and strengthened test coverage.
- Built pipelines with GitHub Actions and deployed to Azure.
Hackney Council, Senior full stack developerNov 2019 to May 2021
- Called in after the 2020 cyberattack to build a new platform and rescue the services it had affected.
- Built the services that helped the council cope with COVID, from food bank support to social services tracking, with React/Next.js and AWS Lambda.
- Contributed to internal component libraries and mentored junior developers.
- Rebuilt the Hackney website on Jamstack (Gatsby, WordPress, Netlify) with robust testing and improved CI/CD.
uSwitch / RVU, Senior software engineerJan 2020 to Mar 2020
- Enhanced internal tools using React/Redux-Saga for complex async data flows and API integrations.
- Contributed to the internal UI component library, improving consistency across products.
Architecture consultantSep 2019 to Nov 2019
- Started a Next.js project with Apollo and a GraphQL gateway, joining internal and third-party REST APIs with WordPress data.
Earlier quests: Shazam (about 5 years), YOOX Net-a-Porter, Reason, Pobble, Kalo, Verve. Full log on LinkedIn.
Side quests · Projects
- GigPlayList: predicts the setlist for an upcoming gig and builds you a Spotify playlist, from a Next.js backend that mashes up a bunch of third-party APIs.
- Moon: a live 3D Moon showing its real phase and position from where you stand, rendered with Three.js on NASA imagery.
- Freelance sites with WordPress, Gatsby and Astro, with headless CMS (Sanity.io and others), payment integrations (Stripe and others) and serverless features on Netlify Functions, AWS Lambda, and Cloudflare Workers.
Plus a shelf of side projects.
Proficiencies · Skills
Expertise
- TypeScript
- Node.js
- Full stack architecture
- React, React Native, Expo
- Next.js
- Accessibility (WCAG)
- CI/CD
- Testing (TDD, BDD, E2E)
Also proficient
GraphQL, Apollo, Tailwind, Supabase, PostgreSQL, Stripe, AWS, GitHub Actions, Astro.
Once upon a time
Python, Java, Scala, PHP, MySQL, C++, Ruby on Rails.
Lore · Education
Degree in Computer Science at Università degli Studi dell'Insubria and Universidad de Salamanca. Thesis on assistive technology.
Feats · Achievements
- Co-ran a workshop on TDD in JavaScript at Università di Cesena.
- Project lead and volunteer cook at FoodCycle.
- Cisco CCNA certificate.
- Trained as a fire marshal.
Traits
- Curious: picks up new tools to see how far they go
- Enjoys building useful things
- Team player and mentor
Ideals
- Accessible by default
- Code the next person can maintain
- Share what you learn
Downtime
Tabletop RPGs (running campaigns as Game Master), puzzle and brain-teaser games, long-distance walking, cinema, books, music, modern art, 8-bit graphics, travel and pizza.
