Background | Projects | Skills | Experience | Education | Interests
I'm a full-stack engineer who combines strong technical knowledge with user engagement and management experience. I am highly empathic, have a very intuitive understanding of user needs, and demonstrate highly effective communication and team working backed by years of experience working with diverse communities.
In the 7 years I spent in community engagement and setting up and running a social enterprise, I realised my affinity to technology and the energy I got from solving problems. So I signed up to an intensive dev bootcamp and never looked back.
I'm trained in agile development at Makers, as well as pair programming, test-driven development (TDD) and object-oriented programming (OOP). I have worked for 3 years in software engineering roles specifically working with Ruby, Javascript and Typescript, as well as working as a Software Engineering Coach at Makers.
I want to bring my unique skill set, drive and commitment to a workplace with coding best practices, strong team dynamics, room to grow, and where the work I do has a clear purpose.
| Title | Description | Development Timeframe | Technologies Used | Test Suites/CIs/CDs Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coderoots Website Github | A front-end only website to showcase the work of my non-profit Coderoots. I led a team of 3 junior engineers, 2 in UK and 1 in Gambia, and a designer to develop this site. The website is built with React and optimised for Mobile usage, and includes third-party integrations from Donorbox and Youtube. | 2 months | ReactJS, AWS, Namecheap | Jest |
| Travelist Heroku site Github | A smart travel packing list assistant that uses weather data and custom user input to create a customised packing list for any trip. Created by a team of 4 with little to no previous experience of the tech stack. | 10 days | Node.js, Express, React, MongoDB | Travis, Cypress, Jest |
| Acebook Phase 1: Rails app Phase 2: Rails backend ReactJS frontend | Interpretation of Facebook with an emphasis on Agile processes, team work and learning new technology. Initially tasked to create it in Rails, for which we achieved 98% test coverage. Half-way through we were challenged to change our app to create a ReactJS front end. We had no prior knowledge of either Rails or React before the project. | 2 weeks | Ruby on Rails, ReactJS, Active Record, Heroku, HTML/CSS | RSpec, Capybara, Travis, Cypress |
| Notes App | A single-page app created with the caveat that I wasn't allowed to use any frameworks; only vanilla Javascript and a self-built testing framework. | 1 week | HTML/CSS, JavaScript | My own testing framework |
I was commended for my excellent communication skills at Farmdrop, especially in a fast-paced technology environment, by ensuring that messages were passed between teams and communication channels like Slack were being used effectively. One of my proudest moments was to design and deliver a 5-day training session on Business and Enterprise for microbusiness owners in Gambia, West Africa. I was able to instill confidence in the participants, explain complex ideas simply, and tailor information to be appropriate to the context. Here’s a video about the course.
Within a technical context, I have worked heavily in backend development especially data. Whilst at WorldRemit, I was developing a new GraphQL API so that the front-end could easily access the data it needed from the web of microservices in the backend. Due to the complexity of the backend, getting accurate information about the data was challenging and required searching through documentation, retrieving results from the data and ensuring they matched the requirements of the front-end. Sifting through and ensuring accuracy involved a huge amount of attention to detail.
I’ve grown up in 4 different countries (India, Pakistan, Australia and UK), attended 8 different schools and worked in roles that required me to quickly change based on the clients I was working with. In my role facilitating workshops and programmes for young people at IntoUniversity, I was required to fill the gap in short-staffed teams last minute, and quickly familiarise myself with programme content, as well as build immediate rapport with clients and beneficiaries.
I'm recognised for my energetic and highly proactive personality. One of my strongest qualities is my willingness to speak up and fully engage with the task at hand. This is why I really flourish in teams. For example, on the Acebook project at Makers Academy, I particularly effective at being a driving force in the team, ensuring that I volunteered support to the scrum leader if they had to juggle too many responsibilities, or used my initiative to solve issues to avoid blockages in the workflow.
I am a highly resilient person, particularly demonstrated in my experiences in the youth and community sector. On one occasion, I led a residential programme of 72 young people, most from deprived communities in South London. In just one day, I needed to coordinate their arrival to their accomodation, lead a full day of activities from 8am to 9pm, support a young girl out of a panic attack, keep all the 72 young people calm when a stranger approched the group to verbally abuse them, and take two seperate young people to A&E due to injuries, and still make sure everyone was in bed in time.
Training career-switchers in a software engineering bootcamp, leading cohorts of up to 30 students to learn Ruby, Rails and JavaScript and build apps from scratch. Designing bespoke training for Corporate partners like Capgemini and Deloitte for their developers in languages and frameworks such as Typescript / Express, and Java / Springboot.
Projects: Writing a Data Engineering & Ethics module; Leading Typescript & React training with Shell employees; Developing a Java Springboot module; Leading specialist sessions on Typescript and Agile ways of working.
My focus was primarily working with React Native and GraphQL, in a NodeJS environment using Typescript.
Projects:
- Creating a backend-for-frontend service using Typescript and GraphQL which worked with all REST APIs in the organisation. The focus was on scalability and best practice to ensure that all services within the architecture can optimise GraphQL effectively for their needs.
- Developing a component library in the Mobile team, working with React Native specifically in an Android environment, taking advantage of IntelliJ IDEA and its features. The focus here was again scalability and reusability, as well as the potential for the component library to be used outside of the organisation as a standalone package.
- Integrating Google Analytics marketing tools into the Android mobile app, collecting data on user interactions like swipes and clicks. This piece of work required heavy communication with not just the technical team but Product and Marketing too, to ensure the correct tags were used and essential information was being gathered.
Working within a complex microservices environment both with existing code as well as new APIs, I was involved in all aspects of development - writing code, testing, assessing and implementing best practice, effective documentation, and working with the team to lead Agile processes. A large part of my role was to map out and document the data framework within the organisation, as well as work with DevOps processes working with tools like Jenkins, Harness, Docker, SonarCloud, AppsFlyer, and Firebase.
Supported the existing e-commerce Rails backend tech stack whilst also improving the shopping basket Ruby microservice, building a new product reservations microservice to move code out of the monolith, and developing features for the frontend ReactJS internal admin platform to manage customer orders.
Projects:
- Resolving major scaling issues in the shopping basket as a result of a huge spike in demand due to COVID-19. This was in my first 6 weeks within the role, and I had to quickly familiarise myself with a complex system using Docker, Kubernetes, Kafka, a document database, Redis, Sidekiq. Within a month, we had resolved all bugs and stabilised the service to reliably work for 3 times as many customers.
- Selected as the only developer to build the new product reservations microservice using Ruby, Postgres database and Kafka, working and communicating between different services and teams.
- Highly commended for my effective communication and teamwork by the CTO and Technical Leads.
Set up and ran a social enterprise engaging diverse communities with sustainable living, overseeing the strategic vision with two other directors, and with specific responsibility for programme management, accounts, operations and IT.
Project managed the setup of community-led solar energy cooperative by engaging diverse communities, and liaising with clients and stakeholders including schools, MPs, councillors, young people and community groups. I also led and delivered the youth employability skills programme.
Utilised my adaptability and collaborative working to work across a range of public and third sector organisations to deliver training and workshops, design and deliver education and activity programmes. My attention to detail and project management skills to coordinate and oversee teams of 40 volunteers and lead residential programmes for 72 teenagers.
- Tech Skills: Ruby, Rails, Javascript, JQuery, Node.js, React.js, Express, Sinatra, Capybara, HTML, CSS, RSpec, Jasmine, Cypress, PostgreSQL, ActiveRecord, MongoDB
- Behavioural Skills: XP, TDD, Agile, pair programming, whole-team projects, code reviews
- Extra-Curricular: Part of the organisation team for Codebar Monthlies
- BA Hons History (2:1)
- Extracurricular: Enterprise Bootcamp; Student Consultancy Project; Focus on Management; Youth Mentoring
A Level Maths (A), Economics (A), History (A) and AS Level English Literature (B)
- Health and wellbeing – I'm creating a health and wellbeing app focussed on software engineers
- Music – if you ever come round, you’ll find a guitar, a tabla, a keyboard and someone singing most times…
- Community development – I founded a digital access / tech education initiative in The Gambia