My Latest Tech Reflections

Thoughts on engineering practices, emerging technologies, and nurturing talent in the digital age.

From AI Assistants to AI Agents: A Year of Rapid Evolution

Written on 9th August 20257 min read

Twelve months after exploring AI coding assistants, I've discovered how autonomous AI agents are reshaping development workflows - and what it means for engineering leadership.

Read more

Rebooting After Redundancy

Written on 12th October 202414 min read

Navigating the 2024 tech job market: Lessons learned and strategies for success after an unexpected career shift.

Read more

The Double-Edged Sword of AI-Generated Code

Written on 2nd September 20247 min read

As AI code generation tools like Anthropic's new artifact model reshape the development landscape, we explore the opportunities and challenges for the tech industry.

Read more

Ready, Set, Done: Transforming Teams with Clear Definitions

Written on 30th August 20247 min read

Discover how implementing clear Definitions of Ready and Done in teams can significantly improve your product team's performance and productivity.

Read more

Rediscovering Coding with AI Assistants

Written on 11th August 20246 min read

After a 4-year hiatus from hands-on coding, I dove back in to create a puzzle game. Here's what I learned about AI coding assistants and the evolving landscape of software development.

Read more

From Newbie to Rockstar: Unlocking Potential

Written on 26th July 20246 min read

Discover how to transform new engineers into high-performing team members through strategic onboarding and mentorship.

Read more

Simple 1:1 Strategies That Worked for My Teams

Written on 25th July 20249 min read

Discover how to leverage 1:1 meetings to build trust, foster growth, and drive team success in software engineering.

Read more

Lessons in Candour from the F1 Pit Wall

Written on 16th July 20245 min read

Discover how the principles of Candour, as observed in F1 racing, can revolutionise communication.

Read more

Hosting website assets with Amazon S3 and Cloudfront

Written on 15th April 20163 min read

Optimise website performance using Amazon S3 for storage and CloudFront for content delivery.

Read more

Improve your website security and performance with Sucuri

Written on 10th March 20162 min read

Enhance WordPress security with Sucuri's CloudProxy firewall and malware removal services.

Read more
Andrew - Software Engineering Leader

Expertise & Leadership

Product Engineering Manager and Leader
15+ Years Industry Experience

With over 15 years in the software development industry, I've grown from a full-stack developer to an engineering leader.

Throughout my career, I've successfully led teams in both agency and product environments, delivering high-impact solutions for major clients. I'm passionate about fostering innovation, improving development processes, and creating inclusive team cultures that drive excellence.

Team Leadership & Strategy

  • Team Leadership: Managing and mentoring cross-functional engineering teams of up to 20 members.

  • Agile Methodologies: Implementing and optimizing Agile processes to enhance team efficiency and product quality.

Development & Architecture

  • Technical Strategy: Developing and implementing engineering strategies aligned with business objectives.

  • Full-Stack Development: Proficient in PHP, JavaScript, and various frameworks and technologies.

Innovation & Growth

  • Cloud Services: Extensive experience with AWS and other cloud platforms.

  • Continuous Learning: Regular attendee at industry conferences, committed to staying at the forefront of technological advancements.

Industry Experience

Digital Product Engineering Leadership

Oversaw engineering efforts for innovative digital products across hospitality, manufacturing, and media industries. Managed a diverse, 20-member remote engineering team spanning frontend, backend, QA, DevOps, and mobile development.

Experience in the role :

  • Team Leadership
  • Agile Methodologies
  • Technical Strategy
  • Cross-functional Collaboration

Mobile App Development Initiative

Identified an opportunity to expand our mobile development capabilities. Founded and grew a mobile team from scratch, significantly expanding our company's service offerings and opening new revenue streams.

Experience in the role :

  • Team Building
  • React Native
  • Mobile Strategy
  • Business Development

Hospitality Tech Solutions

Led the engineering effort to create a centralised content API and site builder platform for a major player in the hospitality industry. This solution enabled rapid creation of dynamic microsites, enhancing the client's marketing capabilities.

Experience in the role :

  • Project Leadership
  • API Development
  • Laravel
  • React
  • Elastic Search
  • Micro Services
  • Redis

Social Care Digital Services

Directed a team that built and maintained a large-scale web platform for the social care sector, serving numerous providers including a government-backed support agency. This project demanded robust solutions for performance, security, and content management.

Experience in the role :

  • Large Scale WordPress
  • Team Management
  • Performance Optimisation
  • Security Implementation
  • DevOps

Financial Services Technology

Partnered with a leading mortgage provider to develop a strategy for efficient application tracking and management. This project required balancing technical solutions with strict financial regulations and data security requirements.

Experience in the role :

  • Application Tracking
  • Analytics and Insights
  • Accessibility
  • JavaScript
  • Regulatory Compliance

E-commerce Solutions

Led engineering efforts for diverse e-commerce projects, from sports merchandise to luxury spirits. Built and upskilled teams in technologies like Shopify, overseeing development of sophisticated platforms with integrated payment gateways and POS systems.

Experience in the role :

  • Team Upskilling
  • Shopify
  • WooCommerce
  • E-commerce Strategy
  • POS System Integration

Cloud Infrastructure and Security

Led cloud migration initiatives to improve scalability and performance of client websites. Spearheaded the implementation of ISO 27001 accreditation, enhancing information security management across the engineering department.

Experience in the role :

  • AWS
  • Cloud Migration
  • Security Protocols
  • ISO 27001 Compliance

Innovation and Emerging Technologies

Spearheaded the adoption of AI and machine learning technologies within our development processes. Led initiatives to explore and implement emerging tech, enhancing our product offerings and internal efficiencies.

Experience in the role :

  • Generative AI
  • Emerging Tech Evaluation
  • Research and Development reports
  • Continuous Learning

Career History

Engineering Manager at ENSEK

2024 - Present
1 Year - Present
ENSEK is a SaaS platform owned by Centrica that provides energy billing and tracking solutions for British Gas and other Centrica companies. As Engineering Manager, I lead a high-performing team within the market connectivity space, managing critical data flows in and out of the platform. I built and established a brand-new squad from inception, implementing Scrum processes and developing comprehensive delivery frameworks. Working closely with product owners and project managers, I structured backlogs and delivery plans whilst leveraging data-driven insights through Linear B analytics and Azure DevOps dashboards to optimise team productivity. My squad uniquely manages incident support responsibilities across market connectivity and compliance, requiring me to balance operational excellence with feature development. I also manage a support engineer within the squad structure, fostering continuous improvement within this product-led organisation.

Head of Engineering at 383 Project

2020 - 2024
4 Years - Remote Working
Following my success as Team Lead, I was promoted to Head of Engineering at 383 Project, a digital product studio partnering with ambitious brands. In this role, I led the technical strategy and managed a diverse, 20-member remote engineering team. My responsibilities included establishing and refining department processes to enhance team efficiency and product quality. I played a key part in the company's ISO 27001 compliance efforts, strengthening our information security management practices. Additionally, I collaborated closely with our commercial teams, assisting in formulating proposals and providing technical expertise to cost solutions for our clients. This role required balancing technical leadership with business objectives to drive the studio's growth and maintain our competitive edge in the digital product space.

Technical Skills

Leadership Team Management

14 skills

Mentoring, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Talent Development, +11 more

Security Compliance

8 skills

ISO 27001, OWASP Top 10 Vulnerabilities, GDPR Compliance, +5 more

Programming Markup Languages

9 skills

PHP, Javascript, HTML, +6 more

Frameworks Libraries

5 skills

Laravel, React.js, Next.js, +2 more

Database Caching Technologies

4 skills

MySQL, SQLite, Redis, +1 more

Cloud Services DevOps

8 skills

AWS (EC2, S3, CloudFront, Lambda, Amplify), Docker, Ubuntu, +5 more

Version Control CI/CD

5 skills

Git, SVN, CircleCI, +2 more

Content Management Systems

3 skills

WordPress, Laravel Nova, Strapi

E-commerce Platforms

2 skills

WooCommerce, Shopify

Generative AI

3 skills

OpenAI API (ChatGPT), Anthropic, LLaMA

API Design Integration

1 skill

RESTful APIs

Project Management

3 skills

Agile Methodologies, Waterfall, Software Development Lifecycle

General / Tools

16 skills

Atlassian Suite (Jira, Confluence), Google Workspace, Slack, +13 more

Education

BA Honours in Digital Multimedia

University of Worcester

The degree covered a wide range of digital skills including video production, animation, illustration, photography and web development.

HND Multimedia & Animation

North East Worcestershire College

The course covered website development, game development using Adobe Flash and Lingo, and animation in 3D Studio Max.

Professional Development

Mental Health First Aider

MHFA England®

Equipped to provide initial support for mental health issues, fostering a more inclusive and supportive work environment.

Agile Project Management

Google

Mastered Agile methodologies to enhance project efficiency and team collaboration.

Product for Net Zero: Standard Program

Product for Net Zero

Acquired skills to develop sustainable tech solutions, aligning software development with environmental goals.

Google AI Essentials

Google

Gained comprehensive understanding of AI fundamentals and practical applications in software development.

Contact Me

Got a hanging question or just want to connect? Get in touch!

LinkedIn

Find Me Online

See what I am up to online.

GitHub Instagram

Crafted with :