Based in Cape Town, South Africa
Senior Backend Engineer
I design and ship backend platforms in Python, Django, FastAPI and TypeScript — from a fibre ISP's core ordering system to voice & chat support tooling used across YouFibre.
Curious about how things work, and happiest when they work well.
I was born and raised in Cape Town, went to Stellenbosch High School, and studied a BSc in Information Technology at Pearson Institute of Higher Education (formerly CTI). I've been into computers since I was young, so turning that hobby into a career was a natural fit.
Nearly a decade in, I've grown from intern to senior backend engineer — helping architect brsk's platform from the ground up, keeping a Django codebase at 95% test coverage for four years, and now building voice and chat support features across the YouFibre platform as a full-stack TypeScript developer.
I'm a light-hearted person who enjoys a good laugh. That curiosity drives me to finish difficult problems. When I'm not working I'm probably at rugby, the gym, or a board game table — or refining my skills on side projects and business ideas.
Designer & engineer
A Python SDK that interoperates with the existing TypeScript SDK, with a deliberately Django-style ORM interface — so the Python team could move to the new FastAPI stack without switching languages or relearning the codebase.
Founding-team backend engineer
One of the first developers at brsk. Helped architect and build the customer ordering system, referrals, discounts and WhatsApp integration — the platform that underpinned the company's growth toward acquisition.
Products I've designed, built and run outside my day job, from Django platforms and Flutter apps to WooCommerce stores.
Co-founder & developer
An online TCG hobby store and South Africa's card-grading middleman. Collectors send in Pokémon, sports and other cards, and we handle submission to PSA, BGS, CGC, AGS and TAG.
I built the website and a Flutter app for iOS and Android for creating grading submissions: see costs as you build, track every batch and reveal your grades. I also built the card database and the store behind them, all driven by a custom WooCommerce plugin with its own REST API.
Founder & sole engineer
Fixtures, results, standings, team sheets, live scores and player stats for South African club rugby, from provincial leagues down to local clubs, with fan contributions and gamification.
A website and a Flutter mobile app on one Django + DRF backend, with Channels for live matches and Celery for background work. The website is a React 19 SPA. Every repo enforces 100% test coverage, and tagged releases ship to EC2 through GitHub Actions.
Owner & developer
Trusted pet care, booked in two taps. Owners book vetted local walkers, sitters, groomers and trainers, follow the walk live, chat with their handler and pay securely.
Owner & developer
Automates WhatsApp "claim sales" for collectors: the host posts items, the first Claim reply wins, and the bot tracks everything and DMs winners at the end. Hosts sign in to a dashboard that shows only their own sales.
A Node bridge (Baileys) holds the WhatsApp session and feeds a Django + Celery engine that normalises messages, resolves claims and runs the posting chain, with S3 for listing images and automated backups.
Owner & developer · Built for Starke Ayres sales staff
A field app for Starke Ayres sales staff. Reps keep notes on each area they cover and the seed conditions it needs, track their test plants from delivery to results, and open fact sheets and growing guides for 125 varieties in a couple of taps.
A Django REST backend with JWT auth and a Flutter app, deployed with Docker, Postgres and nginx on AWS. The catalogue is imported from the public Starke Ayres site by a scraper and an idempotent import command.
Gym, Pilates, physio and recovery studio in Durbanville. The brief was to move their Squarespace site to WooCommerce while keeping the original styling. I converted it and added a shop, member sign-up and a booking system.
Lead developer
TCG and hobby store. I rebuilt it on WooCommerce: ~135 products across Pokémon, One Piece, MTG and more, with pre-order and back-order stock states, a game › series › set brand tree, and click & collect. Scripted with WP-CLI against a Docker dev copy.
A themed WooCommerce site built as a portfolio and booking page for Mizo's Egypt tours, showing off the team, past trips and tour options, with a booking form on every tour.
Moved into TypeScript as a full-stack developer, predominantly designing and shipping new voice and chat support features across the YouFibre platform, and building the integration tools used to migrate brsk applications, customers and data over to YouFibre.
Built a Python SDK that interoperates with the existing TypeScript SDK, giving Python developers a familiar Django-style interface to the new architecture — reducing migration friction and keeping the team productive through a major platform transition.
Joined as one of the few members of the development team, helping architect and build the company's core platform and infrastructure from the ground up — customer ordering, referrals, discounts, WhatsApp integration and more, using Python, Django and Django REST Framework.
Worked to a strong test-driven mindset, maintaining 95% code coverage. Also gained substantial DevOps experience maintaining and upgrading the deployment architecture and server infrastructure. Over four years I owned and extended the Django codebase as the business scaled.
Built projects primarily in Python and Django, later also React and Angular frontends. Used Wagtail CMS to turn static websites into dynamic, fully fledged web apps. Automated deployment systems with AWS CLI and GitLab CI/CD, and maintained RESTful APIs with Django REST Framework.
Worked with clients worldwide including Cumulus Networks (Nvidia), Barefoot Networks (Intel), iBanFirst and Partech Ventures — and took on a client-facing role in project management and DevOps.
Joined the internship programme in my final year at CTI and rotated through every part of the company — project management, QA, design & frontend, sysadmin, then backend. The three-month internship was extended twice, until I finished my degree and was offered a full-time backend role.
Pearson Institute of Higher Education (formerly CTI)
Stellenbosch High School
Computers, History, Biology and Maths. First XV rugby every year, and captain for a couple of those years.
Amateur rugby for Durbanville Bellville Rugby Club, plus jogging, hiking and fitness events like HYROX.
A massive collection of cricket, rugby, UFC, Dragon Ball, One Piece and Pokémon cards — rekindled in 2020, which led to co-founding GradeIt.
Call of Duty, League of Legends, Counter-Strike — and video or board game nights with friends.
I love history and seeing new places and cultures. Dream destination: Japan.