Lewpen Kinross-Skeels
Team leader and full stack engineer. I lead development teams and build whole products, from the database and the real-time servers to the component library and the interface on top.
History
Starting out
I started by writing games for MS-DOS at school: Tetrisk, a 3D engine, and Bedlam, a Boulder Dash clone in 386 assembly. In 1996 I took part in the British Informatics Olympiad.
Games and the early web
I built Roland's first website, with an educational forum and their product database behind it. Then came games: the whole of Hasbro E-mail Risk, and the building tools, traffic flow and software renderer for Monopoly Tycoon at DR Studios.
Systems in C++
As a contract C++ developer I wrote highly parallel oilfield simulation for Schlumberger, real-time player tracking for Setanta Sports, and packet routing and modem networking for iDirect's satellite systems. For FUJIFILM I made a tool that let a team of translators translate its software in place.
Leading development
At MyVoucherCodes I was head of development: I replaced the legacy PHP site with a framework built for speed, created the backend for 50 staff across 12 territories, localised the site into 10 languages and set up the process for a team of eight developers.
Frontend architecture
At SketchUp, part of Trimble, I was team lead and Scrum master. I built the Angular component framework and coding standards shared between teams, and led the team that built the Pre-design tool.
CTO and head of research
At Frenzi International I acted as CTO, leading a small team that took a taxi-booking and food-delivery platform from its first design to the App Store and Google Play in 14 months. At AutomatePro I was interim head of research, building a research team and leading Agent Test Studio, which tests AI agents inside ServiceNow.
Alongside that work, Lewpen Labs is where I build the frameworks and hosting this site runs on, carry out research into reactive programming, and write up the articles.
Skills
Leadership
Leading development teams, as CTO, head of development, team lead and Scrum master. Setting the process, the coding standards and the shared foundations a team builds on.
Frontend
Component libraries and design systems for many teams, in JavaScript, Angular, RxJS and React, with SVG and three.js graphics built into the components, and Ruby plugins for SketchUp.
Backend
PHP frameworks and backends, Node.js and Python services, databases, and real-time servers that keep thousands of devices up to date.
Systems
C++ and C close to the hardware: parallel code on clusters, network protocols, and assembly for the machines that came first.
Graphics and games
3D engines, raytracers, shaders and fractals, and games from MS-DOS to real-time multiplayer arenas in the browser.
Available for
Team leadership
Leading a development team: the process, the standards and the architecture, while still writing code alongside the team.
Full stack engineering
Building a whole product, or a whole feature, from the backend and its real-time servers through to the interface.
Frontend architecture
Component libraries, design systems and coding standards for several teams building on the same foundations.
Interim CTO
Taking a product from its first design to launch, and building the team that carries it on.
Research and AI
Setting up a research team, and bringing AI into a product or into the way an organisation works.
Rescuing a project
Picking up a project that has stalled, working out where it stands, and getting it moving again.
Contact
By Phone
UK: 0800 112 3001
By E-mail
Write to me at hello@lewpen.com.