Located in Bath, South West England, I build software to your specification.
I have worked on very diverse projects for clients of all sizes – individuals, SMEs through to large organisations such as Unilever, Heathrow Airport, Met Office and the NHS.
Please read about my experience to find out how I can help you.
You can get in touch via my contact form. I normally reply within one working day.
Some interesting projects I have worked on…
Working with a team under contract to a film studio, I developed the user interface and parts of the back end for a system that controls a large array of still cameras used for special effects.
I joined a multi-disciplinary team of mechanical, electrical and software engineers working in the automotive industry to integrate core parts of the realtime control system. This mainly involved development of an rFpro hardware plugin, TwinCAT C++ (TCCOM) modules, and communication between those and the driving controls.
I developed embedded client software and parts of a web-based content management system for a highly secure wireless network of public display units commissioned by a UK transport authority.
For version 2 of a third umpire / video referee system receiving multiple video feeds I developed high-speed realtime processing to decode live inputs and crop, scale and composit output for match officals. I had previously written version 1 of this system in its entirety, from back end to user interface.
I work with the Estates Department of an NHS hospital trust to create touch-screen HMI (human-machine interface) monitor and control panels for use by engineering staff.
I built parts of an automated system that transforms a constant flow of weather station data into formats suitable for onward transmission to the client's processing facility.
For a major UK transport hub I wrote key parts of a secure system that enables checkpoint staff to speedily validate delivery vehicles / drivers. My part was mainly the user interface running on hand-held devices and comms with the back end.
I was a member of a team contracted by a FTSE 100 company to build a series of management information projects that included a global risk management system.
I worked with industrial printing machinery, driving high-volume personalised print runs (every page individually tailored to the recipient), data pre-processing and workflow systems.
Languages and platforms I have used are many and varied, including:
Projects often require other elements that I handle as a matter of course, for example:
I got hooked on programming in 1985, seeking escape from seven years as a railway civil engineering technician.
That accidentally lead to my second career as a technical writer and editor on computer magazines.
Publishing had not been my goal but opportunity knocked and it turned out to be a great thing to do. Over the next 16 years I worked for Europress (Amstrad CPC Computing, PC Today) and Future plc (PC Answers, PC Plus).
My driving interest in coding and the insides of computers stayed with me. I had software published on cover disks, I edited the work of our coding contributors and I researched and wrote countless technical articles.
Sadly, the new millennium brought winter to the industry. Accountants stalked the corridors and quality was eroded by cost cutting. Time to step back, reasess and move on.
I realised that I had remained a techie who fetched up in publishing, never fully becoming a media person who covered tech. Years on, and with a lot of water under the bridge, I still loved writing software.
That persuaded me to revive 1985's Plan A to become a full-time developer.
This third career began in 2007 as the production programmer at a busy digital printing company. I got the job because they were a week away from losing my predecessor and I was the only option.
Having talked my way into the deep end, I somehow stayed afloat, grew into and eventually outgrew the job.
In 2012 I moved to a semi-freelance role in which I split my time between local engineering software company Dot Software and other clients. This enabled me to broaden my experience into diverse industries, project types and development technologies.
I mainly work remotely, undertaking projects directly with clients when a solo developer is a good fit.
A lot of my time is spent with Dom Jenkins at Dot Software here in Bath. I may suggest that a large or complex system is handled by Dot Software to gain the benefits of a highly experienced team with broad software and hardware skills.
It may be possible for me to work on site at locations commutable from Bath.
Please use this form and I will take it from there.