Gabriel McCallin

Principal Software Engineer

I am a principal software engineer working in the London region. I don't live in central London because that would be crazy but I am on the tube (zone 8 😱).

I spend most of my work life building, deploying and caring for apps or websites, and the rest trying to get whatever office room I'm in to be the right temperature. All rooms should be 24 degrees Celsius.

At the moment I am experiencing the dizzying sensation of one minute discussing enterprise architecture (do we really need a Sharepoint integration?) and the next trying to decide between marginTop or marginBottom (never padding (ok - sometimes)).

This past year I have:

paired with at least 7000 developers, throuples are better, mobs are the best
written over a million stickies in Miro / Figma / Mural (I think this might be my greatest skill)
talked about the benefits of automated testing every single day
suggested to my peers to "do it in the front end" and not build a GraphQL server that models the entire universe. But business logic should be in the back end, right?
spent many hours on high-level estimation and delivery roadmaps, which is just saying "it depends" in different ways
rebuilt an app in a shiny new tech stack and reminded everyone that new features will have to wait
tried yet again to find another way to say, "well, it's a trade-off"
explained that "yes, that will cost £2 million"
worked with someone so incredibly toxic it gave me nightmares
worked with so many lovely humans that I remembered it was all ok 💖
been told that I am "on mute"
😍 EAS Build
tested in production 😱

Get in touch 👋 for more stories from the front line of digital product development and business transformation!

I have a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Manchester.

Skills

Technical leadership

I guide technical teams and set standards for technology, ways of working, code quality and user experience.

Technology strategy

I understand the vision of the organisation and apply it to all technological decisions. I co-create systems that progress the organisation towards that vision.

Mentoring and coaching

I develop talent, offer guidance, and help people grow in their careers.

Agile methodologies

I support teams with Agile practices. I deliver value by minimising waste, iterating quickly, and learning by experimentation. I am agile, not dogmatic.

Collaboration

I build a culture of psychological safety, transparency, and teamwork through open communication and shared achievements. I trust teams to make decisions without excessive oversight.

Technologies

JavaScript Typescript Node React React Native Expo GraphQL Cypress Webdriverio AWS Azure Nextjs Contentful Firebase

(and many more! Ansible for example 😀)

Experience

AND Digital, Staff Software Engineer

September 2022 - present

I help companies bring their digital aspirations to market. I support teams by building trust, fostering a creative and innovative environment, and establishing guiding principles.

Continuous automated testing
Continuous deployment
Pair programming
Test-driven development
Optimising for experimentation and change
Customer behaviour and variant testing
Learning as a success metric

As part of technical leadership teams, I have worked on:

Aviva, replatform of the consumer mobile application from Xamarin to React Native
Frasers Group (Sports Direct), rebuild of the consumer React Native white label mobile application
HCA Healthcare UK, replatform of the consumer primary care web and mobile applications to React Native and Nextjs
CRUK, rebuild of the consumer website from Drupal to a headless model with React and Contentful

Technologies used:

Typescript React React Native Expo Tamagui nextjs GraphQL webdriverio Appium Firebase

Thoughtworks, Technical Lead

October 2018 - September 2022

I led cross-functional product teams building platforms, web applications and business processes.

Some of the products I worked on:

NHS 111, website infrastructure replatform in Azure to handle the increased user traffic due to COVID
Tesco, design system and React component library
Open GI, web and infrastructure replatform from on-prem to Azure
Evri, new delivery user journeys during the rebranding from Hermes
WorldFirst, React replatform for a consumer currency exchange financial product
Wood Mackenzie, technical and ways of working review for an industrial energy visualisation platform

Technologies used:

Typescript .NET Core Node styled-components Vue React GraphQL Cypress Docker Kubernetes AWS Azure Netlify Powershell Terraform AWS CDK Firebase

Whitbread, DevOps Lead & Senior Engineer

September 2015 - October 2018

As part of a digital transformation of Whitbread Digital, I led a product team in the effort to adopt modern Agile and DevOps practices.

I helped to deliver a new responsive search experience for Premier Inn, through concept, MVP and launch.

Technologies used:

Adobe Experience Manager Typescript Node Jenkins Akamai SCSS Angular

Grand Visual, Technical Lead

April 2014 - September 2015

I led a development team to build interactive, dynamic and data-driven digital experiences in public spaces and retail environments.

I was also responsible for line management, technical sales, mentoring and recruitment.

Technologies used:

Azure Actionscript Flash JavaScript Node WebSocket

Freelance, Technical Lead

August 2010 - March 2014

Development and delivery of multiple software projects including games, installations, websites and digital campaigns.

Web and advertising agencies include BD Network, Razorfish, unit9, Albion, WEIR + WONG, Spark44, Digital Annexe and Kin Design. Clients included Google, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Uniqlo, National Lottery and Sony Pictures UK.

TBWA, Senior web developer

March 2007 - August 2010

Front end web development for multiple clients such as Canon, Nike, Nissan and Mazda.