Hi 👋

I'm Kieran, a Software Engineer based in Bridgend, South Wales.

I'm an enthusiastic, yet realistic, developer with an eye for performance and future enhancement.

As I progress both professionally and personally, I aim to become an engineer who can turn their hand at anything.

A Photo of Me!

Skills Summary

As a full stack software engineer, I have experience with a broad range of technologies spreading across all layers of development. I learn quickly and adapt to new technologies, allowing me to pick up new skills and tools as required. Below are some of the technologies that I have used.

Languages

  • Python
  • HTML5
  • CSS
  • JavaScript
  • PHP
  • C#

Frameworks

  • Flask
  • React
  • Bootstrap
  • .NET

Cloud + CICD

  • AWS
  • Docker
  • Terraform (HCL)
  • GitHub Actions

Databases + Reporting

  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • SQlite
  • PostgreSQL
  • Oracle
  • SQL Server Reporting Services
  • Power Bi

Other

  • REST and GraphQL APIs
  • Drupal
  • Linux

For more information, feel free to reach out on Linkedin or Email! I'm always happy to chat about my skills and experiences.

↓ Contact me ↓

Places I've Worked

Junior Software Engineer @ ONS

Nov' 2024 - Present | Newport

Working within Digital Innovation to produce, deliver and maintain a range of innovative software solutions. Within this role I:

  • Develop and maintain applications using a range of technologies.
  • Work with a range of stakeholders to understand requirements and deliver solutions appropriate to their needs.
  • Deploy solutions to cloud environments, such as AWS, having an awareness of security and any maintenance required within our architecture.
  • Produce well-tested and standardised code using a range of testing and linting utilities.
  • Review code of others and provide constructive criticism.
  • Work within an agile environment, using Jira and Confluence to manage workloads and document solutions.
  • Mentor less experienced developers, such as year in industry students, to help progress their careers.
  • Suggest technical improvements to our existing systems, to improve our efficiency and better organise our digital landscape.

I work with a range of technologies within this role, such as:

  • Python.
  • HCL / Terraform.
  • HTML, CSS, Javascript.
  • Python web frameworks like Flask and Streamlit.
  • SQL.
  • Docker.
  • REST and GraphQL APIs.

I gained this position through open and fair competition within the Civil Service, using my previous apprenticeship experience to help me secure the role. I am aiming to continue to climb the ranks as a software engineer, and to continue to develop my skills and knowledge within the field.

Network 75 Software Engineer @ ONS [Expand]

Feb' 2024 - Nov' 2024 | Newport

Within this role, I worked on a range of projects to help ensure developer standards, best practice and productivity. I gained this position through my degree apprenticeship with Network 75. As a Network 75 Software Engineer, I gained a range of experience with regards to commercial software development, such as the importance of accessibility and security within applications, and the importance of testing and documentation. In this position, I also managed to gain a range of technical skills and boost my hobbyist knowledge of software development (particularly with Python) to a more professional level. I gained a lot of experience with cloud architecture and deployment procedures, as well as the importance of version control and CI/CD pipelines.

Network 75 Power Bi Developer @ ONS [Expand]

Dec' 2023 - Feb' 2024 | Newport

As a Power Bi Developer, I worked alongside DST Resource to create a range of Power Bi dashboards to provide greater financial insights within DST. The role involved working with non-technical stakeholders to understand their requirements and deliver solutions that met their needs. I often had to work with large unstructured datasets, and had to use a range of techniques to clean and transform the data into a usable format. Within this position, I also had to introduce development standards (such as version history notes) and upskill other members of the team to help them understand the capabilities of Power Bi and how to use it effectively. This would ultimately allow the team to become more self-sufficient, reduce their reliance on external developers and produce and maintain their own dashboards.

Junior Application Developer @ UKWDG [Expand]

Sep' 2022 - Oct' 2023 | Taff's Well

During my time at UKWDG, I worked on a range of projects regarding databases and reporting, using technologies such as SQL, SSRS and Power Bi. In the role, I experienced a scrum routine, attending daily stand-ups and sprint reviews. I worked on various Help Desk tickets for non-technical users, and was responsible for the maintenance and development of a range of databases and reports. This position allowed me to work with large, relational datasets and to understand the importance of data integrity and security. I also gain experience around database/report performance tuning, data warehousing techniques, and the development of triggers, stored procedures and functions.

Towards the end of my time at UKWDG, I also started to investigate the Angular framework, and began to develop a range of small applications to help me understand the framework and its capabilities. This would allow me to become a self-sufficient developer and handle tickets across the full stack. In addition to Angular, I also had some exposure to Android Studio and Kotlin, being used within the shop floor's barcoding system.

Things I've Done

Education

University | In Progress...

BSc (Hons) Computing @ the University of South Wales (2022 - 2027).

Studies include:

  • C# Development using .NET.
  • Web Development using PHP, HTML5, CSS and JavaScript.
  • Exposure to Content Management System such as Drupal and Joomla.
  • Database Development, SQL and Spacial Databases.
  • Networking and Operating System theory.
  • Project Management and Professional Practice

A full course overview can be found here.

A-Levels

A-Level Results (2022)
Subject Grade
Computer Science A*
Mathematics A*
Physics A*
Welsh Baccalaureate A*
Studied at Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen and Brynteg Comprehensive School under the WJEC examination board.

GCSEs

Obtained 14 GCSEs at A*, including English, Mathematics, Computer Science, Addition Mathematics and Physics. Studied at Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen, under the WJEC examination board (2020).

Achievements

  • EESW Gold Crest Award 2020-21 in collaboration with Sony.
  • The Brilliant Club 2021 (Grade 2:1).
  • UK Bebras Challenge Elite 2021 (Distinction).

Projects

To see my projects, please visit my GitHub.

Blogs on these projects coming soon?

Stuff I Use

Hardware

PC

My PC is a custom build, with the following specs:
  • MSI X570S Torepedo Max
  • AMD Ryzen 7 5800x
  • AMD 6950XT
  • 32GB DDR4 RAM @ 3000MHz
  • Corsair RMx 1000 Shift
  • Phanteks P500A

HP Laptop

  • HP Pavillion 15-eh0009sa
  • AMD Ryzen 4500U
  • AMD Radeon Graphics
  • 32GB DDR4 3200MHz

MacBook Pro

  • 2019 16" MacBook Pro
  • 8-core Intel i9 @ 2.3GHz
  • AMD Radeon Pro 5500M
  • 16GB DDR4 2666MHz

Software

OS

I use a range of operating systems across my devices.

  • Windows 11 - My main PC for gaming.
  • Arch Linux - My laptop, using KDE Plasma as my desktop environment.
  • MacOS - My MacBook Pro, primarily for development in work.

I have used Windows for most of my life, but I have recently moved to Arch Linux as my daily driver on my laptop. I enjoy the control you get with Linux and, with Arch specifically, the understanding of how the OS works under the hood. I found that development on Windows was often a pain compared to Linux and MacOS, specifically with differences between terminal commands and the ease of installing packages.

If gaming were to be better supported on Linux, I would consider moving to Linux full-time, on all my devices.

IDEs

I primarily use Visual Studio Code for development, with a range of extensions to help me with my workflow. I enjoy VSCode's flexibility to work with a range of languages. I would like to explore JetBrains' suite of IDEs in the future, as I have heard good things about their capabilities. Although, I do not plan to move away from VSCode any time soon.

I have also spent a small amount of time using Cursor for development in Hackathons and other fast-paced environments. I have found Cursor to be a great tool for quickly developing applications, with its AI focused development. I don't plan to use Cursor as my main IDE as I find that VSCode promotes me to write my code myself and understand it, rather than relying on AI to do it for me. I think that it is easy to miss that understanding of how your code works when using AI to assist you in writing it - although it does save time for the boring stuff!

Other Useful Tools

Some notable tools I use include:

  • Yazi - Terminal based file manager (I hate MacOS' Finder).
  • MkDocs - Static site generator from markdown for code documentation.
  • Draw.io - Useful for any designs or mock-ups.
  • Amethyst - MacOS tiling window manager.
  • SchemaSpy - A tool to generate a documentation website from Database models.
For a maintained list of tools I use, please visit my GitHub Stars.

Get in Touch