Mike Garthwaite
I’m a senior full-stack developer and technical lead with nearly 30 years of experience building maintainable web platforms and complex business systems end-to-end—from requirements and architecture through…
About
I’m a senior full-stack developer and technical lead with nearly 30 years of experience building maintainable web platforms and complex business systems end-to-end—from requirements and architecture through development, deployment, and production support. I specialise in TypeScript, Node.js, React, Next.js, MongoDB and AWS, and I enjoy turning tricky operational problems into well-designed software that teams can confidently run.
Over the last several years I’ve led the development of a production learning platform at The Brilliant Club in London, working hands-on as principal technical owner and taking projects through microservices design, real-time features, integrations, automation and ongoing support. I also build AI-powered tools and internal applications—such as document querying with RAG and practical AI-assisted operational prototypes—while collaborating closely with non-technical stakeholders and leading small development teams.
- 20 years' experience
- Joined November 2026
Skills· 14
Languages
- EnglishAdvanced
Industry experience
- Education
- Software & Internet
- Government
- Media & Entertainment
- Non-Profit Organization
- Professional Services
Work experience· 4 roles
Lead developer and principal technical owner of The Hub, a production learning platform built from scratch. The platform supports approximately 68,000 students, 1,233 tutors, 5,943 teachers and 160,000 assignments. Built with Next.js, React, Node.js, MongoDB and AWS using a microservices architecture and multiple Node.js backend services, covering learning materials, assessments, assignment submission/marking, feedback and attendance monitoring. Built a bespoke real-time messaging application using Socket.IO. Replaced manual processes (email, spreadsheets and face-to-face administration) with an integrated platform to scale programmes without equivalent admin workload growth. Responsible for architecture, technology decisions, development, testing, code reviews, deployment, AWS infrastructure, maintenance and production support; leads a small team and works directly with staff to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
Contributed to migration of the UCL website estate (800+ subsites) to a Drupal multisite architecture.
Ported Open Education Europa from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7 and architected the new site. Worked on a high-traffic website receiving more than one million hits per day, developing custom Drupal/PHP modules and JavaScript front ends. Managed servers and Varnish configuration; configured Jenkins and introduced version control and continuous integration. Worked directly with clients and stakeholders.
Education
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