Senior Software Engineer & Technical Lead

Handson technical leadership for digital transformation programmes, specialising in complex Next.js and React replatforming, migrations, platform architecture, performance and technical SEO.

I'm John, an awardwinning software engineering specialist based in sunny cloudy Brighton, UK.

I am a friendly and enthusiastic senior engineer and technical leader backed by over twentythree years of handson experience.

I help teams and clients design, build and improve websites, applications and web platforms, pairing architecture, delivery judgement and handson TypeScript, React, HTML and CSS.

My portfolio is diverse; I work with global clients, solving real-world problems, including:

  • helping prospective car buyers find just the right configuration for their next sports car;
  • helping a major browser vendor explore AIdriven tools for clearer, more useful browsing experiences;
  • leading a team of developers for the world's local bank, rebuilding their commercial banking platform;
  • ... and bringing a local rock band closer to their fans online during lockdown.
More about me

Featured Case Studies

  1. Featured case study

    The World Economic
    Forum

    Senior JavaScript developer heavily involved in delivering a Reactbased rebuild of the World Economic Forum online platforms, including leading the introduction of new user features.

    Screenshot of The World Economic Forum website; part of John Kavanagh's selected project work.
  2. Featured case study

    Virgin Atlantic
    & Holidays

    Lead engineer on this massive replatforming project, unifying twelve disparate applications under a new headless architecture with React and Next.js.

    Screenshot of the Virgin Atlantic & Holidays website; part of John Kavanagh's selected project work.
  3. Featured case study

    Nando’s

    Senior software engineer on the UK and Ireland replatform, migrating Nando’s customerfacing websites from legacy Drupal to a unified headless platform built with Next.js and Storyblok, with a focus on performance, accessibility, and SEO.

    Screenshot of the Nando’s website; part of John Kavanagh's selected project work.
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Previous Clients

Availability

I am currently leading a new digital transformation engagement, with availability for selected consulting and engineering delivery from September 2026. Short diagnostics or urgent work may be possible sooner.

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Have a complex web platform issue?

Tell me what is blocked, what has changed, and what needs to be true after the fix. I'll come back with a practical next step.