Simon Foster

As a hands-on Lead Developer, my main focus is the technical integration and continuation of two technologically different business stacks, architecting solutions that ensure seamless data continuity and zero service disruption. I collaborate closely with wider business stakeholders and technical teams to translate complex requirements into scalable roadmaps, focusing on modernising legacy structures within cloud-native environments using AWS.

I manage and mentor a cross-functional development team, fostering a culture of engineering excellence and continuous improvement. By championing clean coding principles and establishing robust CI/CD practices via GitLab, SonarQube and AWS CDK, I ensure the consistent delivery of high-quality, maintainable code across our PHP (Symfony) and TypeScript (Node/React) ecosystems.

In this leadership role, I directed a team of developers in close partnership with product owners and business analysts to deliver high-impact solutions across customer focused products. Translating stakeholder requirements into technical reality, ensuring that innovative features were delivered in a timely manner without compromising on architectural integrity.

I acted as a mentor and collaborator, championing the delivery of consistent, clean code. By leveraging tools like Bitbucket Pipelines and Jenkins within an AWS Serverless environment, I streamlined development workflows to ensure the team met both technical standards and evolving business needs with maximum efficiency.

My primary focus was the continuous improvement of the group’s digital presence, where I developed new features aimed at optimising the customer journey and driving user engagement. I performed critical maintenance across the web estate and worked extensively with the core booking system API to ensure a high-performance, seamless experience for guests and owners.

Working within a modern PHP and JavaScript stack, I prioritised efficiency and speed, ensuring the integration between the frontend platforms and backend services was robust and scalable. This role was fundamental in refining my expertise in AWS Serverless architecture and Drupal-based environments.

As Technical Director, I had accountability for the IT department and was involved with product strategy, bridging the gap between directorial vision and technical execution. My primary focus was spearheading the digital transformation of the company’s core product, successfully migrating a legacy SQL Server and Access-based ecosystem into a modern, high-performance web application driven by RESTful APIs, Laravel, and Angular.

I oversaw the maintenance of all existing products and infrastructure while providing technical mentorship and leadership to the development team. By modernising our internal workflows and infrastructure via VMWare and Linux environments, I ensured high system availability and a scalable foundation for new product development.

Provided strategic IT support and consultancy to small businesses, with a focus on modernising legacy workflows through networking, web design, and hosting solutions. I acted as a technical partner, helping clients optimise their existing technology stacks while offering scalable suggestions for future-proofing their digital presence through cloud technologies.