z2023 whoami - SoCraTesUK/socrates-uk GitHub Wiki

Tell us who you are :)


Amélie C.

  • Developer living in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
  • Going round the various crafters unconfs (last one SoCraTes in Germany, and regular at SocratesUK and CodeFreeze)
  • Mostly backend/integration. Lately Typescript/Node and some python. Previously Java. Ops!
  • Interested in incremental steps to improve all the things all the time (code, test approaches, deployment, processes, collaboration, ...)
  • I bring a few games and a set of Speedminton (outdoor version of badminton)

David Heath

  • Head of Profession for Software Engineering at GDS
  • I've done a lot of ruby, a fair bit of Java, a fair bit of technical design. I'm not doing much hands on these days
  • I'm a fan of Liberating Structures and generally I'm interested in how to make organisations work well
  • I'm interested in talking about developing developers and engineers -- apprenticeships, career pathways, helping people to have fruitful and fulfilling careers

Dom Taylor (not big on socials, including GitHub)

  • Full stack developer at Government Digital Service
  • Working on the OneLogin programme
  • About to do my final interview for level 4 software developer apprenticeship (but not quite as new to being a developer as that makes it sound)
  • Mostly know JavaScript but working 80% in Java at GDS; still kinda hate using Typescript, but keen to be converted if there are any evangelists attending Socrates!
  • Interest in helping create better paths into software development for disadvantaged groups

Chris Jenkins

  • Software Engineer living in Oxfordshire, UK.
  • I've been to SoCraTes UK several times before and it is, without doubt, my favourite conference.
  • I'm mainly a backend Kotlin engineer these days and often spend my days knee-deep in Kafka and Terraform as well. I'm interested in learning how to make the tech that we use easier to work with, especially for newcomers.
  • I appear to have developed an interest in retro computing oriented around the Atari ST that I used to have when I was a kid and around the associated emulators, operating systems and tools that are still under development for that platform.
  • I'm trying to get back into embedded development as a hobby and can be found spending my evenings writing C++ code to make various Raspberry Pi Pico based devices that I have acquired recently do fun things.
  • There are a million more things that I am interested in learning, from languages likes TypeScript, Rust and ARM assembly language, to Domain Driven Design, to mobile development...

Raimo Radczewski (@rradczewski on twitter, slack etc)

  • Freelance Software Engineer / Technical Agile Coach from Germany running community hubs like coderetreat.org and softwarecraft.org
  • My 3rd time to SoCraTes UK, looking forward to seeing y'all again!
  • I'm usually all about the culture aspects around XP/Software Craft, but have been doing a lot of hands-on again for the past few years
  • Doing a lot of Kubernetes/DevOps/Continuous Delivery Training lately which I could bring
  • Always interested in the nitty-gritty of software architecture with a fare share of experience around DDD, EventSourcing, Hexagonal etc.
  • My professional obsession lately is renovatebot and how it keeps repos (e.g. like my kata-bootstraps up-to-date automatically).
  • Hobby-wise, I've been fiddling with ESP32's for a bit and got very involved with 3D printing and CAD design

Chris Simon (T: @chrissimonau, M: @[email protected])

  • Coach/Consultant from Australia with a focus(??) on startups, (lower-case) agility, technical leadership, DDD, TDD, Systems Thinking, System Architecture etc
  • Mostly work in advisory/coaching/training but very hands on with my open source project, Contextive
  • Currently in Europe for 7 weeks bouncing between conferences and meetups, speaking at some, attending others. First time at SocratesUK, super excited.
  • Formerly a startup CTO, now very interested in breaking down barriers between 'tech' and 'business' in both directions - empowering devs to inform business strategy and educating others in how to think about technical risk and opportunity
  • Would love to retire the technical debt metaphor... pondering something related to public health/illness etc.

Tom Oram (T: @tomphp, L: Tom Oram M: @[email protected])

  • Lead Consulting Engineer at Armakuni
  • Love all aspects of software, with Domain-Driven Design and Function Programming being some favourites
  • Have been to SoCraTes UK several times and used to be much more active in communities, but COVID lockdowns and having a small child caused me to fall out of touch with a lot of of the wider scene. I'm really looking forward to reconnecting!
  • I am coming to SoCraTes UK this year with some questions that I'm looking forward to hearing other peoples' opinions on - I will add then to the incubation page shortly. I also want to write code with people!

Gabriel Birke (M: @[email protected] )

  • Full stack developer and staff engineer at Wikimedia Germany
  • I've been to several SoCraTes events in Soltau, Linz and Berlin. This is my first SoCraTes in the UK.
  • Studied Technical Writing, then became a software developer, working with PHP, JavaScript, TypeScript, Ansible
  • I have been practicing Non-Violent-Communication (NVC) for over 10 years now and it has transformed my life. Ask me anything ...
  • I would be happy to learn more about team dynamics, decision-making in a group, idiomatic Vue, swarm programming, tiling window managers and note taking
  • I love TTRPGs with a focus on storytelling.

rea sutter (G: reasu L: reasun)

  • I'm currently living in Austria but want to move to the UK in the near future. I'm open for work (and visa sponsorship).
  • I'm an active member of Softwerkskammer Wien, I organise and attend code retreats and dojos.
  • Some say my comfort zone is outside my comfort zone - I love to learn new things and challenge myself.
  • For the past two years I've worked as a freelance Technical Agile Coach and Uni Lecturer (Intro Programming, ADS, (mostly frontend) Web development). I really love teaching and coaching and have been doing that for about 25 years, but I miss actual development and want do more of that in my next role.
  • I've worked mostly in Java, but I'm no stranger to JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, C, C++. I definitely prefer strongly typed languages. :-)
  • I'm interested in learning a functional language, the cognitive aspects of programming, BDD, DDD, architecture, CI/CD, continuous improvement of everything, formal methods of programming, sustainability and ethics in IT.
  • In my free time I craft soft wear - I knit, crochet, spin, sew, embroider, or learn about those things.

Kit Maywood (T: @kittsville)

  • I'm a backend developer living in West London
  • I've been to SoCraTes UK once before in 2019
  • I've primarily written Scala my whole career with occasional TS/Terraform/Node
  • I got into programming writing PHP and use Python for personal websites and IoT projects
  • I also like cycling, bouldering, clubbing, hiking, homebrew and weird films

Clare Sudbery (G: claresudbery, L: claresudbery, M: claresudbery)

  • I'm an independent technical coach living in Manchester, UK with 2 cats, 2 dogs, 2 kids and a journalist...
  • ...except that one of the kids is not only officially Grown Up, but his girlfriend is incubating MY FIRST GRANDCHILD...
  • ...oh, and he (my eldest) is a professional circus performer #ProudMum
  • On the tech front, I'm liable to get excited about mob/ensemble programming, TDD, CI/CD, trunk-based development and refactoring...
  • ...but I'm also just easily excited, about everything from Scrabble to surds.
  • I like to sing the blues.
  • I'm easy to spot because I appear to be astonishingly well coordinated, but actually it's just that my favourite colour is turquoise.
  • #ActuallyAutistic

Rajesh (T: @rajesh_som)

  • I'm a backend developer living in South East London
  • I'm a regular to SoCraTes UK
  • I've primarily written Java my whole career
  • I have evolved with the payment industry from the usage of magstripe to chip & pin to digital currencies
  • I am fitness ethusiast - yoga, park runs

Nicky Chorley (L: here)

  • Tech lead now, living in London
  • Have been to several SoCraTes (mostly UK, but one BE)
  • Work on backends in Kotlin and Scala
  • Really enjoy doing TDD and teaching and mentoring developers
  • Some personal projects in Clojure and OCaml. Also trying to get into operating system stuff when I can

Previous Editions

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