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Ed Henderson

  • Senior web / front end developer available for short-term freelance work: bug fixing, feature delivery and stabilisation
  • Fast ramp-up in existing codebases, with a focus on maintainable, accessible, performance-minded UI
  • Senior React / TypeScript / JavaScript contractor available immediately for remote UK contracts
  • Best suited to existing products that need features finished, bugs untangled, UI stabilised and releases pushed over the line
  • Strong recent delivery across SaaS, public sector, data-heavy applications and global non-profit platforms
  • Comfortable dropping into unfamiliar codebases, following existing patterns and shipping without drama
  • BSc (Hons) Computer Science, Heriot–Watt University
  • Hands-on engineering leader with deep Front End roots and experience leading teams, mentoring engineers and shipping product in fast-moving environments
  • Strong fit for player-coach roles that combine technical credibility, high standards and people development
  • Experience spanning team leadership, hiring, mentoring, architecture and delivery across startups, SaaS and global organisations

Experienced Web Developer & Front End Specialist

Summary

Summary

  • Contract focus: React, TypeScript, JavaScript, Next.js, Front End performance, accessibility, design systems and complex UI delivery
  • Best fit: Finishing half-built features, stabilising existing apps, untangling UI bugs and shipping under time pressure
  • Low drama: Drop into an existing codebase, follow the patterns, improve what’s necessary and ship cleanly
  • AI-assisted: Uses AI coding tools day-to-day to move faster, not to skip understanding the code
  • Seasoned Front End Developer: Over two decades of hands-on experience delivering high-performance web applications
  • Modern Stack: React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS; strong experience with Headless CMS integrations
  • Global Experience: Played key roles in Agile teams across the UK, Europe, North America and Asia
  • Proven Success: Track record of delivering results for startups and Fortune 500 clients
  • Technical Leadership: Led the architecture and launch of award-winning applications
  • Standards & Performance: Championed web standards, optimised performance metrics and enhanced user experiences
  • Mentorship: Guided teams and individuals, successfully transitioning interns into full-time roles
  • Industry Contributions: Authored and technically reviewed multiple industry publications
  • AI-Augmented Workflow: Proficient with AI coding assistants and generative tools across the full development lifecycle
  • Hands-on Leadership: Player-coach experience spanning engineering management, technical leadership and delivery
  • People Development: Mentored engineers, supported career growth and helped interns transition into full-time roles
  • High-autonomy Environments: Comfortable operating with ownership, trust and minimal process while maintaining standards
  • Cross-functional Thinking: Strong collaboration with Product, Design and stakeholders to shape practical, user-centred solutions

Skills

  • React
  • TypeScript
  • JavaScript
  • Next.js
  • Tailwind CSS
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • REST APIs
  • GraphQL
  • Storybook
  • Playwright
  • Jest
  • Vitest
  • React Testing Library
  • Vite
  • Accessibility
  • WCAG
  • Performance
  • Core Web Vitals
  • Design Systems
  • SaaS
  • GOV.UK design system
  • Headless CMS
  • Contentful
  • Mapbox

Experience

Senior Front End Engineer

Saber AI

Manchester, UK

– Remote • Freelance
  • Delivered React and TypeScript features, production fixes and shared component improvements within a large-scale SaaS application
  • Improved accessibility, semantic HTML, testing stability and complex UI behaviour across forms and modal flows
  • Delivered front end features and production fixes in a large-scale SaaS application using React and TypeScript, working within an established design system
  • Improved accessibility, semantic HTML and component behaviour across complex UI flows, including modals and forms
  • Refactored shared UI components and stabilised unit and integration tests, reducing technical debt and improving delivery confidence

Senior Front End Developer

Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

UK

– Remote • Contract
  • Delivered Front End prototypes for an AI-generated housing data simulator aligned with the GOV.UK design system
  • Shipped within tight public sector constraints using Nunjucks, accessibility and service standards
  • Advised on Front End architecture, prototyping approach and GOV.UK design system alignment for an AI-generated simulator exploring housing data complexity
  • Delivered rapid proof-of-concept iterations using Nunjucks templates, aligning with GOV.UK accessibility and service standards while working within tight public sector constraints

Development Lead / Technical Lead

Senior Front End Developer

Mastercard Foundation

Toronto, Canada

– Remote • Freelance
  • Delivered a large-scale multilingual platform for a global non-profit organisation using modern Front End tooling and Headless CMS architecture
  • Built performant, accessible UI using Eleventy, Tailwind CSS, Alpine.js, Mapbox and ButterCMS
  • Orchestrated the planning and development of a complex multi-language, digital platform, part of a multi-agency team including UX designers and content strategists, focused on global non-profit audiences
  • Strategised and led the development of a user-friendly CMS, mentoring collaborators and increasing editor productivity while reducing content publishing time
  • Built on a modern JAMstack architecture with a Headless CMS (ButterCMS), Tailwind CSS, Eleventy, Mapbox, Alpine.js and Netlify for performant, scalable delivery

Senior Front End Developer

United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)

Copenhagen, Denmark

Hybrid • FTC

Technical Architect

CulturaGo

Johannesburg, South Africa

– , Remote • Freelance
  • Built and automated a scalable multilingual travel platform generating 120+ dynamic guides across multiple destinations and languages
  • Delivered performant Front End architecture supporting large-scale white-label deployment
  • Architected and developed My Trip Companion / Country Guides, automating the generation of 120 travel guides (each ~20 pages) in under 2 minutes, supporting 3 languages across 40 destinations
  • Scalable system architecture designed to support the addition of many more destinations and languages without compromising performance
  • White-label solution used by major players such as AXA, Visa, Mastercard, MetLife and Chubb for their customers

Senior Web Developer

Zello

Austin, TX, USA

– Remote • Freelance
  • Delivered JavaScript-heavy Front End builds with 100+ pages and 50+ reusable UI components using Eleventy and Tailwind CSS
  • Improved PageSpeed scores from below 50 to 95+ while leading localisation and Headless CMS improvements with Contentful
  • Led and executed three major JavaScript-heavy website builds using Eleventy, Sass and Tailwind CSS, expanding the site with over 100 new pages and developing 50+ reusable UI components, contributing to a 25% reduction in development time for new features
  • Elevated Zello’s PageSpeed Insights scores from below 50 to 95+, enhancing load times by 40% and user retention by 20%
  • Earned Contentful certification and led the migration to a fully localised Headless CMS, improving content manageability and localisation capabilities

Earlier experience available on request, including leadership and senior engineering roles at Trickle, Sherpa, Neon Labs, POPSUGAR and Skyscanner.

Web Development Lead / Engineering Manager

Trickle

Edinburgh, Scotland

– Hybrid • Full-time
  • Recruited, line-managed and mentored a high-performing Front End team, lifting team productivity by 30% through coaching, feedback and clearer engineering direction
  • Operated as player-coach: owned Front End architecture for an award-winning SaaS application while supporting engineers to own delivery and technical decisions
  • Partnered with Product and Design leadership to align team priorities with company strategy
  • Shipped business-critical features (Anonymous Flares, threaded Comments, Analytics) with the team I built, increasing user engagement by 25%
  • Led the Front End architecture of an award-winning SaaS application, balancing hands-on delivery with team leadership
  • Recruited, managed and mentored a high-performing web development team, improving team productivity by 30% through coaching, feedback and clearer engineering direction
  • Worked closely with Product and Design while creating space for engineers to take ownership of delivery and technical decisions
  • Delivered key features such as Anonymous Flares, threaded Comments and Analytics, increasing user engagement by 25%

Senior Web Developer

Trickle

Edinburgh, Scotland

– Hybrid • Full-time
  • Developed a responsive React web application aimed at enhancing employee engagement and wellbeing through real-time conversations and individual support
  • Led the full lifecycle of feature development, from initial concept to design, UX, UI, prototyping, testing and final implementation

Senior Front End Engineer

Sherpa

  • Malta
  • London, England
– Hybrid • Full-time
  • Provided Front End consultancy for an InsurTech startup’s first release and collaborated with an international team on major launches
  • Implemented key production features and optimised data flow between Front End and Back End systems
  • Oversaw UX and UI design enhancements, including a new subscription feature, and collaborated with Product and Design teams to refine the user experience

Senior Software Engineer

Neon Labs

San Francisco, CA, USA

– On-site • Full-time
  • Mentored and transitioned two interns into full-time engineers, supporting their ramp into production work
  • Owned the Front End development and release process end-to-end, including coding standards, style guides and the Component Library
  • Architected and launched Neon Pro (JAMstack) in 3 months, generating $200k+ in revenue within the first year
  • Partnered with Product, Marketing and Design teams on customer-facing demos of Neon’s Machine Learning, AI and Computer Vision capabilities
  • Architected, built and launched Neon Pro, a revenue-generating JAMstack web app, in 3 months, generating $200k+ in revenue within the first year
  • Collaborated with Product, Marketing and Design teams to create a feature-rich demonstration of Neon’s Machine Learning, AI and Computer Vision capabilities
  • Established coding standards, style guides and a Component Library, taking ownership of the Front End development and release process
  • Mentored and transitioned two interns into full-time roles

Manager, Engineering & Technical Lead

POPSUGAR

  • San Francisco, CA, USA
  • Shanghai, China
– On-site • Full-time
  • Managed engineering teams across two continents (San Francisco, Shanghai), aligning delivery and quality across timezones and cultures
  • Player-coach across video and offshore operations, combining hands-on engineering with line management and day-to-day mentoring
  • Led cross-team coordination and hiring decisions in a fast-paced media environment while maintaining high engineering standards
  • Delivered POPSUGAR TV on time and under budget — a business-critical launch with hard deadlines
  • Managed and led engineering teams in San Francisco and Shanghai, overseeing video and offshore operations across multiple locations
  • Served as a player-coach, combining hands-on engineering with people leadership, mentoring and day-to-day team support
  • Helped align delivery, team coordination and technical execution while maintaining high standards in a fast-paced media environment
  • Delivered POPSUGAR TV on time and under budget, ensuring efficient use of resources and meeting critical deadlines

Senior Software Engineer

POPSUGAR

San Francisco, CA, USA

– On-site • Full-time
  • Led high-profile projects generating $2M+ in annual revenue, with a focus on full-stack and Front End development, enhancing site performance and user experience
  • Pioneered improvements in semantic markup, performance and SEO through the integration of structured Microdata
  • Initiated and led the organisational transition to Sass and Web Standards, reducing CSS file size by 30% and improving maintainability by 40% through the establishment of coding standards and style guides

Earlier experience available on request, including front end and full-stack engineering roles at Skyscanner, Royal Bank of Scotland, ASMALLWORLD and Computershare.

Education

BSc (Hons) Computer Science

Heriot–Watt University

Edinburgh, Scotland

  • Second Class Upper Division (2:1)
  • Merit Award (2nd Year)

Publications

Author

  • Jack Draws Anything – published in the UK (), Brazil () & Republic of Korea (), ISBN: 9781444907476

Technical Reviewer

Licences & Certifications

Freelance

Volunteering

Career Mentor

Heriot–Watt University

Edinburgh, Scotland

– Present Hybrid • Part-time
  • Supporting final-year students in long-term career planning through Heriot–Watt University's Career Mentoring Programme
  • Sharing industry insights and professional experience to help mentees navigate career decisions, CV development and interview preparation
  • Facilitating connections within the web development industry through professional network contacts

Skills

  • JavaScript
  • TypeScript
  • ES6
  • HTML
  • Cross-browser development
  • Single Page Application (SPA)
  • Responsive web design
  • Web Components
  • SVG
  • Accessibility / A11Y
  • W3C
  • WCAG
  • Microdata
  • Back End API integration
  • REST API
  • JSON
  • Stripe SDK
  • GraphQL
  • Webhooks
  • MySQL
  • SQL Server
  • SQL
  • PHP
  • Mentoring
  • Project Management
  • Line Management
  • Hiring
  • Performance Feedback
  • SDLC
  • I18N
  • L10N
  • Agile
  • Scrum
  • Coding Standards
  • Pull Requests
  • Leadership
  • Effective Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Adaptability
  • Team Collaboration
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Empathy
  • Decision Making
  • Time Management
  • Continuous Learning
  • Negotiation
  • Attention to Detail
  • Cultural Awareness
  • Client Relations
  • Innovative Thinking

Interests & Hobbies

  • Solving complex technical problems
  • Getting kids coding
  • Speaking at local schools
  • Front End technologies
  • Usability
  • Rugby
  • Golf
  • Basketball
  • Go Karting
  • Paddleboarding
  • Tennis
  • Gym
  • Movies
  • Video Games
  • Reading

Additional Information

  • Scottish / British Citizen
  • Basic proficiency in German
  • Short-term freelance availability
  • Available immediately for remote UK contract work
  • Open to permanent or contract engineering management and technical leadership roles