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William John Warne

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Senior Software Engineer | Spec-Driven Development | AI-Augmented Delivery

Best used on architecture-heavy software work where system design, engineering quality, and hands-on delivery matter. Particularly strong in environments building AI-enabled products or modernising delivery with spec-driven development, domain-driven design, and agentic workflows. Open to long-term consulting, technical lead engagements, and senior hands-on engineering roles. Remote-first, based in Mafra, Portugal.

William John Warne
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Background

Senior software engineer with 6+ years designing, developing, and delivering production systems across AI SaaS, trading, healthcare, education, and maritime platforms. My focus is system and solution design, spec-driven development, and the engineering standards that keep quality, maintainability, and production readiness at the centre.

My strongest work sits where architecture, delivery process, and operational thinking meet: service boundaries, resilience, observability, ownership, and the decisions that are hard to undo later. Recent work includes rebuilding Luma Learn's AI system for 100k+ users — focused on scale, resilience, and production readiness — designing backend systems for Clairo AI, and improving delivery quality across consulting and product environments through clearer standards and domain-driven design.

AI and agentic workflows are part of how I work — always in service of better engineering outcomes. I use them alongside domain-driven design and context engineering to improve alignment and reviewability without compromising maintainability or production standards.

Experience

SOFTWARE ENGINEER / TECHNICAL LEAD

ZEBRA LABS LTD - LONDON, UK

Jan 2024 - Present - 1 yr 2 mo

  • Re-architected Luma Learn's core AI system for 100k+ users in roughly 2 months, rebuilding it for scale, resilience, and production readiness.
  • Designed production-ready backend systems for AI SaaS products, including Clairo AI, with architecture shaped for enterprise rollout and maintainability.
  • Built OneSea's maritime platform ecosystem across multiple integrated apps, aligning backend systems, data flow, and delivery structure.
  • Applied resilience patterns such as circuit breakers, resource segregation, and observability to prevent cascading failures when dependent services degraded or hit limits.
  • Established AI-augmented and agentic workflows with clear review standards, improving delivery alignment and implementation quality.
  • Led hands-on technical delivery across Luma Learn, Clairo AI, and OneSea, staying close to implementation while shaping system direction.
  • Advised on post-handover team structure and tooling so modern workflows amplified specialist expertise rather than masking ownership gaps.
  • Resolved ownership and data-quality misalignment on the ECI platform through DDD-style mapping of responsibilities, dependencies, and operational failure points.

Vercel - AWS - Docker - React - Next.js - TypeScript - Redis - Supabase - Cursor - Claude - Fly.io - FastAPI - Python - PostgreSQL - SQLAlchemy - Alembic - Drizzle - WhatsApp Cloud API

FULL STACK ENGINEER

SPHERE - LONDON, UK

Feb 2022 - Jun 2024 - 2 yr 5 mo

  • Built custom ML-backed curve pricing integrations for a high-throughput trading platform, connecting model outputs into production workflows.
  • Refactored trade and price distribution from user-based to action-based event classification as the platform grew in complexity.
  • Drove clearer design standards and technical direction where the team lacked a consistent architectural north star.
  • Designed and delivered the curve integration and display vertical with close attention to system fit, maintainability, and performance.

C# - .NET - Entity Framework - Azure - React - TypeScript - Docker

DEVELOPER

DOCTORLY - BERLIN, GERMANY

Nov 2021 - Feb 2022 - 4 mo

  • Developed backend API system using Domain-Driven Design for highly critical healthcare platform.
  • Applied strict DDD and dependency-direction practices with the team; achieved near-full test coverage and very few production bugs and incidents.

C# - .NET - MediatR - SendGrid - Entity Framework - AWS - JavaScript - SQL Server - MySQL - PostgreSQL - Docker - React - Sentry

DEVELOPER

THE DELTA STUDIO - CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

Dec 2019 - Feb 2022 - 2 yr 3 mo

  • Backend development for founders and corporates spinning out new ventures: corporate reward platforms, social platforms, transport and logistics systems.
  • Designed and developed solutions using headless architecture, Domain-Driven Design, monoliths, and microservices.
  • Refactored codebases where unclear structure and lack of dependency rules had led to circular dependencies and maintainability issues.
  • Saw impact of inadequate monitoring, logging, and alerts on reliability; applied those lessons to later projects.
  • Progressed from junior developer to leading software projects and refining operational processes (project management, development, quality assurance).

C# - .NET - MediatR - SendGrid - Entity Framework - AWS - JavaScript - SQL Server - MySQL - PostgreSQL - Docker - React - Sentry

Contact

Phone
+447508559737
Address
Remote - Mafra, Portugal

About Me

DOB
15 Jul 1996
Nationality
South African & British
Marital Status
Single (Engaged)
Languages
English
Religion
Christian

Skills

  • Python | FastAPI - 6y
  • OpenAI | Anthropic | Claude - 2y
  • Cursor | VS Code - 2y
  • JS/TS | NextJS | React - 6y
  • C# | .Net - 6y
  • PostgreSQL - 6y
  • Redis - 4y
  • n8n | Workflow automation - 1y
  • AWS | Azure | Vercel - 6y
  • Supabase | Fly.io - 4y
  • Docker - 6y
  • k9 | Playwright | Jest - 2y
  • Git | GitHub | GitHub Actions - 6y
  • AI-Augmented & Agentic Development - 2y
  • Domain-Driven Design - 6y
  • System & Solutions Design - 6y
  • Engineering Quality & Delivery Standards - 6y
  • Monolith & Headless Architecture - 6y
  • Microservices - 4y
  • Security & Policy Review - 4y
  • API Design - 6y
  • Technical Leadership - 4y

Core Competencies

  • Spec-driven development and delivery standards
  • System architecture and solution design
  • Domain-driven design
  • AI-augmented and agentic development
  • Hands-on technical leadership

Education

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (MECHANICAL & MECHATRONIC)

UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN

2015 - 2019

Industries

  • Healthcare
  • Trading & energy
  • Maritime
  • AI / SaaS
  • Coaching & education
  • Education
  • Social platforms

Recent Achievements

Jan 2024 - Present

  • Re-architected Luma Learn's AI system for 100k+ users with a strong focus on scale, resilience, and production readiness.
  • Designed production-ready backend systems for AI SaaS products, including Clairo AI.
  • Built OneSea's maritime platform ecosystem across multiple integrated apps.
  • Applied resilience patterns and observability to prevent cascading failures when services hit limits.
  • Established AI-augmented and agentic workflows that improved delivery alignment and quality.

Work History

Jan 2024 - Present

Zebra Labs LTD

Software engineer / technical lead

Feb 2022 - Jun 2024

Sphere

Full stack engineer

Nov 2021 - Feb 2022

Doctorly

Developer

Dec 2019 - Feb 2022

The Delta Studio

Developer

Personal Life

I enjoy the outdoors, fitness, and working with my hands-whether that's hiking, surfing, or building surfboards and apps. I also enjoy furthering my knowledge on religion, AI automation, psychology, and whatever else catches my interest. I have a close connection with my family and faith. I'm based in Mafra, Portugal with my fiancée.

Hobbies / Interests

  • Muay Thai Boxing
  • Surfing
  • Road/Trail Running
  • Weightlifting
  • Reading