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HENRY JOHN
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HENRY JOHNNIEUWENHUIZEN

Senior Full-Stack Software Engineer

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ABOUT ME

Senior full-stack software engineer delivering products across multiple industries. I build and own systems end-to-end: architecture, implementation, testing strategy, observability, and production reliability.

Current focus: TypeScript monorepo platforms with NestJS/Next.js, realtime and async backend systems, cloud-native integrations, and AI-enabled workflows. Targeting Senior/Lead IC roles where technical ownership and delivery quality are core expectations.

  • Location
    Cape Town, South Africa
  • Languages
    English, Afrikaans
  • Industries
    Education, Finance, Gaming, Healthcare, Creative, Manufacturing
  • Interests
    AI product development, music, hiking, camping, and cooking
Contact Me
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EXPERIENCE

Selected Impact

  • Own delivery of product functionality from requirements to production support
  • Build monorepo backend and frontend systems with shared package architecture and clear domain boundaries
  • Improve operational confidence through observability, automated quality gates, and structured API contracts
  • Design asynchronous and realtime pipelines for user-facing workflows that require low-latency updates
  • Design and ship OpenAI-powered chatbot and assistant workflows for real user and operator use cases

Core Stack

Backend: TypeScript, NestJS 11, Prisma, MongoDB, Mongoose, BullMQ, Redis, Socket.IO, WebSockets, Swagger

Frontend: Next.js 15, React 19, MUI, Tailwind CSS, React Hook Form, Zod

Cloud & Integrations: AWS S3 (AWS SDK v3), OpenAI SDK, Sentry, CloudWatch, Docker, Kubernetes, Helm, Cloudflare

AI Engineering: OpenAI SDK integrations, chatbot/assistant orchestration, prompt and response design, realtime interaction flows, and production integration into operational workflows

Quality: Playwright, Jest, Supertest, ESLint, Prettier, CI/CD release pipelines


PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Senior Full Stack Developer - Udok

Jan 2025 - present

  • Own feature delivery end-to-end across a TypeScript monorepo workspace architecture
  • Lead backend implementation in NestJS 11 with Prisma and MongoDB/Mongoose
  • Design asynchronous processing with BullMQ + Redis and realtime workflows with Socket.IO/WebSockets
  • Maintain API documentation and integration clarity through Swagger-first service contracts
  • Deliver frontend applications with Next.js 15 + React 19 using MUI, Tailwind CSS, and React Hook Form + Zod
  • Build OpenAI-powered chatbot and assistant capabilities integrated into product workflows
  • Implement cloud integrations via AWS S3 and support production reliability with Sentry + CloudWatch logging
  • Drive quality discipline using Playwright e2e, Jest/Supertest, and lint/format gates across shared packages

Senior Full Stack Developer - Wyzetalk

July 2024 - Dec 2024

  • Delivered product features across Svelte, Angular, and React frontend applications
  • Built backend services in NestJS and Express.js on Node.js
  • Implemented MongoDB-backed APIs and supported containerized deployments on Kubernetes

Senior Full Stack Developer (SME) - CodeForte

May 2020 - May 2024

  • Led end-to-end delivery across React/Redux/Next.js frontend and Node.js backend services
  • Built and maintained cross-language integrations in Node.js, C++, and C
  • Owned data and release workflows across MSSQL, MongoDB, Bamboo, and Octopus

Earlier Experience

  • Senior Frontend Developer, Rapid Deploy (Jul 2019 - Apr 2020): Built React/Redux/MobX geospatial product interfaces with ArcGIS integrations.
  • Senior Full Stack Developer / Team Lead, CodeForte (Nov 2016 - Jun 2019): Led frontend direction, delivered Node.js services, and owned CI/CD release execution.
  • Senior Associate / Full Stack Developer, Exigent Group (Jul 2013 - Oct 2016): Delivered SharePoint, C#, and MS SQL enterprise workflow solutions.
  • Consultant / Business Analyst, AG Computer Accounting (Jul 2010 - Jun 2013): Led implementations, BI reporting, and requirements translation for custom software delivery.
  • Computer Teacher / Frontend Developer, Mountain Road Primary (Jan 2009 - Jun 2010): Built curriculum, taught computer literacy, and supported school technical operations.

EDUCATION

National Senior Certificate

2004 - 2008

Subjects: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Application Technology/Information Technology, Civil Technology


PORTFOLIO

For code samples and recent contributions, review my GitHub profile.

Unofficial degree: life experience in production bug triage and shipping under pressure.

MyAlly

Private software company used to deliver client work and product builds.


Client work included delivery for Anglo American and VDM Agency (UK creative branding agency).


Status: Private company

RabbitChat

Side project built during COVID (2020) as an alternative to Omegle.


Stack: React, Redux, Node.js, Firebase | Status: Archived

Moonland

VR-focused side project (2018)


Stack: React, React360, Redux, Node.js, Firebase | Status: Archived



CONTACT

Open to senior full-stack and platform engineering opportunities.