Benson N. Kariuki

Benson Kariuki-(- linkedin.com/in/spencer-benson-njuguna Nairobi, Kenya github.com/SpencerBenson PROFILE Hey there! I'm a tech ninja with 9+ years of experience slaying code across different industries, from Digital Agencies to Fintech and beyond. My superpowers include Cloud technologies (AWS, Azure, GCP), Typescript, JavaScript (React/Vue.js/Node.js), and PHP (Laravel/Codeigniter). I'm passionate about solving problems and always looking for ways to innovate like a certain rocket man we all know and love. I work well independently or as part of a team and have a proven track record of delivering high-quality software solutions that make my clients happy. EXPERIENCE Senior Software Engineer Sep 2022 - Present Codemonk Leveraged cloud technologies to build secure, fast, and scalable backend microservices that enabled front-end developers to consume data via JSON APIs, resulting in improved user experience and faster time-to-market for our web applications. Improved the company's authorization module by creating different roles that restricted user access to data specific to their position, reducing the risk of data breaches and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Freelance Full-stack Developer Feb 2022 - Sep 2022 Upwork Collaborated with a diverse range of companies and individuals to provide end-to-end software design and development services, delivering customized websites and applications that met their unique business needs. By guiding our clients through the creative process, we helped them achieve their goals and bring their ideas to life. Apigee Developer Jun 2021 - Jan 2022 Safaricom Plc Architected and implemented robust security, traffic management, analytics, monitoring, and API Gateway policies for dozens of internal microservices, handling over 1 billion requests per day and ensuring 99.9999% service uptime. By doing so, I helped the company meet its service level agreements (SLAs) and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. Helped redesign the Daraja 2.0 Developer portal with a focus on improving the user experience and accessibility of our APIs. By working closely with the development team and gathering user feedback, I ensured that the portal's look and feel met the needs of our users and enabled them to easily access and integrate our APIs into their applications. Entrepreneur Jul 2020 - Oct 2020 Antler Developed and presented multiple entrepreneurship projects to venture capitalists (VCs) for pre-seed funding, leveraging the skills and training gained from the Antler accelerator program. Senior Software Engineer Aug 2018 - Oct 2019 Andela Led and expanded a team of software testers and developers from 2 to 9 in just 6 months, harnessing their collective expertise to deliver high-quality products and services that met the needs of our clients. Consistently exceeded monthly key performance indicators (KPIs) by 10-20%, demonstrating a strong work ethic and a commitment to achieving results that contributed to the overall success of the company. Earned recognition as employee of the month out of 1200 developers and staff members, thanks to a combination of hard work, dedication, and a passion for delivering top-notch results. Mentored and coached a team of developers, leveraging my expertise and experience to help them develop their skills, improve their productivity, and achieve their career goals. By doing so, I helped foster a positive and collaborative work environment that benefited both the team and the company. snaphunt.com powered by Lead Developer/scrum May 2018 - Aug 2018 Workpay Led a team of developers in building the Workpay system, a cutting-edge online HR system that integrates check-in biometrics and mobile payment disbursement. By doing so, I helped our clients streamline their HR processes, improve data accuracy, and reduce administrative overheads. Revamped the way of working by introducing Scrum/Agile methodologies, leading to faster project delivery and reducing burnout by up to 40%. By doing so, I helped foster a culture of innovation and collaboration that ultimately benefited the team, the company, and our clients. Collaborated with clients to develop bulk SMS and payment systems that met their unique needs and specifications. By doing so, I helped deliver value-added services that enabled our clients to better engage with their customers and streamline their marketing and engagement with their clients. Software Consultant Apr 2017 - May 2018 Incentro Leveraged the Scrum and Kanban frameworks to develop corporate websites, custom Wordpress themes, and in-house apps that met or exceeded our clients' expectations. By doing so, I helped our clients establish a strong online presence, attract and retain customers, and improve their business operations. Co-founder/ Lead Software Developer Jul 2015 - Apr 2017 Safirilite Ltd Founded and launched Kenya's first integrated online bus ticketing system, modeled after the successful Redbus.in platform. By doing so, I revolutionized the way people book and pay for bus tickets in Kenya, making it easier, faster, and more convenient for commuters and bus operators alike. Web Developer Mar 2014 - Apr 2015 Circle Digital Ltd Developed dozens of corporate clients' websites as a backend developer, using my expertise in coding and programming to deliver websites that were not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional and user-friendly. By doing so, I helped our clients establish their online presence, attract and retain customers, and achieve their business goals. Gained my first experience working remotely and using the Scrum framework while developing corporate clients' websites. By doing so, I demonstrated my adaptability, communication skills, and ability to deliver high-quality work despite working in a virtual environment. Web Developer Aug 2012 - Mar 2014 Wpp-scangroup (Scanad) Led a team of talented designers, marketers, and developers to build two award-winning systems that helped our clients achieve their business goals. By fostering collaboration, communication, and innovation within my team, we were able to deliver high-quality work that surpassed our clients' expectations and earned recognition within our industry. Built a variety of online assets, including websites, micro-sites, Facebook apps, and online systems, for big corporate clients such as Britam, Nakumatt, Coca-Cola, and EABL. By leveraging my expertise in coding and programming, I delivered online assets that were not only visually appealing but also highly functional and user-friendly. As a result, I helped our clients establish their online presence, engage with their customers, and achieve their business objectives. snaphunt.com powered by EDUCATION Certificate 2018 MongoDB University | Nairobi, Kenya Completed 7-week M101JS: MongoDB for Node.js Developers course at MongoDB University. Bachelor of Science, Computer Science 2012 Kenyatta University | Nairobi, Kenya Earned BSc. in Computer Science. Mobile Application Development 2011 Kenyatta University | Nairobi, Kenya Completed Android/LWUIT/J2ME/Java Mobile Application Development course (sponsored by Google) at Kenyatta University, Nairobi. High school Crtificate 2007 Mangu High School | Nairobi, Kenya Achieved an A- (79 out of 84) academic grade while leading the school's athletics team as team captain and representing the school at the national level, resulting in winning the "Sportsman of the Year - 2006" award. KCSE Qualifications 2002 Busara Forest View Academy | Nairobi, Kenya Achieved an outstanding Grade A (446/500) in national exams, ranking in the top 0.01% of students countrywide. Ranked 61 out of 540,069 students, a testament to my academic excellence and dedication. SKILLS Node.js LANGUAGES ReactJS Typescript Cloud Database (AWS, Azure) Cloud Computing MySQL English Fluent Swahili Fluent NOSQL (MongoDB, Cassandra, Elasticsearch, Hbase, DynamoDB) Oracle DB snaphunt.com PostgreSQL Scrum Certification powered by