For recruiters - FAQ
Hello friend, thanks for taking an interest in me and my profile.
I know I’m nothing more than a keyword match right now, so let’s change that!
First up! I really, really value my time, I have gone to the effort of putting this information here for you to answer the usual round of questions you need to ask.
Please, please, try to make it to the end. There’s a fair bit of info here, hopefully everything you need.
There’s a lot of I’s in this, apologies if it comes off as being arrogant, I prefer to think of it as being transparent and hope you see it the same way.
Ok, let’s do this!
Are you eligible to work in the UK
Yes.
What’s your current situation?
I recently finished a 2.5 year contract as Engineering Team Lead at XtendOps (ended February 2026), where I led 12 developers building AI customer service agents in a SvelteKit monorepo.
I’m open to the right position. Read on for what that looks like.
What’s my ideal role?
Building AI-powered products at an early-stage startup where I can ship fast and lead development. I’m particularly interested in roles involving agent architecture, MCP tooling, and SvelteKit.
Working in a team of other developers where there is an emphasis on technical development, pair programming, and collaboration.
I’d like to focus on outcomes and not work hours. What I produce is what matters, not how long I’m sat at a desk.
Work life balance is a big deal for me, I really do not want to go over a 37.5 hour working week if presenteeism is a thing on the team.
I work on a contract basis through OES Technology Ltd. I’d prefer to work with companies outside of the UK in a ‘full time’ fully remote capacity.
If you’re in the UK and have a project in mind get in touch to discuss.
What sort of company do you want to work with?
A company that wants their employees to win. This means supporting learning and encouraging growth.
I want to know what the work is and how I’ll be doing it with my team, no BS marketing copy please.
Ethically I don’t agree with gambling, that means no gambling companies please.
What’s your preferred stack?
Core: SvelteKit, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS (with daisyUI or shadcn-svelte).
AI/ML: Claude API, Claude Agent SDK, Model Context Protocol (MCP), Langfuse for observability, OpenTelemetry.
Infrastructure: AWS ECS, Terraform, Docker, Vercel, GitHub Actions, Trigger.dev.
I’m a recognised Svelte Ambassador and co-founder of Svelte Society London, running monthly events for 5 years.
I have commercial React experience from Karmarama (2018-2021) using NextJS but SvelteKit is where I live now.
I’ve authored 20+ MCP tools with 1,200+ combined GitHub stars and built several live products: Svortie (svortie.com) for AI agent orchestration, Sveltest (sveltest.dev) for AI coding assistant rules, DevHub CRM (devhub.party), and SkyKit (skykit.blue).
How many years experience do you have?
TypeScript, 6 years.
SvelteKit, 5 years.
Professional web development, 8 years.
Prior career of 21 years to 8 years as a senior-level Analyst Developer in financial services (Barclays, MSCI, Deloitte, Fidelity).
For more, check out my about page.
Salary?
I run OES Technology where I offer consulting on a contract basis.
Want me to come on board on a contract basis? Sweet! I’m open to that! Depending on the setup I’d be looking for a day rate of EUR397 or monthly rate of ~EUR11,910 (day rate times 30). The rate has been calculated with holidays and public holidays built in.
If you have a project in mind get in touch to discuss.
Benefits? Yes please!
30+ days holiday a year is ideal.
There’s an increasing amount of places that offer “unlimited holiday”. In this circumstance I’d like to know the minimum amount of holiday that has to be taken annually.
Private healthcare for me and my immediate family.
Gym membership.
Are you willing to relocate?
Nope! Happy in sunny, sunny Swanley.
Are you willing to work remotely?
Fully remote is my strong preference. I’d rather not be bound by any number of days needed to be worked in an office. Occasional meetings, fine.
I’m comfortable collaborating with distributed teams using Slack, MS Teams, Google Meet, Zoom, etc.
What are your location preferences?
Fully remote is preferred.
I live a ~30 minute train ride from London stations like Elephant and Castle, Victoria, Blackfriars and Charing Cross.
I’ll consider roles that are a short walk (~10-15 minutes) from any of those stations.
Based in Swanley, Kent I’ll consider places that are in Sevenoaks and Bromley, only those two places though.
Please don’t contact me about roles in Ashford, Maidstone or anywhere else deemed “in the same region”.
Your skills look like a great match for this position we have!! Can we have a quick five minute phone call to discuss?
Sure, book in a 15 minute chat.
“But I have to talk to you today, my client’s deadline is this afternoon”, please, book in a 15 minute chat.
Please don’t call without a previously agreed time slot, I don’t answer my phone if I’m not expecting a call.
I prefer to avoid phone calls for these reasons:
- I’m on a maker’s schedule, which means interruptions are disruptive to my flow.
- I’ve already tried to answer the majority of questions asked on this page. I’ve probably phrased them more clearly here than I will on the phone.
Contact me by email. That’s my preferred means of communication. If we are still interested after some fact checking I’d love to have a chat.
If it’s not a HELL YES, it’s a NO
Like I mentioned at the start of this FAQ, I really value my time and the way I make a decision on a commitment is If it’s not a HELL YES, it’s a NO.
Want me to know you have taken the time to read this FAQ?
In your email mention “Quick Start Guides Rock!” and you will have my attention, gratitude and a guaranteed reply.
Can I take a look at your CV?
Sure, my CV is here: mecv.xyz.
It also has an AI chat widget you can use to ask questions about my experience. Give it a go.
Do you have your CV in PDF/MS Word format?
Sure, hit the download button on mecv.xyz.
Notice period?
My current contract stipulates 30 days notice.
Interview availability?
I can telephone interview with little notice.
I can video call with prior arrangement.
Please be upfront about timings for interview rounds. I’m not interested in taking part in several day long interview rounds.
With regard to technical/take home ‘tests’, I’m not willing to spend more than an hour on any given assignment to assess my skill level unless I’m being paid for my time.
The effort exchange for take home assignments isn’t right. A one hour interview in real time would be preferred.
Thanks for reading
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