Sam Pennington

Software Engineering Manager | Full Stack Developer
London, GB.

About

Results-driven Software Engineering Manager with over 6 years of experience, specializing in front-end and full-stack JavaScript development. Proven leader in building high-performing engineering teams, optimizing development processes, and delivering impactful product features. Successfully improved team performance, increased product conversion by 15%, and fostered significant engineering growth within fast-paced SaaS environments.

Work

VEED.IO
|

Software Engineering Manager

Summary

Managed 11 engineers across Growth, Acquisition, and Activation teams, driving high-performance, quality delivery, and professional growth within a fast-paced SaaS environment.

Highlights

Scaled engineering team from 3 to 11 members across two teams, leading end-to-end hiring pipelines, behavioral interviews, and technical upskilling initiatives.

Improved team performance by drastically reducing incident rates to a rarity within a quarter through quality workshops, technical roadmaps, and accountability frameworks.

Developed and implemented a company-wide technical test scoring system, significantly reducing bias in engineering hiring processes.

Delivered a complex product localization project across all engineering teams, directly contributing to a 15% increase in subscription conversion.

Built robust processes and tooling for A/B experiments and feature flags, enhancing engineering team efficiency and product iteration across all teams.

OVO Energy
|

Senior Software Engineer

Summary

Contributed as a Senior Front-End Engineer within a cross-functional product team, focused on delivering OVO's mission for zero-carbon energy solutions.

Highlights

Mentored junior engineers and year-in-industry students, accelerating their proficiency in React, Typescript, HTML/CSS, and general web development best practices.

Conducted pair programming and system design interviews, actively contributing to the recruitment and selection of high-caliber engineering talent.

Developed and deployed a comprehensive End-to-End (E2E) testing suite using Docker, Cypress, and AWS services (S3, Terraform, Lambda, ECS Fargate), ensuring constant visibility and improving system uptime.

Contributed to the development and integration of the internal OVO Design System, ensuring consistent UI/UX and accelerating front-end development cycles.

Haymarket Media
|

Software Developer

Summary

Served as a Full Stack JavaScript Developer, building a new car buying platform for WhatCar? that connected potential buyers with dealerships.

Highlights

Engineered and launched a new car buying platform for WhatCar?, streamlining the process of connecting potential car buyers with dealerships.

Developed robust front-end components using React, Redux, and Redux Saga, enhancing user experience and application responsiveness.

Implemented scalable back-end solutions using Node.js, AWS Lambda, and MongoDB, supporting high-volume data transactions for the car buying platform.

Heed
|

Junior Software Developer

Summary

Collaborated as a Junior Software Developer to build an automated call assistant application.

Highlights

Developed a new automated call assistant application alongside a senior engineer, enhancing operational efficiency.

Contributed to front-end development using React and Styled Components, ensuring a responsive and intuitive user interface.

Utilized Node.js and AWS Serverless with DynamoDB for scalable and efficient back-end functionality.

Mary Evans Picture Library
|

Junior Software Developer

Summary

Responsible for HTML email creation, database querying, and website updates, gaining foundational IT infrastructure experience for a small company.

Highlights

Managed the creation and deployment of HTML emails, ensuring accurate content delivery for marketing and communication initiatives.

Performed database queries and updates using MySQL, maintaining data integrity and supporting website functionality.

Contributed to website updates using JavaScript, PHP, and CSS, enhancing user experience and content presentation.

Volunteer

Code YourFuture
|

London Education Leader

Summary

Led the London Education program, overseeing a software development course to empower refugees with tech skills for employment.

Highlights

Managed a team of 15+ volunteers, coordinating efforts to successfully run a comprehensive coding bootcamp.

Delivered engaging lessons in JavaScript, React, Node.js, HTML, and CSS, equipping students with in-demand programming skills.

Facilitated career transitions for refugees by providing practical software development training and mentorship.

Education

University of Bristol

BSc

Physics

Grade: 2.1

Courses

Underwater robotics and positioning systems

Programming in C

Languages

English

Skills

Programming Languages

JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js, PHP, C, HTML, CSS.

Frameworks & Libraries

React, Redux, React Native, Express.js, Jest, Enzyme, Redux Saga, Styled Components, Tailwind CSS, Cypress, Playwright, Mocha, Chai, Sinon.

Cloud Platforms & Services

AWS Lambda, AWS API Gateway, AWS S3, AWS ECS Fargate, AWS Serverless, AWS DynamoDB.

Databases

MongoDB, MySQL.

DevOps & Tools

Docker, Terraform, CircleCI, Webpack, Yarn.

Methodologies & Practices

Agile, Scrum, E2E Testing, System Design, Technical Roadmapping, Performance Management, Mentoring, Interviewing.

Design Systems

OVO Design System.

Projects

React-scroll-tracker

Summary

A custom React hook developed to track user scrolling down the page, fulfilling a specific requirement at OVO.

Use-async-storage

Summary

A React-native hook providing an abstraction over React Native's async storage with added functionality.