# Jijo Jacob

> Principal Software Engineer, London, United Kingdom. Senior software architect and full-stack lead. 25 years turning complex business problems into fast, reliable software.

I lead projects end to end, from requirement analysis and technical architecture through development, database design and delivery, and I stay hands-on in the code.
For the last 15 years I have built and run a multi-country e-commerce platform on .NET, React, SQL Server and AWS, taking it from the UK into Germany, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy and Portugal, while leading a team of 10+ developers.
Before that I worked as a contractor and in permanent roles across e-commerce, telecoms, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, from SMS platforms in Dubai to Visto Mobile apps used by Vodafone and T-Mobile.

Status: 15 years building one company from the ground up. I'm not looking, but the right challenge could tempt me.

## Links
- [Website](https://www.jijojacob.com/)
- [Profile as JSON](https://www.jijojacob.com/api/profile.json): full CV, machine-readable
- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jijojacob/)

## Experience
- Principal Software Engineer, Rocaba Pack (Jan 2023 – present): Technical leader for the group's international e-commerce platform. I set the architecture and technical direction (.NET, React, SQL Server, AWS) and lead a team of 10+ developers.
- Lead Developer, Rocaba Pack (Nov 2011 – Jan 2023): Led the development and launch of a multi-national e-commerce platform, scaling from the UK to Germany, France and Ireland, with an offshore development team.
- Senior Software Engineer, EM Trade Solutions (emarket.com) (May 2009 – Nov 2011): Key developer on emarket.com, a high-volume online exchange for the FMCG industry.
- Senior J2ME Mobile Developer, Visto (Jan 2008 – Jan 2011): Full lifecycle development of Visto's flagship mobile apps, used by Vodafone, T-Mobile, AT&T, TELUS and Rogers.
- Senior Programmer, Abbott Laboratories (Jul 2007 – Dec 2007): Developed part of the Electronic Batch Records (EBR) suite in a regulated pharmaceutical environment.
- Senior .NET / J2ME Developer, Integral Technologies (May 2007 – Jun 2007): Delivered core modules of an ASP.NET employee intranet on a two-month contract.
- Senior Programmer, Trane (Aug 2006 – Apr 2007): Owned the full lifecycle of the Factory Mounted Control Wizard, a configuration tool for Trane's climate-control manufacturing.
- Senior Developer, Media Master (Aug 2003 – Aug 2006): Led a team of application developers, web developers and designers building SMS and mobile products.
- Software Developer, Digitronics Info Systems (Jun 2001 – May 2003): Application developer and database designer on business systems for pharmacies and HR.

## Projects
- Multi-country e-commerce platform (Rocaba Pack): One .NET platform behind the group's packaging stores in the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Portugal, with localised catalogues, currencies, VAT rules, payment methods and couriers per country.
- MeridianSync translation management (Rocaba Pack): A web app I built to manage every translation across the group's storefronts in six languages, so translators, reviewers and developers work from one source of truth instead of spreadsheets.
- Back-office admin and order processing (Rocaba Pack): A complete admin system built from the ground up for order processing, CRM, dispatch, returns and ERP sync, used daily by the operations team.
- Events and dating platform with Android app (Asiand8): An events and dating website with member registration and event booking, plus a companion Android app on Google Play backed by a .NET Web API.
- emarket.com FMCG exchange (EM Trade Solutions): The first "total solutions" online exchange for the FMCG industry, kept in two-way sync with NetSuite ERP.
- Visto Mobile (Visto): Social networking and push-email apps shipped by Vodafone, T-Mobile, AT&T, TELUS and Rogers, ported to a far wider range of handsets.
- Factory Mounted Control Wizard (Trane): A configuration tool for Trane's climate-control manufacturing, rebuilt from an Excel workbook into a .NET application.

## Skills
- Back end: C#, .NET / .NET Core, ASP.NET MVC / Web API, VB.NET
- Front end: React, JavaScript, HTML / CSS
- Data: SQL Server, Amazon RDS, Performance tuning
- Cloud & DevOps: AWS (EC2, load balancing, S3), Azure, Jenkins CI/CD, Server & database migrations, Cloudflare, New Relic monitoring, Git
- Mobile: Android / Kotlin, J2ME
- E-commerce & growth: GA4 e-commerce analytics, Google Ads conversion tracking, PageSpeed & Core Web Vitals, Payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Opayo), ERP integrations (NetSuite, Odoo)
- AI & automation: Claude Code (CLI), OpenAI Codex, Grok (image & video), Gemini, Veo & Lyria APIs, Python automation
- Blockchain: Solidity, Ethereum / BNB Chain, NFTs

## Side projects & hobbies
- Home automation: My home runs on automations I've built myself, from lighting, heating and sensors to routines that just happen.
- Raspberry Pi projects: Small home servers, sensors and gadgets on Raspberry Pi, because the best way to learn hardware is to build with it.
- AI content for social media: I run AI-generated social media channels end to end, from scripting and generating images, video and music to editing and publishing automatically.
- Blockchain & NFTs: I wrote Solidity smart contracts and NFT projects on Ethereum and BNB Chain. Paused for now, but the knowledge is still loaded.
- Free tech advice for friends & charities: I help friends' small businesses and charities get online properly with websites, hosting, e-commerce and sensible tech choices, free of charge.

## Education
- Master of Computer Applications (MCA), Periyar University (1998 – 2001)
- BSc Chemistry, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala (1995 – 1998)