RICHARD_
GASKIN
Senior developer with expertise in Vue.js, Nuxt3, and cloud architecture. Transformed Project Opal's digital presence from concept to production — delivering in-house deployment systems, mentoring junior developers, and establishing development best practices.
01_ TECHNICAL_STACK
VUE.JS / NUXT3
REACT / NEXT.JS
TYPESCRIPT
NODE.JS
GRAPHQL / GROQ
DOCKER / K8S
SANITY CMS
JEST / CYPRESS
AI PROMPT ENGINEERING
AI PROJECT ALIGNMENT
02_ WHAT_I_DO
FRONTEND_ENGINEERING
Building performant, component-driven UIs with Vue.js, Nuxt3, and React. Obsessed with Lighthouse scores, reusable design systems, and pixel-perfect implementation.
DEVOPS_&_CI/CD
Designing and automating deployment pipelines end-to-end. From containerisation with Docker and Kubernetes to Google Cloud Platform infrastructure.
HEADLESS_CMS
Structuring and integrating headless CMS systems so editors and admins can ship updates confidently without engineering involvement.
TEAM_LEADERSHIP
Establishing coding standards, development lifecycles, Kanban workflows, and biweekly retrospectives. Mentoring junior developers and setting teams up to ship fast.
03_ WORK_HISTORY
Built the entire infrastructure from concept to production for a digital consultancy startup — website, white-label client deployment system, Google Cloud Functions, Bash automation, analytics via Google Analytics, and transactional email via Mailgun. Refined the system multiple times for maximum cost-effectiveness.
Rebuilt the entire website from the ground up using Nuxt 3 and Sanity CMS. Created a modular component architecture enabling non-technical teams to manage content independently. Delivered optimal Lighthouse performance and established frontend coding standards across the codebase.
Built SmartMatch's Creative Dashboard — an intuitive interface for editing headlines, copy, and images with brand customisation. Integrated third-party impression and click trackers and streamlined post-click tracking implementation.
Built a music generation web app allowing users to create full-scale songs from 8-bar vibes with complete creative control and random generation capabilities. Designed the song editor interface and implemented the underlying audio architecture.
Built three interconnected systems: a real-time call centre dashboard for supervisors to monitor agents and listen to live calls, a customisable wallboard for live stats with alerts, and a Chrome extension bridging desk phones to computers with time tracking, call takeover, and break management.
Short-term contract developing a landing app for data management signup and an accompanying account management app. Worked closely with the UI/UX designer, providing feature advice, and maintained clear communication across the dev team to align requirements and keep the project running smoothly.
Updated legacy systems to modern UI using CSS and JavaScript. Built new concepts, provided UX and UI advice, and worked closely with project managers to communicate issues. Focused on taking complex problems and delivering simple, clean solutions.
Started as a contractor in Oct 2015, going permanent in Feb 2016. Built Vue.js applications, responsive mailers (tested via Redeye and Litmus), and interactive page builds for desktop, mobile, and iPad. Maintained and updated jdsports.co.uk, milletsports.co.uk, and other brand sites. Developed the blog with WordPress and worked across team projects alongside marketing.
Built client websites end-to-end with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, and PHP interfacing with the company's CMS. Also managed Linux (Debian) servers from scratch, setting up LAMP environments for hosting. Handled network management including firewalls and port forwarding, and produced design mockups in Photoshop.
04_ PROJECT_VAULT
Project Opal — Complete Infrastructure
Lead Full-Stack Developer / DevOps Engineer
Complete infrastructure built with Nuxt 3, Sanity CMS, GitHub Actions, Google Cloud Platform, and automation systems. A well-oiled, cost-effective system refined for optimal performance.
- › Built entire infrastructure from concept to production
- › Created automated site deployment system for clients
- › Implemented Google Cloud Functions and bash automation
- › Integrated Google Analytics and Mailgun services
- › Refined system multiple times for maximum cost-effectiveness
Evident Global — Headless CMS Website
Senior Front End Developer
Complete website rebuild using Nuxt 3 and Sanity CMS, enabling easy content management for pages, news articles, and issuer details with flexible component system.
- › Rebuilt entire website from ground up with Nuxt 3
- › Implemented Sanity CMS for seamless content management
- › Created modular component architecture for easy expansion
- › Enabled non-technical team to manage content independently
- › Delivered optimal performance and user experience
CPP Snake Game — WebAssembly
Developer
Classic snake game built in C++ and compiled to WebAssembly for browser play. Features snake movement, food generation, collision detection, and arrow key controls.
- › Successfully compiled C++ to WebAssembly
- › Implemented game physics and collision detection
- › Created responsive browser-based gameplay
- › Deployed interactive web application
Smartology Self Service Platform
Frontend Developer
SmartMatch's Creative Dashboard enabling easy editing of headlines, copy, and images with brand customization and third-party tracker integration.
- › Built intuitive creative management dashboard
- › Implemented brand customization features
- › Integrated third-party impression and click trackers
- › Streamlined post-click tracking implementation
Casperaki Music Generation App
Full-Stack Developer
Music generation web app allowing users to create full-scale songs from 8-bar vibes with complete creative control and random generation capabilities.
- › Built song editor with intuitive interface
- › Implemented music generation algorithms
- › Created random generation system
- › Delivered complete creative control to users
- › Built scalable web application architecture
allDayPA Realtime Dashboard
Full-Stack Developer
Real-time call center management dashboard enabling supervisors to monitor team performance, manage accounts, track agent states, and listen to live calls.
- › Built real-time monitoring system for call center operations
- › Implemented account and call management features
- › Created agent state tracking with duration monitoring
- › Integrated live call listening capabilities
- › Delivered supervisor tools for better team management
allDayPA Wallboard System
Full-Stack Developer
Customizable wallboard system for real-time stats display with global and personal profiles. Each block fully customizable by name, filters, colors, and alerts.
- › Built customizable wallboard builder
- › Implemented real-time stats display
- › Created global and personal profile system
- › Added flexible filtering and color customization
- › Developed alert system for critical metrics
allDayPA Chrome Extension
Full-Stack Developer
Chrome extension connecting desk phones to computers for time tracking, manager takeover capabilities, messaging, break management, and comprehensive phone state logging.
- › Built Chrome extension for phone integration
- › Implemented automatic time tracking system
- › Created manager call takeover feature
- › Added personal messaging system
- › Developed break management functionality
- › Built comprehensive state tracking (busy, on-hold, on-call, on-break)
05_ VIBE_CODING
Projects built with AI as co-pilot — from idea to working product in hours, not weeks. These aren't demos; they're real tools running in production.
My View on AI & Vibe Coding
Before AI touches core development workflows, the fundamentals come first. I run a foundations-first policy: full command of the coding standards and system architecture in play, established before any AI-assisted tooling enters the picture — never as a substitute for that understanding, only ever built on top of it.
- › Foundations before automation — mastery of the codebase and its standards is the prerequisite, not an afterthought
- › Documented prompting practice — a shared framework for how to prompt, validate, and contextualise AI output, not ad-hoc copy-paste
- › Every AI suggestion is reviewed like any other pull request — nothing ships without a human verifying it against the objective
- › AI is an accelerator, not a decision-maker — it moves faster toward a goal that's already been clearly defined, it doesn't define that goal for you
CV Job Matcher & Auto-Mailer
An intelligent job-hunting assistant that reads your CV, scours job boards for live listings, scores each role on how well it matches your skills and experience, then emails you a ranked shortlist — fully automated and running every 2 hours.
- › Parses and analyses your CV to extract skills, experience, and seniority
- › Searches live job listings across multiple sources
- › Scores each role against your profile using AI-powered matching
- › Filters out roles below your minimum fit threshold
- › Emails a ranked shortlist directly to your inbox
- › Runs autonomously on a 2-hour cron schedule — zero manual effort
SVG LED Sign Measurement Tool
A tool that annotates any LED sign SVG with real-world measurements derived from the sign's physical dimensions in mm. By knowing the exact length of each LED strip path, it calculates the total LEDs per strip — enabling fully automated generation of the per-sign firmware config flashed to the embedded chip.
- › Accepts an SVG and target physical dimensions (width × height in mm)
- › Calculates a px-to-mm scale factor from the SVG viewBox
- › Traces each path/shape and annotates it with its real-world length in mm
- › Derives LED count per strip based on the LED density (LEDs per metre)
- › Outputs a per-sign config: strip count, LEDs per strip, total LED count
- › Config feeds directly into automated firmware compilation for the embedded chip
06_ PERSONAL_PROJECTS
Hardware, embedded systems, and side projects built purely for the love of building. From microcontrollers to game engines — things made outside of work hours.
Cleanup Assist
A Windows 11 disk analyser that answers the question every other one leaves you with: is this safe to delete? Instead of just ranking folders by size, it gives each one a verdict — part of Windows, owned by an installed app, a known-reclaimable cache, or your own files — so the judgement call is made for you, or honestly flagged as unknown.
- › Classifies every large folder by safety, cross-referencing the uninstall registry and Microsoft Store package paths to name the owning app
- › A 46-rule database of known space hogs — node_modules, Docker/WSL virtual disks, shader caches, Windows.old, npm/pip/cargo/gradle caches
- › One-click move to another drive leaves an NTFS junction behind, so every app keeps working as if nothing moved
- › Paranoid by design — the original is kept until the copy and junction verify, any failure rolls back, and OS folders cannot be moved or deleted at all
- › Rust core with a React front end in a Tauri shell, so the scan runs native while the UI stays web
- › Built in public by GitHub Actions straight from the repo, with SHA-256 checksums on every release
Wake Up Right
An Android app that forces disciplined mornings — smart alarms tuned to your sleep cycle, math and QR-scan challenges to dismiss them, and a lockdown mode that blocks distracting apps until your morning routine is done. Built in Kotlin with Jetpack Compose and MVVM, shipping Free and Pro editions from a single codebase with all data stored locally.
- › Accelerometer-based smart alarm fires at a light-sleep moment before the set wake time
- › Math and QR-scan challenges force full alertness before the alarm can be dismissed
- › App-lockdown mode via Accessibility Service, with a UsageStats polling fallback
- › Product-flavour architecture shares one codebase between Free and Pro, with flavour-isolated ad/video SDKs
- › DST- and leap-year-aware alarm scheduling, covered by unit tests
- › Play Store compliant and fully localised in English and Spanish
Meat Label Scanner
A progressive web app that helps UK consumers instantly check whether meat products come from (halal or kosher) certified establishments. Enter or photograph the oval establishment code printed on any meat label and it identifies the plant behind it — including certification status and whether pre-slaughter stunning is used.
- › OCR-based photo scanning extracts the establishment code automatically from a label photo
- › Searches 5,444 UK establishments from a dataset built on FSA open data, cross-referenced against HMC halal certification records
- › Offline-first PWA — cache-first service worker keeps lookups working with no connection
- › Detects in-app browsers (Facebook/Instagram) and nudges users toward Safari/Chrome for install
- › Community submission workflow for new certified establishments, moderated via Supabase
- › Custom Node build script handles content-hashed cache busting with no framework or bundler
ESP8266 Base Framework
A shared, reusable firmware foundation built with a close friend for the ESP8266 microcontroller. The framework handles the boilerplate that every connected device needs — WiFi provisioning and secure admin authentication — so any new project can skip the setup overhead and go straight to the interesting hardware logic.
- › Handles WiFi connection management and automatic reconnection
- › Provides a web-based admin portal for configuring credentials
- › Stores network and auth details in persistent flash memory (EEPROM)
- › Exposes a clean API for project-specific logic to build on top of
- › Used as the foundation for all other ESP8266 projects in this portfolio
- › Collaboratively developed and maintained with a close friend
NeoPixel LED Sign
A custom-built LED sign powered by an ESP8266 running the shared base framework. Individual NeoPixel LEDs are driven directly from the microcontroller and configurable in real time through a browser-based admin panel — no app, no cloud, just the device serving its own UI over the local network.
- › Controls individually addressable NeoPixel (WS2812B) LED strips
- › Leverages the ESP8266 Base Framework for WiFi and admin login
- › Serves a browser UI directly from the microcontroller
- › Allows real-time control of colour, brightness, and animations
- › Secured behind the framework's admin authentication layer
- › Fully self-contained — operates independently of any external service
3-Axis Robotic Arm
A physically built three-axis robotic arm with a custom inverse kinematics solver at its core. Rather than manually dialling in each servo, you specify a target point in 3D space and the IK engine works backwards to calculate the exact angle each joint needs to reach it. A browser UI exposes both manual per-servo control and direct coordinate targeting.
- › Three-axis movement driven by independent servo motors
- › Inverse kinematics solver converts (X, Y, Z) target points to joint angles
- › Browser-based UI with two control modes: manual servo sliders and 3D point input
- › Real-time servo feedback — arm moves as you adjust values
- › IK math handles arm reach limits and prevents invalid positions
- › Physical arm fabricated and wired from scratch
Snake — C++ to WebAssembly
Classic snake built entirely in C++, then compiled to WebAssembly so it runs at native speed inside any modern browser — no plugins, no JavaScript game logic, just a C++ binary executing in the browser sandbox. A deliberate exercise in bridging low-level systems code and the modern web platform.
- › Full game loop written in C++: movement, food spawning, collision detection
- › Compiled to WebAssembly via Emscripten for zero-install browser play
- › Canvas rendering driven directly from C++ through the Emscripten HTML5 API
- › Arrow key input handling wired through the browser event system
- › Score tracking and game-over / restart flow
- › Deployed as a static site — playable from any browser with no backend
ESP32 RF & WiFi Protocol Analyser
An ongoing research project exploring WiFi protocols and radio frequency fundamentals using an ESP32 paired with multiple nRF24L01 radio modules. Running entirely in passive monitor mode — no transmission — the device captures and decodes 802.11 management frames, maps nearby RF activity across WiFi, Bluetooth, and the 2.4 GHz band, and surfaces everything through a local web dashboard.
- › ESP32 in monitor mode passively captures 802.11 management frames (beacons, probes, deauth, assoc)
- › Multiple nRF24L01 modules scan across RF channels simultaneously for broader spectrum coverage
- › Decodes raw frame headers to extract SSID, BSSID, channel, RSSI, and frame type
- › Maps active devices and access points with signal strength over time
- › Local web dashboard served from the ESP32 for real-time visualisation
- › Built to deepen foundational knowledge of radio protocols and wireless stack internals
07_ DEV_TOOLS
Small, single-purpose utilities I kept re-googling, so I rebuilt them properly. Everything runs client-side — nothing you paste leaves your browser.
08_ BEYOND_THE_CODE
INTERESTS
PASSIONS
GALLERY
ON_TRACK
EXPLORING
RACING
EXPLORING
RACING
ON_TRACK09_ GET_IN_TOUCH
Open to senior frontend / fullstack roles, consulting, and interesting build challenges. Drop me a message — I reply fast.
"The measure of intelligence is the ability to change." — Einstein