Zubair Khalid

Backend-leaning full-stack engineer.

I build production TypeScript/Node, PostgreSQL, AWS, Docker, SwiftUI, and LLM-powered systems. Most of my recent work has been solo or founding-level: owning the architecture, shipping the interface, and turning user feedback into product changes.

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Proof of shipped product work

Shipped real products with users, feedback loops, and production systems behind them.

2 active betas

Palette Kitchen and Bairn in TestFlight

9.7k+ sessions

Combined usage across Palette Kitchen and Bairn betas

64 builds / 58 testers

Combined TestFlight iteration across both active betas

Production depth

SwiftUI, Node, PostgreSQL, AWS, LLM systems

Selected work

Projects that show the shape of the work.

Each project shows the problem, what I owned, and the evidence that it moved past a demo.

Palette Kitchen

AI cooking product built from the initial idea into an active TestFlight beta across native iOS, production backend, LLM orchestration, observability, subscriptions, and community workflows.

palette.kitchen

Context

Took the product from concept to working beta as the sole/founding engineer, defining the system architecture, core product flows, backend, iOS app, and feedback loop around active testers.

What I owned

Built the product end to end, including SwiftUI app surfaces, Express/PostgreSQL APIs, recipe and chat workflows, subscriptions, observability, and LLM systems for imports, nutrition, memory, and moderation; later migrated APIs from Lambda/API Gateway to ECS Fargate behind an ALB.

Outcome

Investor-facing TestFlight beta used in fundraising conversations, with 50 builds, 41 external testers, and 2.7k+ recorded sessions supporting market validation while shipping iOS surfaces for onboarding, cookbook, chat, voice mode, subscriptions, notifications, and social feeds.

SwiftUI TypeScript Express PostgreSQL AWS Redis OpenRouter

Bairn

Privacy-first UK baby-tracking app for feeds, sleep, nappies, growth, health visits, immunisations, wellbeing, widgets, and Live Activities.

trybairn.com

Context

Started from a real parent workflow problem: baby tracking tools are often cluttered, account-heavy, or not aligned with UK guidance and shared-care routines.

What I owned

Designed the local-first SwiftUI/SwiftData architecture with CloudKit shared care, CKSyncEngine conflict handling, StoreKit subscriptions, App Intents, CSV/PDF exports, widgets, and Live Activities.

Outcome

14 TestFlight builds, 17 external testers, 7k+ beta sessions, ongoing feedback from parents and practitioners, and a University of Glasgow MSc student using Bairn for their dissertation.

SwiftUI SwiftData CloudKit StoreKit App Intents Astro

Mailboxer

Research-facing browser tool for real-time Erlang editing, Erlang-to-Pat transpilation, and static analysis of actor communication protocols.

Live demo

Context

Built as my MSc final project to make protocol analysis tooling easier to demo, test, and use from a browser instead of a local command-line workflow.

What I owned

Built a React/TypeScript SPA around Monaco Editor, integrated a Node.js/Express API with a Dockerised paterl analysis service, and handled validation, rate limiting, and structured analyzer errors.

Outcome

A-graded MSc project with a live university-hosted demo and a packaged Docker Compose toolchain for university infrastructure and future extension.

TypeScript React Node.js Docker Monaco Editor Erlang

Supporting work

Plex Discord Theater

Personal Systems Project

Real-time media system

Discord Activity for Plex watch parties with HLS playback, WebSocket state sync, host controls, token-safe Plex proxying, and self-hosting notes.

Built library browsing, search/filtering, queueing, audio/subtitle selection, Plex API/HLS proxying, SQLite progress, CSP/CORS hardening, and optional nginx relay support.

React Express WebSocket HLS SQLite Docker

GitHub repo

FFXIV Market Intelligence

Private Data App

80 test files

SvelteKit app for crafting profit analysis using Universalis market prices and Lodestone character lookup, with Discord OAuth and owner-managed allowlisting.

Implemented Drizzle/SQLite persistence, signed-cookie sessions, local TTL caches, shopping lists, profit/ranking/arbitrage engines, and tested Universalis/Lodestone clients.

SvelteKit TypeScript Drizzle SQLite Vitest Playwright

Experience

Recent work, ordered by relevance.

The through-line is ownership: taking ambiguous product ideas, designing the system, shipping the interface, and keeping the operational details visible.

Founding Engineer

Palette Kitchen

Sep 2025 - Present

Remote

Built an active TestFlight AI cooking app from the initial idea into a production system across iOS, backend, LLM orchestration, subscriptions, observability, and community workflows.

SwiftUITypeScriptAWSPostgreSQLLLM

Founder & Product Engineer

Bairn

Feb 2026 - Present

Glasgow / Remote

Privacy-first UK baby tracking app in active beta with local-first data, CloudKit shared care, StoreKit, App Intents, widgets, and Live Activities.

SwiftUISwiftDataCloudKitStoreKit

Contract Developer & Technical Operations PM

iGumdrop

Feb 2025 - Present

Remote

Built and maintain igumdrop.me, reaching 219k visitors, 224k visits, and 274k views, while owning creator tooling, community workflows, Discord operations, media-kit support, and technical planning for a 4,000+ member community.

WebDiscordAutomationOperations

Junior Software Developer

Skuuudle

Sep 2022 - Feb 2023

Remote, UK

Internal dashboards and KPI tooling for sales, account management, engineering, QA, product matching, and finance teams.

LaravelJavaScriptSQLPerformance

Apprentice Software Developer

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Sep 2016 - Dec 2017

Glasgow

Early professional software engineering experience in a large financial engineering environment.

Software engineeringEnterprise

Technical stack

Tools I have used in shipped work.

Each one maps back to the projects and roles above: backend systems, product infrastructure, native iOS, and testable full-stack apps.

Backend, Data & Cloud

TypeScript, Node.js, Express, REST/SSE APIs, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, Redis, pgvector, SQLite, AWS, Docker

AI & Product Infra

OpenRouter, LLM orchestration, Embeddings, Vector search, Langfuse, PostHog, Sentry, RevenueCat, APNs

Frontend & Mobile

React, SwiftUI, SwiftData, Astro, SvelteKit, Tailwind CSS, Vite, UIKit

Testing & Tools

Vitest, Playwright, Jest, ESLint, Prettier, Xcode, Chrome DevTools, GitHub Actions, Vercel

Engineering habits

How I build product.

Production depth behind the interface

I design features with the data model, permissions, error states, observability, and deployment path considered from the start.

Comfortable with ambiguity

I can be the only engineer in the room, turn rough ideas or user feedback into scoped product changes, and ship them.

Launch is part of the build

I pay attention to migrations, queues, analytics, subscriptions, notifications, and how the product behaves once real people use it.

References

Small proof from people who have worked with me.

iGumdrop

Content Creator & Livestreamer

"Zuby is highly adaptable, intuitive, and dependable — qualities that are genuinely rare in this industry. He picks up new concepts quickly, brings fresh perspectives to problem-solving, and excels at building efficient systems that streamline workflow. He's an absolute pleasure to work with. "

eatswithanthony

Brand founder

"I highly recommend Zuby without hesitation. He has a rare ability to get up to speed quickly and contribute in a meaningful way from the start. He's intuitive, resourceful, and consistently finds clear, effective solutions to complex problems while improving systems and workflows along the way.
Beyond his technical strengths, Zuby brings a thoughtful perspective to everything he does and is someone you can genuinely rely on. He's easy to work with, communicates well, and makes collaboration feel effortless. Any team would benefit from having him onboard. "

Contact

Looking for the next full-time engineering role.

I am focused on backend, full-stack, product engineering, and AI product engineering roles in the UK or Europe. I am based in Glasgow and have the right to work in the UK.

Email me Download CV

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