Siddharth Vadgama
I Make Things

I'm Sidd; a technologist. I like creating both virtual and physical experiences, being versatile enough to tackle large and diverse parts of projects. Focusing on bringing all elements together to create streamlined and enjoyable user experiences.

Skills

I enjoy conceptualising and creating solutions to challanges that people face, while keeping technical complexity as managable as possible. I understand in the importance of putting people at the centre of everything I create, and work with others to create.

I also love learning and challenging myself. I consider myself a fast learner, and am confident in picking up new languages and skills that pique my interest. You can see some of my side projects on my GitHub.

Development

Core
  • JavaScript: Vue/React
  • Testing: Cypress/Jest
  • Semantic HTML
  • Responsive CSS/SCSS (BEM/IT/CSS in JS)
  • Version Control: Git
Additional
  • Node: Express/Lambda
  • Continious Integration: Github Actions
  • Mobile: React Native/Ionic
  • Websockets/MQTT/Pusher
  • Cloud: Firebase/Netlify
  • Games: Unity

Physical Computing

I enjoy creating fun projects with hardware, sometimes ones that are even useful.

  • Raspberry Pi
  • Extensive Arduino
  • 3D modelling/printing (CAD/CAM)
  • Hardware hacking

Media

While not my core skillset, I have experience in both digital and print design, along with video editing.

  • Figma
  • Sketch
  • Photoshop
  • Premiere Pro

Experience

frog / Idean UK
Lead technologist | January 2021 - Present (Idean UK, now frog)
Senior Frontend Developer | November 2018 - December 2020 (Idean UK)

At frog I balance my client work with strategic work that helps define what technology at frog UK looks like, and keeps our tech department progressing forward. I regularly work with our leadership team, and other areas of the business to define the scope of inbound work, and outbound responses to RFPs.

Achievements
  • Led early-stage talks, as well as the build, launch, and ongoing maintenance of internal initiatives: Cards for Humanity, and The Universal Score
  • Heavily contributed to the research and implementation of alternative/emerging technologies we discuss in our tech catchups, including sustainable technology
  • Actively working wth a few other folks in two working groups, one promoting the incorporation inclusive design in as many projects as possible, and another sustainability in our operation as a business
  • Launched Donut on Slack to help people connect during the pandemic
  • Introduced and implemented the concept of humans.txt for our own-brand, and hopefully commercial, projects. Example on Cards for Humanity
  • Worked with AIE to help build interfaces and work on the phone app for an experimental retail space, Cornershop
  • Set up and currently manage many of our internal tools including GitHub (teams, actions, and packages), Firebase, and Netlify
  • Led the migration of content from adaptivelab.com to idean.com, and am currently aiding in the migration from idean.com to frogdesign.com
  • Helping organise and run public events at our offices, as well as our fortnightly internal tech catchups

Tribal Worldwide
Senior Frontend Developer | August 2017 - September 2018
Frontend Developer | July 2016 - August 2017

My role at Tribal encompassed a wide array of skills and responsibilities. I regularly worked both independently and as part of a team, depending on the scale and requirements of the project.

Achievements
  • Expanded our capabilities in experimental fields, such as Mixed Reality, and Physical Computing
  • Built numerous functional prototypes in quick turnarounds
  • Led major refactors on volkswagen.co.uk to utilise modern design patterns and technologies
  • Led a team of developers in building a Vue/Metalsmith/Directus static-site generator with CI integration
  • Pushed best practies and agile methodologies to encourage better colaboration between teams and departments
  • Pushed process change to allow for a better personal development model within Tribal
  • Helped organise social events including parties, after-hours activities, and during-hours activities

British Airways
Software Engineer | April 2015 - June 2016

The project involved working in an agile environment to re-imagine the entire booking experience of BA.com as an Angular application.

Achievements
  • Built and maintained a handful of reusable components for use across the company
  • Ensured quality by writing effective unit and integration tests
  • Pushed methods of effective communication and working practices to allow for better colaboration across a remote team
  • Introduced hackathons to the team, and organised a trip to one where we built an internet-connected coffee machine

SunEos
Technical Lead | October 2014 - December 2014

Brief stint in startup. Responsibilities there encompassed anything technical. This included mobile app development with Phonegap & NFC, building dashboards, along with designing and developing the website.

N9 Design
Junior Designer & Developer | October 2012 - June 2014

Built nine bespoke content-managed websites including n9design.com. Put onto an increasingly broad range of jobs, including artworking, e-flyers & bespoke web development. Worked full time from October 2012 to August 2013, and then part time until June 2014 - parallel to final year of study.

TermiSoc: Plymouth University Computing Society
Chairman | March 2011 - July 2013

Organized and ran numerous events scaling from small weekend projects to 50+ person LAN parties. Alongside these non-regular events we also ran fortnightly talks and tutorials - myself hosting some tutorials on web development. I also produced all the branding material for the society during my time.

Awards and Achievements

Mentor & Volunteer
YRS Festival of Code | August 2014

Webster Award
Plymouth University | September 2014

Best Technical Hack
Tesco Labs Health Hackathon | September 2014

Grand Prize
Hackference | September 2014

First Place
McDonalds Hackathon | November 2014

Braintree & Sendgrid Sponsor Prizes
MLH: Hacknotts | November 2014

First Place
Resin.io Xmas IoT Hackathon | December 2014

Best Technical Hack
Dropbox Hackathon | January 2015

Third Place
PayPal BattleHack | April 2015

Second Place
Intel IoT Roadshow | June 2015

Co-Organiser
BanterHack | Febuary 2016

Mentor & Volunteer
UKGovHack | April 2016

Mentor
Railsgirls London | December 2017

Mentor
Creative Mentor Network | October 2017 - March 2018

Mentor
YSYS | May 2021 - August 2021

Education

BSc (hons) Digital Art & Technology with Interaction Design
First Class Honours with Certificate of Industrial Experience | September 2010 - July 2014

A-Levels
Product Design, Physics, Biology | September 2007 - July 2009

[Unfinished] BSc (hons) Mechanical Design and Manufacture
Unfinished | September 2009 - July 2010

GCSEs
Eight including: Product Design, Mathematics & Double Science | September 2005 - July 2007