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Seb Smith

Tech lead · Software developer

Seb Smith Tech lead at Hunter Healthcare, building BEACON.

I lead development of BEACON, a global benchmarking platform that helps healthcare providers compare how they're doing against peers in other countries.

Before that I spent a few years building web and mobile apps at agencies in Manchester and York. I got into software through a bootcamp in 2020, after working as a bike mechanic.

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What I work on

  • Leading a team

    As tech lead on BEACON, a lot of my time goes on architecture decisions, planning work with the product side, reviewing code and making sure the team isn't blocked.

  • Web and mobile apps

    I spent my first few years at agencies building apps for all sorts of clients, mostly with TypeScript, React, React Native and Node. You pick up a new domain every few months.

  • Security and compliance

    Healthcare data comes with a lot of rules. I've worked through SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA and GDPR on BEACON, mostly on the engineering side of things.

Security and compliance

A lot of compliance work ends up being engineering work. These are the frameworks I've worked with on BEACON and what they've meant in practice.

Compliance frameworks and what they involved
SOC 2 Security controls Access control, change management, monitoring, and keeping evidence that an auditor can actually follow.
ISO 27001 Information security management Risk assessments, policies, supplier reviews and an incident process the team knows how to use.
HIPAA US health data Encryption at rest and in transit, least-privilege access, audit logging, and making sure every vendor that touches health data has a BAA in place.
GDPR UK and EU personal data Knowing what personal data we hold and why, how long we keep it, and handling access and deletion requests properly.

Working through any of these yourself? I might be able to help →

Experience

  1. Now

    Tech Lead at Hunter Healthcare

    Leading development of BEACON, a global benchmarking platform that lets healthcare providers compare their performance with peers in other countries. I've also been heavily involved in the security and compliance side of the platform: SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA and GDPR.

    Technical leadership / Architecture / Security & compliance

  2. 2023

    Software Developer at The Distance

    Built mobile apps for a range of clients at an app agency in York, mostly in React Native.

    React Native / TypeScript / iOS & Android

  3. 2020 – 2023

    Developer at Silverchip

    My first job in software. Web and mobile projects at a Manchester agency, including an online banking app.

    React / TypeScript / React Native

  4. 2020

    Coding bootcamp at Northcoders

    Retrained during the pandemic after working as a bicycle mechanic.

    JavaScript / Node.js / SQL

There's a longer version on the about page →

Side projects

Things I build outside of work.

Writing

I write now and then, mostly about AI tools and how I build software.

  1. It's fine not to keep up with the latest AI models

    A short reflection on model-chasing, shiny object syndrome, and why it is fine to settle into the AI tools that already work for you.

    2 min read

  2. The Vibe Coding Movement

    Thoughts on the vibe coding movement, AI product builders, and where generated prototypes still need engineering judgement.

    3 min read

  3. Why I rebuilt my portfolio site in Ruby on Rails

    Why I rebuilt my portfolio in Ruby on Rails, what I enjoyed about the framework, and why simple tools can be refreshing.

    4 min read

All writing →

Get in touch

I'm always happy to chat. Book a quick call, drop me an email or connect with me on LinkedIn.

seb@sebsmith.dev
Book a quick chat

Things I'm happy to talk about

  • Building healthcare software
  • Security and compliance from the engineering side
  • Moving from agencies to product work
  • AI tools and how teams actually use them
  • Getting into software from a different career

Connect on LinkedIn ↗