Isaac Rowntree - Engineering Manager

Isaac Rowntree

Coder. Dancer. Performer. Trombonist. Guitarist. Singer. Rock Climber. Tap Dancer. Surfer. Coffee Snob. Motorcyclist. Cyclist. Tumbler. Tennis Player. Tough Mudder (5x). Kite Surfer. Photographer. Videographer. Spartan Race (5x). Spanish Learner.

Contact Me GitHub Twitter

Experience

Head of Tech - CamperMate

July 2020 - Present
Enterprise-Scale Technical Leadership
  • Scaled engineering team from 5 under-performing members to 3 top-level performers, and decreased software and infrastructure costs to align with technical budget
  • Architected and delivered 6 major production systems: React Native mobile app, Next.js web platform, B2B business dashboard, Enterprise analytics portal, Retool low-code admin portal, and 26 Cloudflare Worker microservices
  • Implemented Strapi headless CMS serving content management needs across the entire platform ecosystem
  • Built microservice architecture to support the Retool admin portal, enabling rapid internal tool development and workflow automation
  • Maintained continuous operation of iOS and Android apps throughout complete platform replatforming while simultaneously deleting multiple legacy systems
  • Led organization-wide security transformation implementing OAuth where possible and LastPass enterprise as stopgap, plus YubiKey hardware verification and penetration testing across all key systems
  • Achieved significant cost reduction in software/infrastructure spending through strategic vendor management
  • Built AI-powered travel platform with substantial user growth and revenue generation through strategic replatform
  • Support enterprise sales team on high-value deals, regularly present to board and C-level executives on technical strategy
  • Implemented modern full-stack architecture achieving 99.9% uptime and sub-second response times
  • Established comprehensive SRE practices with DataDog and Rollbar for observability, uptime monitoring, log aggregation, error reporting, and automated alerting systems
React Native
Cross-platform mobile
  • 35+ modules & components
  • 80%+ test coverage
  • Large-scale active users
  • 99.94% crash-free rate
Next.js Platform
Full-stack website
  • 70,333+ lines TypeScript
  • 119 App Router pages
  • 202 components
  • 35+ languages
B2B Dashboard
Business platform
  • 13 test suites
  • 20+ form fields
  • Multi-tier auth
  • Drag & drop photos
Analytics Portal
Enterprise SaaS
  • Multi-tenant SaaS
  • Municipal clients
  • RBAC security
  • Power BI integration
Worker Functions
Serverless microservices
  • 26 microservices
  • 400,000+ lines code
  • V8 JS engine
  • Global edge deployment
  • Risk-free transitions
  • Zero-downtime deploys
Key Technical Achievements:
  • Strategic Replatform: Complete system replacement and modernization, deleted legacy codebase for enterprise-grade solution
  • Business Impact: Built successful platform from zero with substantial user base and revenue generation in 3 years
  • User Experience: High average engagement time with significant year-over-year growth in user sessions
  • AI Integration: Cloudflare AI Workers with Llama models, OpenAI GPT-4, automated translation pipeline
  • SEO Excellence: Strong organic search performance with excellent CTR and dominant brand ranking
  • Performance: <16ms render times with strong impression growth and Core Web Vitals compliance
  • Mobile Excellence: 99.94% crash-free rate with large active user base and strong engagement and retention metrics
  • Risk Management: Zero-downtime replatform using Cloudflare Worker proxies for seamless user experience during transitions
  • Architecture: Clean architecture with SOLID principles, serverless-first design, event-driven microservices
  • SRE & Observability: DataDog monitoring, Rollbar error tracking, automated alerting, uptime SLA management, log aggregation

Software Engineer with Redbubble

March 2016 - June 2020
  • Fulfilment, Visual Merchandising and Supply Chain Team
  • Frontend Platform Team
  • Product API Platform Team
  • Membership Frontend Team
  • Commercial Frontend Team

Owner and Director of Zack Design

May 2002 - 2016

Teacher at Swinburne TAFE and Gordon TAFE

2009 - 2011 (2 years)

VET Multimedia, Business, Finance, OH&S - 1on1 Disability - Adult Short Courses (Office Skills)

Senior Developer, Digital and Analytical Analyst, and Tech Lead at Ray White Group

Jan 2012 - Mar 2015 (approx 4 years including additional time as subcontractor)
  • Senior Developer Ray White Office, Agent, and Retail Sites
  • Tech Lead Loan Market Broker, Intranet, and Retail Sites
  • Digital Analysis and SEO (from 2.5% to 5% lead conversion)
  • Tech Lead Ray White Intranet (Whiteboard)
  • Tech Lead Living Here sites
  • Lead Architect Migration to AWS
  • SCRUM Master (+ JIRA)
  • Email Signature app saving the company $15,000/year

Skills & Expertise

Leadership & People Management
  • • Team Transformation & Scaling
  • • Performance Management & Reviews
  • • Hiring & Firing Decisions
  • • Technical Budget Management
  • • Enterprise Sales Support
  • • C-Level & Board Presentations
Technical Architecture
  • • Strategic Replatforming
  • • Risk-Free Migrations
  • • Zero-Downtime Deployments
  • • Microservices Architecture
  • • Multi-tenant SaaS
  • • System Design & Scaling
Programming Languages
  • • TypeScript & JavaScript (ES2024)
  • • Python (AI/ML & Automation)
  • • Go (Microservices & Performance)
  • • Ruby & Ruby on Rails
  • • SQL (MySQL, BigQuery)
  • • Swift & Kotlin (Native Mobile)
Frontend & Mobile
  • • React 19 & Next.js 15
  • • React Native (440K users)
  • • Cloudflare Workers RPC
  • • Progressive Web Apps
  • • 99.94% Crash-Free Rate
  • • Mobile-First Design
AI & Machine Learning
  • • Cloudflare AI Workers
  • • OpenAI GPT-4 & Llama 4
  • • Conversational AI Agents
  • • Vector Search & RAG
  • • AI Translation Pipeline
  • • Multi-language AI
Cloud & Infrastructure
  • • AWS Amplify & Cognito
  • • Cloudflare Workers/Pages
  • • Sceptre (Infrastructure as Code)
  • • Edge Computing & CDN
  • • Auto-scaling & Multi-region
  • • Doppler Secrets & Key Rotation
Backend & APIs
  • • Node.js & Hono Framework
  • • tRPC & Cloudflare Workers RPC
  • • GraphQL (Apollo Server)
  • • REST APIs & Serverless
  • • Strapi Headless CMS
  • • CRON Scheduling & Automation
  • • Queue Processing & Webhooks
  • • Rate Limiting & API Gateways
Data & Analytics
  • • PlanetScale MySQL & BigQuery
  • • Typesense & Elasticsearch
  • • Microsoft Power BI
  • • Prisma ORM & Kysely
  • • ETL Pipelines & Real-time
  • • Municipal Analytics
Security & Auth
  • • OAuth Implementation Strategy
  • • YubiKey Hardware Verification
  • • LastPass Enterprise (Stopgap)
  • • RBAC & Multi-tenant Security
  • • JWT & Firebase Auth
  • • Data Isolation & CORS
Security Operations
  • • Penetration Testing Integration
  • • Enterprise Security Leadership
  • • Audit Logging & Validation
  • • CSRF Protection
  • • Input Validation
  • • Security Process Implementation
DevOps & SRE
  • • GitHub Actions CI/CD
  • • Jest, Vitest & Playwright
  • • 80%+ Test Coverage
  • • DataDog Observability & Monitoring
  • • Rollbar Error Tracking & Alerting
  • • Uptime Monitoring & SLA Management
  • • Log Aggregation & Analysis
  • • Automated Deployment & Rollback
SEO & Marketing
  • • Strong Organic Performance
  • • High Search Visibility
  • • Excellent Average CTR
  • • Technical SEO & Content Strategy
  • • Dominant Brand Ranking
  • • Significant Organic Growth
Business & Compliance
  • • GDPR Compliance Implementation
  • • Accessibility Standards (WCAG)
  • • Enterprise Vendor Management
  • • Significant Cost Reduction Achievement
  • • Multi-language Content (35+ languages)
  • • International Markets (AU/NZ)
Low-Code & Content
  • • Retool Platform Development
  • • Strapi Headless CMS
  • • Low-Code/No-Code Integration
  • • Content Management Systems
  • • Workflow Automation
  • • Process Optimization
Domain Expertise
  • • Travel & Tourism Platforms
  • • SaaS & Freemium Models
  • • Municipal Government Systems
  • • B2B Enterprise Platforms
  • • Booking Systems Integration
  • • Review Platform Management
Mobile App Metrics
Large Scale
Active Users
99.94%
Crash-Free
High
Avg Engagement
23%
Day-1 Retention

Technical Showcase - CamperMate Platform

Strategic Replatform - Significant Business Growth

As Head of Tech at CamperMate, I led a complete replatform, replacing the legacy system with six major interconnected modern systems. Using risk-mitigation strategies including Cloudflare Worker proxies to ensure zero-downtime transitions, this strategic replatform achieved remarkable business success with substantial revenue growth, large user base, and exceptional engagement metrics in just 3 years, serving Australian and New Zealand markets with enterprise SaaS solutions for municipal clients.

Business-Safe Approach: Rather than risky "big bang" system replacements that could disrupt operations, I implemented smart routing technology that gradually directed users to new systems while keeping the old ones running as backup. This ensured customers never experienced downtime or service interruptions during the transition, protecting revenue and user experience throughout the modernization process.

React Native

Cross-platform iOS/Android
Scale & Metrics
  • Large-scale active users
  • 99.94% crash-free rate
  • High engagement
  • 23% day-1 retention
  • 35+ modules
Key Features
  • Production-grade reliability monitoring
  • Firebase Crashlytics integration
  • Hybrid online/offline search
  • Multi-provider authentication
  • Real-time data synchronization
Architecture & Tech Stack
Clean Architecture SOLID Principles TypeScript Firebase 80%+ Test Coverage

Next.js Platform

Full-stack travel website
Scale & Metrics
  • 70,333+ lines TypeScript
  • 119 App Router pages
  • 202 components
  • 35+ languages
  • 10,000+ POIs
AI-Powered Features
  • AI-generated travel itineraries
  • Intelligent search with typo tolerance
  • Automated content translation
  • Contextual activity recommendations
  • Smart geographic validation
Tech Stack
Next.js 15 React 19 TypeScript Prisma/Kysely Typesense

B2B Dashboard

Business management platform
Scale & Features
  • 13 test suites
  • 20+ form fields
  • Multi-tier auth
  • Drag & drop photos
  • Intl phone validation
Business Features
  • POI listing management system
  • Photo galleries with positioning
  • Customer review management
  • Freemium business model
  • PowerBI analytics integration
Tech Stack
Next.js 15 AWS Cognito Kysely Zod React Hook Form

Analytics Portal

Enterprise SaaS analytics
Enterprise Features
  • Multi-tenant SaaS
  • Municipal clients
  • RBAC security
  • Data isolation
  • Power BI integration
Technical Architecture
  • AWS Amplify cloud infrastructure
  • AWS Cognito authentication system
  • Sceptre infrastructure as code
  • React 18 with Next.js 14
  • Complete CI/CD pipeline automation
Enterprise Stack
AWS Amplify AWS Cognito Sceptre Power BI TypeScript

Worker Functions

Serverless microservices
Scale & Metrics
  • 26 microservices
  • 400,000+ lines code
  • V8 JS engine
  • 10+ API integrations
  • Global edge deployment
Advanced Capabilities
  • Risk-free system transitions via proxy routing
  • AI conversational travel agent
  • Real-time data synchronization
  • Multi-language content processing
  • Zero-downtime deployment strategies
Infrastructure
Serverless Edge Computing Event-Driven Auto-Scaling Proxy Routing

Technical Excellence - Greenfield Success Story

Strong
Revenue Growth
Large Scale
Mobile Users
99.94%
Crash-Free Rate
High
Organic Traffic
Excellent
Mobile Engagement
Strong
Day-1 Retention

Strategic Platform Replatform: Replaced legacy system with modern enterprise-grade platform using risk-free transition strategies, achieving strong organic performance and exceptional business growth

Education

  • Bachelor of Applied Science (Information Technology)
  • Certificate IV - Training and Assessment
  • BentoBox
  • Professional Development courses including: AWS, UX, Agile, Salesforce

Extra-curricular

  • Deeply passionate about photography and videography, capturing moments through both still images and dynamic videos
  • Completed 5 Spartan Races, embracing the challenge of conquering obstacles on brutal terrain
  • Worked and volunteered three summers in Sweden as Event Manager and Bar staff at dance events 2012, 2013, 2015
  • A firm believer in the 'healthy body/healthy mind' lifestyle
  • Volunteered one year 2014 as an English coach for international students
  • Trombone player for over 20 years, dancer for 9 years with choreography experience
  • Into strength training and fitness - including Stronglifts, parkour, and circus tumbling/gymnastics/aerials
  • Love long bike rides anywhere between 40 and 100km with coworkers and friends on weekends
  • Enjoy overcoming obstacles and rejecting plateaus in all areas of life. Enjoy Tough Mudder events as a result.
  • Inveterate traveler and collector of geeky gadgets
  • Reader of books. At the moment I highly recommend anything by John C. Wright.
  • Currently learning Spanish to enhance cross-cultural communication and personal growth
  • Self-taught leadership through mentorship (Redbubble, Triptech) and management literature including Radical Candor
  • Drank way too much coffee, went cold turkey. Possibly my greatest accomplishment to date

Reference

...Although Isaac's job title was Senior Developer, in his time with the company Isaac performed many roles outside of that role. He was instrumental in all facets of Digital Development and Digital Marketing.

Isaac performed as lead architect on many projects; migration to AWS, lead generation (Salesforce), Intranet builds plus numerous more. Isaac also was the lead in all SEO implementations including being an Analytics Analyst.

Isaac always performed all tasks with a passion and commitment to making a difference, displaying values that not only enhanced the development team, but the greater company as well.

I have no hesitation in recommending Isaac for any IT/development position and if the chance arises I would happily re-employ him as I truly consider him to be a valuable asset to any team...