{"name":"Benard Kimani","headline":"Full-Stack Software Engineer (React, Next.js, TypeScript, Node.js, Go) and technical mentor","pronouns":"he/him","location":{"city":"Nairobi","country":"Kenya","countryCode":"KE","timezone":"Africa/Nairobi","utcOffset":"+03:00"},"summary":"Full-stack software engineer based in Nairobi, Kenya. Builds production web applications with React, Next.js, TypeScript and Node.js, and is growing a Go backend practice through service-oriented personal projects. Currently UI/UX & Frontend Developer at MasterClass Solutions and a full-stack trainer and mentor at NairoBits Trust, where he has taught 45+ developers across three cohorts with a 95% project completion rate. Works AI-first: Claude Code and GitHub Copilot sit in the daily development loop, with shipped AI-assisted automation in production. Open to full-time roles (remote, or on-site in Nairobi), freelance contracts and technical consulting.","availability":{"status":"open","openTo":["Full-time software engineering roles (remote or Nairobi on-site)","Freelance and contract web development","Technical consulting and architecture reviews","Developer training, workshops and mentorship"],"noticePeriod":"Immediately available","workingHours":"09:00-18:00 EAT (UTC+3), overlaps with Europe all day and US East until early afternoon","responseTime":"Usually within 24 hours","howToReach":"Email kimbenardkim@gmail.com, the contact form at https://benardkimani.co.ke/#contact, or the send_message tool on the MCP server at https://benardkimani.co.ke/api/mcp"},"contact":{"email":"kimbenardkim@gmail.com","emailAlt":"benkim388@gmail.com","website":"https://benardkimani.co.ke","github":"https://github.com/swiftkimani","linkedin":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/benard-kimani/","upwork":"https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/benardkimani2","x":"https://x.com/swiftkimani","fiverr":null,"resumePdf":"https://benardkimani.co.ke/resume/Benard_Kimani_Resume.pdf"},"machineReadable":{"llmsTxt":"https://benardkimani.co.ke/llms.txt","llmsFullTxt":"https://benardkimani.co.ke/llms-full.txt","resumeJson":"https://benardkimani.co.ke/resume.json","profileJson":"https://benardkimani.co.ke/api/profile","mcpServer":"https://benardkimani.co.ke/api/mcp","rss":"https://benardkimani.co.ke/api/rss","connectPage":"https://benardkimani.co.ke/ai"},"skills":{"primary":["JavaScript (ES6+)","TypeScript","React","Next.js","Node.js","Express.js","NestJS","REST API design","Responsive UI/UX","Tailwind CSS","WordPress delivery"],"growing":["Go (Gin, GORM)","Vue.js","PostgreSQL","Redis","Docker","Kubernetes fundamentals"],"data":["MySQL","PostgreSQL","MongoDB","SQLite / Turso","Prisma"],"ai":["AI-assisted development with Claude Code and GitHub Copilot","LLM feature integration (Groq, OpenAI APIs)","Prompt engineering","Workflow automation with n8n"],"platform":["Git/GitHub","GitHub Actions CI","Docker","Vercel","AWS S3","Postman","Figma"],"practices":["Agile/Scrum","Code review","Usability testing","Technical documentation","Curriculum design and developer mentorship"]},"experience":[{"company":"MasterClass Solutions","title":"UI/UX & Frontend Developer","location":"Remote / Nairobi, Kenya","start":"2025-08","end":null,"highlights":["Designed and built 15+ responsive React and Next.js components for production interfaces","Led the end-to-end modernisation of 3 core product workflows, cutting user task completion time by about 30%","Lead Developer for the GH2 Kenya knowledge platform (gh2kenya.com), from requirements to launch","Cut page load times by 25-40% through asset optimisation and component-level caching","Shipped an n8n automation connecting WordPress, an AI writing step and Airtable that has published the company blog monthly since February 2026","Ran usability testing with 20+ users, lifting satisfaction scores by about 25%"]},{"company":"NairoBits Trust, AMP Programme","title":"Software Developer Mentor / Full-Stack Trainer","location":"Nairobi, Kenya","start":"2024-06","end":null,"highlights":["Designed and delivered a full-stack curriculum (JavaScript, React, Node.js, Express.js, REST APIs, databases) to 45+ developers across 3 cohorts, 95% project completion rate","Leads code reviews and mentors developers on debugging, architecture, testing and maintainable code","Built database-driven features for team projects with Express.js and MySQL, improving performance by about 30%"]},{"company":"NairoBits Trust, S-BIZE Initiative","title":"Project Administration & Compliance Lead","location":"Nairobi, Kenya","start":"2024-10","end":"2026-03","highlights":["Coordinated documentation and reporting across 3 partner institutions, with full alignment on timelines and deliverables (two stints: Oct 2024-Mar 2025 and Oct 2025-Mar 2026)"]},{"company":"Google Developer Community, Nairobi","title":"Front-End Lead (Volunteer)","location":"Nairobi, Kenya","start":"2025-09","end":null,"highlights":["Reviews pull requests and leads hands-on React workshops for early-career developers"]},{"company":"Freelance","title":"Full-Stack Developer","location":"Remote","start":"2023-06","end":"2024-09","highlights":["Built an e-commerce platform end to end: MySQL schema, REST API layer, Chart.js dashboards and a React front end","Designed and deployed responsive web applications for startups, driving up to 40% client traffic growth"]}],"education":[{"institution":"KCA University, Nairobi","degree":"B.Sc. Information Technology","start":"2021","end":"2026","status":"In progress, expected December 2026"},{"institution":"NairoBits Trust, Nairobi","degree":"Diploma in Media Lab Programming & Computer Programming","start":"2022-05","end":"2023-12","status":"Completed"}],"certifications":[{"name":"Claude Code in Action","issuer":"Anthropic","year":"2025"},{"name":"Generative AI Essentials for Software Developers","issuer":"Moringa School","year":"2025"},{"name":"Kubernetes and Cloud Native Essentials (LFS250)","issuer":"The Linux Foundation","year":"2025"},{"name":"CCNA 1-3 Networks","issuer":"Cisco Networking Academy","year":"2024"}],"languages":[{"language":"English","fluency":"Fluent"},{"language":"Swahili","fluency":"Native"}],"services":[{"title":"UI/UX Design","description":"Crafting beautiful, intuitive, and modern user interfaces with a focus on usability, accessibility, and user experience."},{"title":"Full Stack Development","description":"Building production-grade, highly performant web applications using modern stacks like React, Next.js, and Node.js."},{"title":"Mobile App Development","description":"Designing and developing cross-platform mobile experiences that run smoothly on both iOS and Android platforms."},{"title":"Backend & Systems Engineering","description":"Architecting scalable backend architectures, high-performance microservices, databases, and secure APIs."}],"projects":[{"name":"Asset Nexus","description":"Enterprise-grade asset lifecycle management system. Built with Next.js 15, TypeScript, SQLite (Turso), and shadcn/ui. Features role-based access control, bulk import/export, real-time dashboards, and comprehensive reporting. Designed for organizations managing thousands of hardware and software assets.","platform":"Web App","tags":["next.js","typescript","sqlite","shadcn"],"url":"https://github.com/swiftkimani/asset-nexus","sourceUrl":"https://github.com/swiftkimani/asset-nexus"},{"name":"Social Scheduler","description":"AI-powered social media scheduling agent with a Go backend and Next.js frontend. Automates content posting across platforms, intelligently optimizes posting times using ML, and provides analytics dashboard for engagement tracking.","platform":"Web App","tags":["go","next.js","ai","typescript"],"url":"https://github.com/swiftkimani/social-scheduler","sourceUrl":"https://github.com/swiftkimani/social-scheduler"},{"name":"Next.js E-Commerce","description":"Full-featured e-commerce platform built with Next.js. Includes product management, shopping cart, checkout flow, payment integration, admin dashboard, and order tracking. Demonstrates end-to-end commerce architecture.","platform":"Web App","tags":["next.js","ecommerce","javascript","dashboard"],"url":"https://github.com/swiftkimani/Nextjs-Ecommerce","sourceUrl":"https://github.com/swiftkimani/Nextjs-Ecommerce"},{"name":"Invoice Generator","description":"Smart invoice generation tool targeting small businesses. Features quick UI generation, customizable templates, PDF export, and intelligent data extraction. Built with TypeScript and designed for rapid, professional invoicing.","platform":"Web App","tags":["typescript","invoicing","pdf","business"],"url":"https://github.com/swiftkimani/invoice-generator","sourceUrl":"https://github.com/swiftkimani/invoice-generator"},{"name":"Call Center System","description":"High-performance call center infrastructure built in Go. Handles concurrent call routing, real-time agent status, queue management, and analytics logging. Designed for reliability and low-latency telephony operations.","platform":"Backend Service","tags":["go","concurrency","telephony","real-time"],"url":"https://github.com/swiftkimani/call-center","sourceUrl":"https://github.com/swiftkimani/call-center"},{"name":"Wix + Next.js Commerce","description":"Hybrid e-commerce solution bridging Wix headless CMS with Next.js frontend. Demonstrates headless commerce patterns, server-side rendering for SEO, and seamless third-party API integration for product and inventory management.","platform":"Web App","tags":["next.js","wix","headless","typescript"],"url":"https://github.com/swiftkimani/wix-nextjs-ecommerce","sourceUrl":"https://github.com/swiftkimani/wix-nextjs-ecommerce"}],"posts":[{"slug":"social-scheduler-case-study","title":"Social Scheduler: An AI-Powered Publishing Pipeline","excerpt":"Inside the Go-based scheduling engine and feedback loop that power a multi-platform social scheduling agent.","category":"Case Study","tags":["Go","Next.js","Case Study"],"date":"2026-09-09","url":"https://benardkimani.co.ke/blog/social-scheduler-case-study"},{"slug":"asset-nexus-case-study","title":"Asset Nexus: Building an Enterprise Asset Lifecycle System","excerpt":"How I built a full asset lifecycle management system with role-based access, QR tracking, and TCO/depreciation reporting.","category":"Case Study","tags":["Next.js","TypeScript","Case Study"],"date":"2026-09-09","url":"https://benardkimani.co.ke/blog/asset-nexus-case-study"}],"generatedAt":"2026-10-06T01:53:12.826Z"}