Andy Balaam
Lead Software Engineer at Element
London, England, United Kingdom
Summary
🤩
Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolAndy Balaam is a Lead Software Engineer based in London with 24 years of experience building robust, test-driven systems across languages including Rust, Java, Python, JavaScript, C++ and Lisp. He has progressed from hands-on development roles at IBM and OpenMarket to leading engineering at Element, where he contributes to the widely used Matrix client and SDKs—improving accessibility, UI components, polls and location features. A pragmatic advocate of TDD, Agile and functional programming, he blends deep academic training (DPhil in Computer Science and AI) with product-focused engineering. Colleagues know him for clean, collaborative code and an unusual mix of formal maths and evolutionary systems background that informs practical, well-tested designs.
24 years of coding experience
24 years of employment as a software developer
MMath, Mathematics, MMath, Mathematics at University of NottinghamDPhil, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, DPhil, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at University of Sussex
Stackoverflow
6,561reputation
1.5mreached
45answers
12questions
file-rename
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concatenation
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Github Skills (22)
javascript10
matrix10
ui-components10
jes10
concatenation10
typescript10
sdk10
jestjs10
typescript-types10
jtest10
typescripts10
react10
file-rename9
user-interface9
css9
Programming languages (23)
Github contributions (5)
matrix-org/matrix-react-sdk
Sep 2021 - Jan 2023
Matrix SDK for React Javascript
Role in this project:
Front-end Developer
Front-end DeveloperContributions:727 reviews, 150 commits, 624 PRs in 1 year 4 months
Contributions summary:Andy primarily contributed to the React Javascript-based Matrix SDK, specifically focusing on UI components and functionality. They wrote unit tests for the room avatar component, demonstrating proficiency in testing frontend code. Furthermore, they refactored and modified existing settings components, improving their structure and user experience. The user also implemented new features related to the location and polls within the application, enhancing the overall functionality of the application.
javascriptreactmatrix-chatmatrix-sdkmatrix
element-hq/element-web
Oct 2021 - Jan 2023
A glossy Matrix collaboration client for the web.
Role in this project:Front-end Developer
Front-end DeveloperContributions:146 reviews, 32 commits, 155 PRs in 1 year 3 months
Contributions summary:Andy's contributions primarily focused on enhancing the Element Web client's user interface and test suite. Their work involved adding and testing features like room avatars and expanding the visual display of polls. The user also refactored UI components like the devices panel and the settings panel to improve accessibility and usability. Furthermore, the user contributed to improving font size visibility and adding a high contrast theme.
javascriptcollaborationmatrix-collaborationkaiosmatrix
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