Darren Burns
Backend Engineer at Monzo Bank
City of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Summary
🤩
Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolDarren Burns is a backend engineer with 11 years’ experience building large-scale distributed systems on AWS, and deep expertise in Python and Java. He has shipped production services at companies including Monzo, FanDuel, and Textualize, and holds a First Class BSc in Computer Science from the University of Glasgow. Beyond backend systems, Darren has professional front-end experience with React/TypeScript and has contributed significant improvements to popular Python UI libraries like Textual and Rich. An active open-source maintainer, he was recognised on the OpenUK Honours List 2025 for his contributions and has built developer-facing tools such as the terminal API client Posting and the Ward test framework work. Based in Edinburgh, he blends pragmatic engineering with a focus on testability and readable developer ergonomics.
11 years of coding experience
9 years of employment as a software developer
Coatbridge High SchoolBachelor of Science (BSc), Computer Science, First Class Honours, Bachelor of Science (BSc), Computer Science, First Class Honours at University of Glasgow
Github Skills (28)
unit-testing10
application-framework10
lib10
rich-text10
python10
testing10
css10
test-runner10
app-framework10
test-framework10
user-interface10
automation10
rich-editor10
web-framework10
automations10
Programming languages (8)
Github contributions (5)
darrenburns/posting
Jun 2024 - Mar 2025
The modern API client that lives in your terminal.
Role in this project:
Full-stack Developer
Full-stack DeveloperContributions:38 releases, 19 reviews, 78 PRs in 9 months
Contributions summary:Darren was actively involved in building the front-end of the terminal-based API client by adding the UI using the Textual framework, including the basic structure for the application. They developed the initial user interface elements, such as the header, URL bar, request body, response area and tabbed content. The user also added code for enabling keybindings, and handling events.
automationclideveloper-toolspythonrest
darrenburns/ward
Jun 2019 - Nov 2022
Ward is a modern test framework for Python with a focus on productivity and readability.
Role in this project:QA Engineer / Test Automation Engineer
QA Engineer / Test Automation EngineerContributions:111 releases, 47 reviews, 303 commits in 3 years 5 months
Contributions summary:Darren's contributions primarily focused on converting existing tests to use assert statements, improving the test suite's structure and readability. They made significant changes to tests across multiple modules, demonstrating a solid understanding of the testing framework. The commits indicate a drive towards improving the accuracy and maintainability of the test suite, likely to support the project's goals of productivity and readability.
pythontesting-frameworkproductivitytestingtest-framework
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