James Byatt is a Head of Software based in New York with 15 years of experience leading engineering teams and delivering high-performance backend systems at LMAX Group. Trained as a mathematician at Durham University, he brings a data-driven, analytical approach to systems design and has progressed through roles from developer to head of US software. He combines hands-on contribution to influential open-source projects—such as performance-sensitive work on the LMAX Disruptor and build-system improvements for Facebook’s Buck—with strategic leadership of production trading platforms. Known for pragmatic code improvements (tests, javadoc, clearer abstractions) and a knack for refining JVM-based build and concurrency primitives, he balances operational rigor with sustainable developer practices. Colleagues would note his uncommon blend of deep technical detail orientation and long-term product ownership across low-latency, financial-grade systems.
15 years of coding experience
11 years of employment as a software developer
1st, Mathematics, 1st, Mathematics at Durham University
Contributions:20 reviews, 18 commits, 17 PRs in 6 years
Contributions summary:James primarily focused on improving the LMAX Disruptor library by updating tests and implementing new features. They updated tests to use non-deprecated constructors, ensuring the code's stability and maintainability. The user also added a `BatchStartAware` interface and integrated it into the `BatchEventProcessor` to report batch sizes. Furthermore, the user supplied missing Javadoc commentary, improving the code's readability and understanding.
A fast build system that encourages the creation of small, reusable modules over a variety of platforms and languages.
Role in this project:
Back-end Developer
Contributions:22 commits, 33 PRs, 61 comments in 2 months
Contributions summary:James primarily contributed to the Buck build system, focusing on improving its Java-related features. Their work involved refactoring code, such as decoupling JavaLibrary from AnnotationProcessingParams and encapsulating JavacOptions within DefaultJavaLibrary. They also made code improvements by renaming variables for clarity and addressing issues like duplicate warnings in JarDirectoryStepHelper. These changes suggest a focus on improving the build process and code maintainability within the Java build environment of the Buck system.
buckpythonplatformsandroidlanguages
Find and Hire Top DevelopersWe’ve analyzed the programming source code of over 60 million software developers on GitHub and scored them by 50,000 skills. Sign-up on Prog,AI to search for software developers.