Richard Larkin
Senior Python Developer at Kivy (Open Source)
Johannesburg Metropolitan Area South Africa
Summary
🤩
Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolRichard Larkin is a Senior Python Developer with over a decade of professional experience and nearly 28 years of programming practice, currently building reliable, test-driven systems and fast iteration workflows. Based in Johannesburg, he combines deep academic grounding in mathematics and computer science with cloud certifications (Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer and Architect) to deliver backend APIs and cloud-native services. A long-time core developer and contributor to the Kivy project, he has worked on cross-platform mobile toolchains—directly improving build automation and OpenSSL integration for iOS—and helped turn Python apps into Android APKs. His career spans legacy desktop development to modern Django REST backends on GCP, AWS and Azure, and he routinely improves documentation and developer experience in open source. Known for treating code as "logical sculpture," he pairs craftsmanship and automation to produce scalable, maintainable software. Beyond coding, he mentors projects through clear docs and build tooling—an often-overlooked leverage point that accelerates team velocity.
13 years of coding experience
29 years of employment as a software developer
Bachelor of Science, Computational Science, Bachelor of Science, Computational Science at UNISA INCGoogle Cloud Professional Data Engineer, Various Google Cloud Technologies, Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer, Various Google Cloud Technologies at GoogleB.Sc, Maths and Compter Science, B.Sc, Maths and Compter Science at UnisaTraining Course, Data Processing and Data Processing Technology/Technician, Training Course, Data Processing and Data Processing Technology/Technician at Linux AcademyData Science Course, Apache Spark, Data Science Course, Apache Spark at UdemyJMB Matric, JMB Matric at Woodmead Group (Pty) Ltd
Github Skills (11)
packaging10
bash10
ios10
python10
openssl10
build-automation10
documentation10
git6
user-interface5
android4
kivy4
Programming languages (4)
Github contributions (5)
kivy/kivy-ios
May 2014 - Jun 2016
Toolchain for compiling Python / Kivy / other libraries for iOS
Role in this project:
Automation Engineer / Build & Release Engineer
Automation Engineer / Build & Release EngineerContributions:6 reviews, 34 commits, 100 PRs in 2 years 2 months
Contributions summary:Richard focused on enhancing the build process for the Kivy-iOS project, specifically integrating OpenSSL support. Their contributions included creating scripts to clone, build, and link OpenSSL libraries, as well as modifying build configurations. The user ensured the correct inclusion and linking of the OpenSSL dependencies for iOS builds. They also refined build scripts and addressed various issues related to file paths and build dependencies.
ioskivypythontoolchainpackaging
kivy/kivy
Nov 2016 - Nov 2016
Open source UI framework written in Python, running on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and iOS
Role in this project:Technical Writer
Technical WriterContributions:20 reviews, 1 commit, 103 PRs in 1 day
Contributions summary:Richard's commits primarily focused on modifying documentation files within the Kivy repository. These modifications included small fixes, improvements to English, and grammar corrections across various documentation sections, such as those related to contributing, the philosophy, and the API. They also added a section covering "Targetting Android", and clarifications and examples for the use of several widgets. The user demonstrated their ability to improve documentation and provide helpful examples in the repo.
androidioslinuxmacospython
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