Design Systems Engineer, Accessibility Advocate,
& Professional Cloud Shouter
I've spent my career in the murky waters between design and engineering — building the systems and foundations that make everything else coherent.
About Me
I'm a principal-level design systems engineer based in Lancashire, UK. I've spent my career in the murky waters between design and engineering — building the systems, tokens, and foundations that make everything else coherent, and occasionally shouting about why the foundations matter more than most people realise.
Currently at Royal London as Lead Front-end Design Engineer, leading design system architecture with accessibility as a core quality baseline. Previously at AND Digital, cinch, Co-op, and Auto Trader.
More about me20+ Years Experience
From agencies to in-house, working with some of the UK's biggest brands.
Systems Thinker
Focused on system-level design craft — the architecture, naming conventions, and foundational decisions that determine whether a design system lasts or quietly falls apart.
Accessibility Champion
Co-founder of a11yMCR. Treating accessibility as a baseline for quality, not an afterthought.
Thinking out loud
The Design Brief That Never Mentioned Disabled People
Accessibility failures start before a line of code is written. They start in briefs that don't ask the question, in crits that don't raise it, and in design leadership that has spent decades being rewarded for work that excludes people.
The Accessibility Problem Isn't Design. It's Engineering.
Accessibility failures aren't design oversights — they're engineering failures. The full-stack hiring trend, AI-generated code with no context, and a compliance-first mentality have combined to create a crisis hiding in plain sight. Here's what's actually going wrong, and what fixing it actually looks like.
2025 — That's a Wrap
A year that ground rather than broke. On flat pay, long commutes, and the things that kept me intact.
Where I've been & what I've done
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Now
Royal London current
Lead Front-end Design Engineer
Leading design system architecture, token strategy, and design-to-code pipeline — with accessibility as a quality baseline throughout.
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Previously
AND Digital
Tech Principal – Front-end
Raising the bar for front-end craft and implementation-aware design thinking across client delivery teams.
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Previously
cinch
Engineering Practice Lead
Driving front-end standards and adoption across engineering — through influence, education, and trust rather than formal authority.
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Previously
Co-op
Lead Front-End Design Engineer
Lead engineer on the design system — building shared components, shaping contribution models, and helping teams ship consistently.
Not looking. But if the role's right — senior or principal, design systems focused — I'm not not looking.
Get in touch