# John Kilpatrick > Director of Technology at Rapha. Engineer by background, still hands-on. - Location: London, UK - Email: me@jjkilpatrick.ai - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnjameskilpatrick/ - Website: https://jjkilpatrick.ai/ - CV (PDF): https://jjkilpatrick.ai/cv.pdf ## Roles - Director of Technology, Rapha (May 2025 to present) - Head of Engineering, Rapha (Aug 2024 to May 2025) - Principal Engineer, Rapha (Dec 2021 to Aug 2024) - Lead Frontend Engineer, Rapha (Aug 2019 to Dec 2021) - Senior Frontend Engineer, Rapha (Nov 2018 to Aug 2019) - Freelance Senior Developer, JJKilpatrick Ltd (Jan 2017 to Nov 2018) - Senior Developer, Fathom London (Nov 2015 to Jan 2017) - Senior Creative Technologist, AnalogFolk (Aug 2014 to Oct 2015) - Creative Technologist, Harkable (Sep 2013 to Aug 2014) - Creative Technologist, AnalogFolk (May 2010 to Aug 2013) ## Skills ### Strong, hands-on - Composable and headless commerce architecture - Microservices and micro frontends - Event-driven and domain-driven design - Integration patterns (webhooks, APIs, reconciliation, idempotency, failure modes) - AWS serverless (Lambda, EventBridge, SQS, IAM, CloudWatch, SSM) - Cloud and DevOps (CI/CD, observability, infrastructure as code, Docker) - Frontend engineering (Next.js, React, TypeScript, design systems, accessibility, performance) - Node and TypeScript backend, with Python - Data platform (GCP, BigQuery, pipeline and warehouse design, reporting layers) - Applied AI and agent development (Vertex AI Agent Engine, MCP servers) - Security and compliance (PCI DSS, GDPR, vulnerability management, DR) - Structured technology evaluation ### Strong as a leader - Technology budget and return on investment - Vendor and contract negotiation - Architectural governance, QA and delivery - Programme management and roadmap ownership - ERP modernisation - Mobile product ownership - End-user IT ### Not my background - Data science and ML modelling, as distinct from applied AI and agent work - Very large traditional enterprise IT estates ## Summary Engineer turned technology director. Sixteen years across the stack, from frontend to cloud, and now running the whole technology function at Rapha, the premium cycling apparel brand: engineering, cloud and DevOps, QA, business analysis, product, ERP and business systems, end-user IT, security, vendor management and the technology budget. I sit on the leadership side of the business, so I make the technical argument in commercial terms: cost, forecast and return are part of the case, not an appendix to it. The remit is broad for the title, which means I prioritise hard and I am comfortable saying "good enough" is the right answer when it is. I still write and deploy production code. Leading from inside the detail is how I understand the business well enough to support it properly. ## Experience ### Director of Technology, Rapha (May 2025 to present) Lead the whole technology function: engineering, cloud, product, ERP, security, IT, vendors and budget. - Led the move to a composable, headless commerce platform, my strongest single area, and designed the event-driven architecture that sits behind it. - Lead a multi-year programme to roll AI out across the business, built on Google Cloud. Multiple agents and workflows in production, internal and customer-facing, including fully autonomous workflows, without compromising the brand experience. - Rolled AI into developer experience too: agent skills, tooling and new ways of working for the engineering team. - Built the data platform the business now runs its reporting on. - Own the technology budget and the vendor relationships, and make the trade-offs explicit so the business can choose with its eyes open. - Own the technology roadmap, planned twelve months out and sequenced against budget and capacity, with the trade-offs made explicit. - Still write and deploy production code and run releases. I lead from inside the detail, not above it. ### Head of Engineering, Rapha (Aug 2024 to May 2025) - Led the engineering function and set the technical strategy behind the company's growth. - Owned the technical bar for senior hiring. - Acted as the bridge between engineering and leadership, turning technical detail into commercial decisions. ### Principal Engineer, Rapha (Dec 2021 to Aug 2024) - Defined the roadmaps and architectural plans, and led the move from traditional architectures towards microservices and micro frontends. - Standardised coding practice across frontend and backend on full-stack TypeScript, React, Next.js and Node.js. - Shipped scalable serverless solutions across cloud environments while staying hands-on in code and troubleshooting. - Led a multi-disciplinary team across DevOps, QA, frontend and cloud operations. ### Lead Frontend Engineer, Rapha (Aug 2019 to Dec 2021) - Decomposed the monolithic frontend into micro frontends, improving scalability and maintainability. - Built an internal design system and introduced Storybook, keeping UI development consistent across teams. - Migrated the CMS and DAM out of the monolith to headless systems, enabling content sharing across platforms and improving asset delivery speeds by up to 80%. - Defined frontend coding standards and best practice, and mentored frontend and cloud engineers. ### Senior Frontend Engineer, Rapha (Nov 2018 to Aug 2019) Joined Rapha as a senior frontend freelancer in April 2018 to deliver the new platform, went permanent in November 2018, and moved from there into lead and leadership roles. ## Earlier career Before Rapha I was freelance and agency-side across a wide client base: automotive, financial services, consumer goods, entertainment and publishing. That range is where the breadth comes from, and why I would rather make a pragmatic call than gold-plate. ### Freelance Senior Developer, JJKilpatrick Ltd (Jan 2017 to Nov 2018) Senior frontend contractor through my own company, across agencies and brands. - Senior frontend at Digitas UK (Jul 2017 to Apr 2018), building online car configurators for Audi and SEAT: the experience of configuring and visualising a custom vehicle. - Senior frontend delivery for Oxygn Consulting in early 2017. - The Rapha contract from April 2018, which became the permanent role above. ### Senior Developer, Fathom London (Nov 2015 to Jan 2017) Built and launched production financial applications for fintechs and established institutions. - Engineered a mobile trading platform for commodity and forex trading for Goldman Sachs. - Built a risk management platform for Access Fintech, used by banks and buy-side firms to monitor the trade lifecycle and prioritise risk. - Developed an internal platform for Commerzbank to manage and update client terms. ### Senior Creative Technologist, AnalogFolk (Aug 2014 to Oct 2015) Led development of web applications and hardware prototypes for AkzoNobel and Lucozade. - Built the software and hardware prototypes for Dulux MixLab, an in-store paint mixing and colour-picking device. - Consolidated 14 AkzoNobel brand and service sites into a single optimised platform. - Built Dulux Paint Expert, Amazing Space Paint and Dulux Kids' Rooms: interactive tools for choosing, visualising and co-designing room decoration. ### Creative Technologist, Harkable (Sep 2013 to Aug 2014) Built digital campaigns for Nike Foundation, Paramount Pictures, IGN, Warner Music and Penguin Books. ### Creative Technologist, AnalogFolk (May 2010 to Aug 2013) Early-career creative technology work: interactive web and prototype builds for agency clients. ## Education BSc (Hons) Creative Music and Sound Production, Leeds Beckett University, 2005 to 2008. BTEC Information Technology, Yorkshire Coast College, 2003 to 2005. ## What I will not claim I would rather tell you a gap than defend a claim later. I do applied AI and agent work, not data science or ML modelling. My background is not very large traditional enterprise IT. And where I am strong as a leader rather than as a day-to-day operator, such as ERP, mobile and end-user IT, I will say so. ## How I work Direct and concise, warm rather than slick. I would rather be told something is a bad idea than be agreed with. I value evidence over assertion, candour over polish, and a decision people actually adopt over one that only looks good on paper. I am happy to say "I do not know" and to name a gap. ## Contact Email me at me@jjkilpatrick.ai. It is the right channel for roles, questions and anything that needs a real answer from me. I am also on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnjameskilpatrick/.