Bruce RoyceEngineering with intent

Lead Frontend architect and Engineer

Calm systems.
For complicated
work.

I make complex frontend products easier to use, safer to change and faster to deliver.

React · Next.js · TypeScript · Engineering leadership

Explore my work View CV
Bruce RoyceLondon, UK · Hybrid / remote
Complexity, composed.
The AssemblyIndividual parts. A considered whole.
Clarity in the product. Confidence in the delivery.Discover the work
16+years in frontend
11+years leading teams

Built in environments
where the details matter.

BBCAmerican ExpressLegal 500Xapien

01 / Selected work

Complexity, handled.
Impact, delivered.

From real-time investigations to customer journeys. A selection of the problems I’ve helped teams solve.

XAPIEN01 / AI due diligence
The architecture, simplified

Independent parts. Shared foundations. Room to evolve.

Conceptual illustration · not a production screenshot

Lead Frontend Engineer · 2025

One clear workspace.
Many moving parts.

A legacy React platform evolved into a modular, white-label-ready architecture. Complex discovery became easier to navigate, with real-time collaboration across seven teams.

7 teamscollaborating in one real-time workspace

React · TypeScript · TanStack · Go · AWS

Behind the work

The challenge

Support complex due-diligence workflows and enterprise customisation within an existing React platform.

My contribution

Led the move from a thick legacy application to a thin, modular frontend with a Go backend-for-frontend. Worked across product, design and backend engineering from discovery through delivery.

What changed

Supported ABB’s rollout across seven teams and enabled white-label customisation that had not previously been possible.

Engineering → commercial impact$2.6m+

reduction in quarterly
advertising costs

PetLab Co Group2024

Performance that pays its way.

Faster customer journeys. Better conversion. A tangible commercial return from frontend engineering.

Next.js · TypeScript · Gatsby · Optimizely · AWS

Behind the work

The challenge

Improve the performance of a customer-facing commerce platform while helping the team deliver consistently.

My contribution

Delivered frontend performance improvements, mentored engineers on architecture and testing, and standardised development workflows.

What changed

Converted more than $2.6M per quarter of paid traffic into organic traffic, cutting direct-marketing spend by that amount.

One system. More possibilities.Modularity, by design · conceptual illustration
The Legal 5002024–25

A publishing legacy reimagined as a modular platform, with a shared design system connecting product and marketing.

Next.js · TypeScript · GraphQL · Kafka · MongoDB

Behind the work

The challenge

Move a large, data-rich legacy platform towards a more maintainable foundation without losing sight of the people using it.

My contribution

Led frontend architecture and delivery for the transition from WordPress/PHP to Next.js, with reusable components and event-driven integration.

What changed

Improved usability for legal professionals alongside platform performance and stability, while enabling new comparison tools.

Human judgement, supported
Source materialAI-assisted draftHuman review
Workflow illustration
LawAIer2023

Trust belongs in the interface.

Collaborative legal work with the context, provenance and human oversight that AI-assisted products need.

Next.js · NestJS · Prisma · AWS Bedrock

Behind the work

The challenge

Make a complex legal content platform understandable and help users assess AI-assisted output with confidence.

My contribution

Designed frontend and backend-for-frontend architecture, built collaborative editing, and worked directly with lawyers and buyers during pilots.

What changed

Implemented provenance and validated workflows with users, strengthening trust in AI-assisted outputs.

Architecture. Performance. Accessibility. Ownership.The full experience

02 / How I work

A steady hand.
A clear way forward.

I stay close to the code and the people using it. The aim is always the same: make the product clearer and the team more capable.

01

Understand the whole.

Connect the user’s needs with the system’s constraints. Turn ambiguity into decisions everyone can understand.

Discovery / product judgement
02

Make change safer.

Clear boundaries, reusable patterns and useful tests. Build foundations that help the next feature, and the next engineer.

Architecture / quality
03

Own the outcome.

Stay involved from the first conversation to production. Find the obstacles, make the trade-offs and see the work through.

Hands-on delivery / leadership
Bruce Royce in his office
Bruce RoyceEngineer. Leader. Maker.

03 / The person behind the work

An engineer’s mind.
A maker’s instinct.

I like understanding how things work.
Then making them work better.

My background brings together computer and mechanical engineering, broadcast technology, commerce and legal AI. That range shapes how I approach software: as a whole system, built for real people.

With 16+ years in frontend engineering and 11+ years leading teams, I bring practical judgement, direct communication and a willingness to get into the detail. I care about what we ship, how it behaves and whether the team can build on it with confidence.

MEng · Computer EngineeringBEng · Mechanical Engineering
Connect on LinkedIn

Experience, in perspective

Built across
disciplines.

Download CV PDF
  1. Jan 2026 — Present

    PetVitae Labore

    Founding Engineer, Independent venture

  2. Jun 2025 — Dec 2025

    Xapien

    Lead Frontend Engineer

  3. Jul 2024 — Mar 2025

    Legal500

    Lead Frontend Engineer

  4. Jul 2023 — Jun 2024

    PetLab Co Group

    Lead Front-end Engineer

Earlier experience
  1. Mar 2019 — May 2023

    British Film Festival

    Staff Engineer, Contract

  2. Oct 2015 — Mar 2019

    American Express

    Senior Frontend Engineer

  3. Aug 2013 — Aug 2015

    Ecwid/Lightspeed

    Senior Software Engineer

  4. 2008 — 2013

    BBC

    Lead Engineer (Various)

  5. 2000 — 2008

    Broadcast Graphics

    Member of Technical Team

04 / Beyond the day job

Still curious.
Still making.

A few things I’ve written and built.
Curiosity tends to become a project.

01Writing

Small primitives. Better JavaScript.

New Set methods and their practical applications.02Writing

Inside the engine.

How V8 Maglev balances start-up and execution.03Open source

Software meets the physical world.

A RepRap post-processor for Autodesk Fusion 360.04Open source

Tools that get out of your way.

A free React and TypeScript teleprompter.05Open source

Make the move dependable.

Email migration tooling built with TypeScript.

A good conversation is a good start.

Let’s make
the difficult work.

Looking for a hands-on Lead or Staff Frontend Engineer?
I’d like to hear what you’re building.

bruceroyce@yahoo.com

Clear products.
Dependable systems.
Confident teams.

View my CV