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.
Four layers. One coherent system.
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.

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, composed

Independent parts. Shared foundations. Room to evolve.

The decisionKeep feature state local. Compose services behind a clear boundary.

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

Brought page speed close to 100 with workers and caching, and separated traffic by serving region (UK, US, Germany, Mexico).

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 4–6 engineers moving a legacy PHP/WordPress site to Next.js and built structured-data visualisations plus comparison tooling for in-house counsel

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

  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 Frontend Engineer

Earlier experience
  1. Jul 2022 — Jun 2023

    LawAIer

    Staff Frontend Engineer

  2. Mar 2019 — May 2022

    British Film Festival

    Engineering Manager

  3. Oct 2015 — Mar 2019

    American Express

    Senior Frontend Engineer

  4. Aug 2013 — Aug 2015

    Ecwid/Lightspeed

    Senior Software Engineer

  5. 2008 — 2013

    BBC

    Lead Engineer (Various)

  6. 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