I’m a Lead Developer with 15+ years building scalable, user-centric web applications. Originally a full-stack PHP developer, I later specialised in front-end engineering before returning to full-stack leadership with a modern TypeScript stack. I now guide teams through architecture, delivery and quality to ship reliable products with clarity and confidence.
Curriculum vitae
Miles Wheeler-Smith
Lead Developer · Worcester, UK
Profile
Skills
- Technical Leadership
- System Architecture
- TypeScript
- React/Next.js/Node.js
- Turborepo
- Accessibility (WCAG)
- API Design & Integration
- CI/CD
- Design Systems & Tailwind
- Agile Delivery & Team Mentoring
Experience
Lead Developer · Travel Chapter
Oct 2025 - Present · 11 mos · Remote
Leading the Guest Account and Acquisitions team, mentoring team members, delivering technical solutions, and defining architecture for onboarding acquisitions onto a White Label platform, while empowering guests to self-serve bookings.
Key contributions
- Pioneered a new team structure across the Guest Experience Group, increasing squad autonomy and accelerating feature ownership across four product areas
- Managed a squad of six developers, streamlining onboarding and driving performance and goal achievement
- Worked cross-functionally with delivery managers, product owners, and programme leadership to align team delivery to a 6–12 month company roadmap, enabling onboarding of 500+ new properties, expanding self-service, and prioritising high-impact technical debt reduction
- Led a team to automate acquisition website onboarding across tens of sites, reducing setup time from two weeks to three days while significantly lowering manual effort and human error
- Supported a team member who was struggling with delivery, helping them grow into a reliable contributor through clear expectations, structured guidance, and regular coaching
Senior Developer · Travel Chapter
May 2025 - Oct 2025 · 5 mos · Remote
Guided development across the Guest Experience Group, building and maintaining holidaycottages.co.uk and other customer-facing applications.
Key contributions
- Built self-service booking tools using React Server Components and Server Actions, reducing call-centre load by 50+ hours per month
- Integrated three business acquisitions into the platform, launching them on a high-performance White Label site and adding 240 bookings per month
Lead Front-End Engineer · Cisco
May 2023 - Dec 2024 · 1 yr 8 mos · Remote
Owned front-end delivery for a flagship Webex messaging product, growing and leading a six-person squad reporting to the Director of Engineering.
Key contributions
- Grew front-end squad from two to six engineers by leading recruitment, interviewing 50+ candidates, onboarding, and mentoring new team members
- Developed a Next.js user authentication system that reverse-proxied requests to the back-end, offloading JWT storage from the client side to enhance security and performance
- Built and drove adoption of a shared UI component library that standardised design, accessibility, and usability across three teams
- Championed and secured approval for Next.js, TypeScript, and Tailwind stack, enabling faster iteration and consistent design across product front-end
Senior Front-End Engineer · Cisco
Aug 2021 - May 2023 · 1 yr 10 mos · Remote
Key contributor to the full rebuild of a legacy SMS platform into a multi-channel Webex solution. Promoted to Lead Front-End Engineer to oversee ongoing development and delivery.
Key contributions
- Refactored the tech stack, transitioning from Java and FreeMarker to a streamlined React-based front-end
- Facilitated the merger of two teams to work collaboratively in a new capacity, establishing a balanced front-end and back-end divide
- Shaped the product roadmap by leveraging industry expertise, influencing product manager requirements and inspiring design solutions
- Introduced agile methodologies tailored to the needs of a new team and company structure, improving development efficiency by 30%
Senior Front-End Developer · Textlocal
Sep 2016 - Aug 2021 · 5 yrs · Malvern, UK
Oversaw a front-end team responsible for delivery of new product features and enhancements to improve usability, visual coherence, and overall user experience.
Key contributions
- Recruited and mentored new front-end developers, providing hands-on support and training to strengthen the team’s capabilities and foster growth
- Worked closely with back-end engineers to design APIs that met business needs
- Designed and built a new SMS engine powered by WebSockets to enable real-time messaging
Full-Stack Developer · Textlocal
Jan 2012 - Sep 2016 · 4 yrs 9 mos · Malvern, UK
Worked in a small, cross-functional team spanning UI design, front-end and back-end development, delivering new features and platform improvements for over 160,000 multinational users.
Key contributions
- Co-led the development and integration of two new products: a ticketing tool and a survey solution, both seamlessly integrated with the core SMS platform
- Earned industry awards for product advancements, outperforming entries from major brands such as Audi and John Lewis
Web Developer · Bluelinemedia
Nov 2009 - Jan 2012 · 2 yrs 3 mos · Cheltenham, UK
Developed a diverse range of websites for clients at a small web agency, including brochure sites, e-commerce platforms and CMS-driven solutions.
Education
National Diploma for IT Practitioners
Worcester College of Technology