About
Hey — I'm Robert James. I'm a software engineer and founder from Cork, Ireland. I've been writing code since I was a teenager, and it's pretty much all I've wanted to do since.
I'm dyslexic, and that has shaped everything I work on. I built Helperbird because I wanted a tool that genuinely helped people like me use the web without a fight. It started as a side project and grew into something more than a million people rely on. I still run it today, under Coffee & Fun LLC.
Along the way I was named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, which was honestly surreal. Before all that I spent a few good years at Teamwork.com, and did stints at EMC/Dell and Microsoft.
Outside of code I drink far too much coffee, I write about things that interest me — mostly accessibility, browser extensions, and whatever I've recently broken — and I've been lucky enough to travel a fair bit along the way.
Experience
Founder at Coffee & Fun LLC
– Present
My company where I build apps and browser extensions. We focus on making software that's actually useful and accessible to everyone.
Founder at Helperbird
– Present
Started Helperbird as a side project and grew it into an accessibility app used by over a million people across Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Google Docs.
Owner and Author at robertgabriel.ninja
–
Freelance consulting work, helping companies with JavaScript, Node.js, Golang, and PHP projects. A mix of frontend and backend work.
Team Lead and Software Engineer at Teamwork.com
–
Led a team of six devs rebuilding the frontend and backend of the Teamwork.com websites. Also built analytics tools to personalise the experience for new and returning users.
Software Engineer at Teamwork.com
–
Built a bunch of data importers for Teamwork Projects. Added Google sign-up and login support and worked on new features and UX improvements.
Software Engineer (Part-time) at Teamwork.com
–
Worked part-time on the Teamwork.com websites while finishing my CS degree. Mostly frontend work — sign-up flows, new features, and UX improvements.
Web Engineer (Internship) at Teamwork.com
–
My first proper job in tech. Built new pages and features for the Teamwork.com marketing site and CMS. This is where I really learned the ropes.
Software Engineer at Learn Code
–
Built custom encryption for password resets and worked on new features. Also did a lot of code reviews.
Software Engineer at Autism Start
–
Built a social website for Autism Start from scratch — a community platform with original content, social features, and tools for their users.
Software Developer (Internship) at EMC/DELL
–
Built an internal website for EMC employees with account creation, search, and a mentor matching feature.
Software Developer (Internship) at EMC/DELL
–
Learned a lot about networking and servers. Redesigned the Visitors Portal website and added social sharing and video features.
Web Developer (Internship) at Microsoft
–
Got invited to the Microsoft workshop after the National Young Scientist competition. Short but I learned a ton about how things work at a company like Microsoft.
Web Developer (Internship) at Horner Automation
–
Built circuit boards and wrote C++ code for chips. My first taste of hardware and R&D — very different from web dev but I loved it.
Awards & recognition
Forbes 30 Under 30 2020
Forbes
Still can't quite believe this one. I was named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for my work on Helperbird. Something I built to help people like me ended up on Forbes — wild.
Best Use of Open Source Tools
IBM & Intel
Won this for a project using machine learning with Node.js and Material Design. IBM and Intel liked the way I put it all together.
Overall Best Poster & Project 2016
Cork Institute of Technology
Got top marks at CIT for a project using machine learning, Node.js, and Material Design. Felt great to have the lecturers and classmates recognise the work.
Imagine Cup National Runner-Up 2015
Microsoft Ireland
Entered Microsoft's Imagine Cup with CrossTrainr, a fitness app that connected people with similar workout interests. Came second nationally and the Microsoft team encouraged me to take it further.
Imagine Cup National Runner-Up 2014
Microsoft Ireland
Built Yeti, a tool that resized images and videos to cut bandwidth and speed up load times. Got 2nd place in the innovation category for Ireland. This one later grew into a bigger project.
Hatchery Scholarship for Innovation
Cork Institute of Technology
Got a scholarship over the summer of 2012 to turn five student projects into real businesses. Weekly workshops, proper mentorship, and by September I had actual business plans done.
Abbott Runner-Up Award
Abbott
For a SciFest competition, I built a tablet from an old laptop — added a touch screen, coded a custom interface and apps, and made a completely custom shell. Got second place and the Abbott award.
Most Technically Innovative Award
Cork Institute of Technology
Won €2,000 for Project Bird, a software studio I ran with my mate Tadhg Foley focused on Windows and web 2.0 projects. Nice to get that recognised during college.
Maths and Algorithms
BT Young Scientist
Second place in the Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences category for 'A New Algorithm to Improve the Gathering of Information on Mobile.' This project ended up being the early version of what became the Yeti engine.
Technology 2nd Place
BT Young Scientist Award
In fifth year, I built 'Automated Monitoring of Computer SQL Servers by Way of a Merit.' Didn't know it at the time, but it eventually grew into Tallus.
SciFest Award for Programming x5
BT Young Scientist Award
Won five programming awards at SciFest — one-day science fairs where you build everything in 24 hours. The time pressure was intense but it taught me to code fast and think on my feet.
HEANet Special Award
HEANet
Recognised for how I used networking tools for research and collaboration. Basically got an award for being handy with the internet.
Avaya Communications Special Award
Avaya
Got recognised by Avaya for my work with networking and communication tools. Was chuffed that a company that big noticed what I was doing.
All Ireland Title
Eircom
Won the All Ireland title from Eircom for building a web app that the judges thought was well-made and genuinely useful. This one meant a lot.
Junior Spider Awards: Best Application
Eircom
Best application in the Junior Spider Awards. I'd put a lot of effort into making it properly polished, so it was great to see that pay off.
Teamwork Hackathon 2015: Runner-Up
Teamwork.com
24 hours, 15 competing ideas. Built an internal social website concept and came second. Knackered but happy.
Everyday Excellence Award
Teamwork.com
Got this at Teamwork for consistently doing good work on the website. Always nice when the day-to-day stuff gets noticed.
Above and Beyond the Call of Duty
Teamwork.com
Teamwork gave me this for going above and beyond on the website. Apparently I was doing more than they expected — I just liked the work.
The Faculty of Engineering & Science Scholar
Cork Institute of Technology
Got the Faculty Scholar title for having the top grade in my class at CIT. Made all those late nights studying feel worth it.
Lightning Talk Smackdown Winner
Rebelcon 2017
Won the Lightning Talk Smackdown at Rebelcon 2017. Talked about converting websites to Progressive Web Apps and shared a service worker template. The crowd was well up for it.
Google Scholarship Awards
Google.com
Selected as one of 1,000 students worldwide for a Google scholarship covering their Front-End Web Developer Nanodegree. Pretty surreal getting that email.
Project Cover Grant Winner
Project Cover
Cover is a non-profit that helps people get access to opportunities and networks. Getting their grant felt like proper validation that what I was building could actually help people.
Abe's Curated $100 Micro Grant
Abe's
A small grant from Abe's for creating open-source content — CC0, CC-BY, and GPL compatible stuff. Only $100 but it was cool to get recognised for contributing to open source.
What I work with
AI & machine learning
- Large Language Models
- Prompt engineering
- OpenAI API
- Claude API
- Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
- AI agents
- Machine learning
- TensorFlow.js
- Speech synthesis (TTS)
- Speech recognition
- OCR
- AI-assisted development
Technical
- HTML
- CSS
- Sass
- JavaScript
- ES6
- TypeScript
- Vue
- Angular
- Next.js
- Node.js
- PHP
- Swift
- Liquid
- Tailwind CSS
- Webpack
- Jest
- Git
- CI/CD
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- Linux
- Bash/Shell scripting
- AWS
- Firebase
- GraphQL
- MongoDB
- SQLite
- Chrome Extensions
- Accessibility
- WCAG
- Screen readers
- JAWS
- Encryption
- SEO
- Design
- Google Apps Script
Everything else
- Project management
- Agile methodologies
- Scrum
- Code reviews
- Technical documentation
- API documentation
- User guides
- Written reports
- Research papers
- Blog writing
- Content strategy
- Editing and proofreading
- Presentation skills
- Public speaking
- Stakeholder communication
- Email communication
- Meeting minutes
- ClickUp
- Teamwork Projects