Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Overview

Matthew Poulter
Engineering Manager at VCSW
13 years web development
7 years marketing & design
4 years management
Personal information
- Full name
- Matthew David Poulter
- Date of birth
- 28 Feb 1996 (age 27)
- Nationality
- South African
- Current location
- Valkenburg, Netherlands
- EU work permit
- Highly skilled migrant visa
- Languages
- English, Afrikaans, Dutch (basic)
Experience
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Engineering Manager
VCSW
May 2023 – present
I was recently appointed Engineering Manager at VCSW, a role that has granted me a more extensive set of responsibilities and a pivotal position within the organization. Taking over the management of the development teams from the departing Director of Operations, I have been entrusted with the task of guiding and empowering our talented developers towards achieving our collective goals. This transition will allow me to further enhance my leadership skills and foster a culture of collaboration and innovation within the teams.
In addition to leading the development teams, I have also become a member of the company's Management Team, enabling me to contribute strategic input and insights. This newfound involvement in the decision-making process will allow me to align our technological initiatives with the broader organizational strategy, ensuring that our efforts contribute directly to the company's overall success.
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Freelance Web Developer and Editor
Simple Squid
Jan 2010 – present
As the founder of Simple Squid in 2010, I established the business to support my freelance web development work. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of developing websites and web applications for a diverse range of clients, from individuals to small and medium businesses.
In addition to web development, I have extended my freelancing services to include graphic design, video editing, and other creative endeavours. As a result, I bring a multidisciplinary approach to my work, enabling me to provide comprehensive solutions that meet my clients' needs.
I have also been an active member of the open-source community, contributing to various PHP packages and even maintaining a few myself. My involvement in this community has enabled me to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in web development, which I bring to every project I undertake.
Overall, I am proud of the success I have achieved through Simple Squid and am passionate about continuing to provide quality web development and design services.
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Lead Developer
VCSW
Jan 2023 – Apr 2023
As Lead Developer at VCSW, I excelled in managing and developing our software products while ensuring the optimal performance of our two development teams. A key aspect of my role was orchestrating work preparation and preliminary research, enabling the teams to operate at their best. By providing strong leadership and guidance, I fostered a collaborative and productive work environment that empowered team members to deliver their highest-quality work.
I actively contributed to roadmap discussions, leveraging my expertise to shape strategic decisions and drive the future direction of our products. Alongside my technical responsibilities, I took pride in coaching and mentoring fellow developers, conducting regular one-on-one sessions to support their technical growth. Moreover, I placed great importance on maintaining accurate and up-to-date documentation for both internal and external stakeholders.
After only four months as Lead Developer, I was promoted to Engineering Manager in recognition of my capabilities and contributions. This new role saw me take over the management of the development teams from the departing Director of Operations, and it reflected the organization's trust and confidence in my leadership.
During my time as Lead Developer, I demonstrated my dedication to driving excellence, fostering collaboration, and delivering impactful results. By combining my technical expertise, leadership skills, and a strong focus on mentorship and documentation, I contributed to the overall success of VCSW and the growth of our development teams.
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Senior Developer
VCSW
Sep 2021 – Dec 2022
My journey at VCSW began when I joined as a Senior Developer in September 2021, initially working remotely from South Africa. VCSW is a financial services company specialising in social security based in the Netherlands. In December 2021, I made the exciting decision to relocate to the Netherlands, allowing me to transition to a hybrid work model.
During my time at as Senior Developer, I worked on both the Datahub and VCSW Digitaal teams. I played a key role in spearheading the development of the Datahub, an innovative API designed to standardize payroll administration data, enabling automation of a variety of tasks for our partners. Additionally, I made valuable contributions to the enhancement of our flagship SaaS application as part of the VCSW Digitaal team.
My responsibilities extended to server management, successfully upgrading and migrating outdated servers to ensure optimal performance and reliability for our systems. Furthermore, I actively participated in technical interviews, leveraging my expertise to identify top talent for our teams. I also had the privilege of delivering internal talks on new technologies and packages, sharing my knowledge and insights with my colleagues.
In recognition of my achievements and leadership abilities, I was promoted to Lead Developer at the start of 2023. Overall, my time as a Senior Developer was characterized by my ability to work closely with stakeholders, deliver high-impact features, provide constructive feedback, and actively contribute to the growth and success of the organization.
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Development and Marketing Manager
Kiddiwinks
Jan 2018 – Aug 2021
As a member of the founding family of Kiddiwinks, I have been intimately involved in the growth and success of the business from an early age. After serving as a part-time consultant, I transitioned into a full-time management role, where I was critical in enhancing the customer experience and driving business growth.
As part of my responsibilities, I managed the design and development of the Kiddiwinks digital infrastructure, including the website used by both customers and staff. I successfully upgraded and migrated several legacy systems while introducing a customer loyalty program that has since seen significant success.
In addition, I was responsible for heading up the marketing efforts, both digital and physical, which included creating campaign plans, developing the weekly newsletters, and crafting social media content. I was also involved in shop floor planning, general staff management, and financial record-keeping, and would occasionally step in as a sales assistant when required.
Thanks to combined efforts, Kiddiwinks has enjoyed robust growth, achieving a 25% increase in consumer sales from 2019 to 2020, despite challenging economic conditions. As a result of my contributions and improvements to the digital infrastructure, I was able to leave Kiddiwinks in a strong and self-sustaining position, poised for continued success in the future.
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Robotics Teacher
Forres Preparatory School
Feb 2016 – Mar 2020
My extended involvement with the FIRST LEGO League robotics competition led to my appointment as the LEGO robotics teacher and coach at Forres Preparatory School, a role I was very passionate about. I designed and delivered engaging lessons on two or three afternoons every week, aimed at children aged 9 to 13 years. My teaching was focused on the basics of coding and engineering by building and programming LEGO robots.
My efforts culminated in the successful preparation of three Forres teams for the regional FIRST LEGO League competition each year, which involved designing and building LEGO robots to solve real-world problems. I was proud to guide one of the school teams to participate in the national competition in Johannesburg twice.
My time at Forres was fulfilling and exciting and enabled me to impart valuable knowledge to the kids while igniting their passion for STEM subjects.
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Development and Marketing Consultant
Kiddiwinks
Jan 2015 – Dec 2017
My official involvement with Kiddiwinks started in 2015 as I began consulting part-time with the day-to-day operations of the business. My responsibilities included assisting with the development of existing systems and helping to create marketing plans, newsletters, and social media content.
In addition, I played a key role in inventory management, taught robotics classes, organized LEGO children's parties, and helped plan and launch a new Kiddiwinks shop in 2017. Through my efforts, I helped to enhance the overall customer experience and increase brand awareness.
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Research Assistant
Rondebosch Boys’ High School
Jan 2015 – Jun 2015
At Rondebosch, I played an instrumental role in improving the school's use of technology to support teaching and learning. One of my major achievements was setting up the school's first virtual learning environment, which allowed students to access educational resources online. Additionally, I initiated a teacher peer-review system, where lessons were recorded and reviewed by other teachers to identify areas for improvement.
Thanks to these initiatives, teachers were able to provide more personalised support to students, and students had greater access to educational resources. Overall, I am proud of the positive impact my work had on the school community.
Key skills
Teamwork and team leadership
My effective teamwork and leadership abilities are demonstrated by my ability to work collaboratively with diverse teams, successfully communicate with stakeholders at all levels, and manage projects effectively. My commitment to open communication enables me to cultivate positive and productive relationships with team members, customers, employees, and managers alike.
- Good communication (verbal and non-verbal)
- Vision, ideation, and creativity
- Helpfulness and commitment
- Willingness to learn
- Empathy and respect
- Adaptability and flexibility
Full stack web development
My primary development stack is comprised of Laravel, Vue.js, Inertia.js, and Tailwind CSS (or VILT for short). I enjoy using this stack for its efficiency and ease of use in developing complex web applications. Additionally, I am always seeking to expand my knowledge and stay up-to-date with the latest technologies in the field.
- PHP
- Laravel
- HTML and CSS
- Tailwind CSS
- MySQL and PostgreSQL
- Nginx and Apache
- JavaScript
- Vue.js
- React
- Inertia.js
- Livewire and Alpine.js
- Statamic and Filament
- Git and GitHub (version control)
- Laravel Forge and Vapor (deployment)
- AWS and Digital Ocean (hosting)
- Docker (development)
- JetBrains PhpStorm (IDE)
- Pest and Cypress (testing)
- Tinkerwell and Ray (debugging)
- Figma (design)
Marketing, design, and content creation
With several years of experience in planning and executing marketing campaigns, crafting newsletters and social media copy, and creating graphics for both digital and print media, I am skilled in marketing, design, and content creation. Additionally, I am an experienced videographer and editor.
- Adobe Photoshop
- Mailchimp
- Facebook Business and Ads Managers
- Google Business Profile
- YouTube Studio
- Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects
- DaVinci Resolve
- Adobe Audition
- Ableton Live
- OBS Studio
Education
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Bachelor of Science Honours specialising in Computer Science
University of Cape Town
2019 – 2020
I completed my Bachelor of Science Honours degree specialising in Computer Science in mid-2020, although my graduation was postponed to July 2021.
I found this to be the hardest year of my studies due to several personal reasons as well as my becoming more actively involved at Kiddiwinks. In fact, I failed one of my final courses in 2019 and had to learn the hard lessons of resilience and perseverance as I took another course the following year to complete my degree.
My course results were:
Course Mark Honours Research Project 75 Research & Innovation 79 Functional Programming 80 Compilers 1 76 Compilers 2 87 Big Data 80 Network Security 79 High-Performance Computing 70 Mathematics: Cryptography F Human Computer Interaction 83 -
Fellowship Programme
Allan Gray Orbis Foundation
2017 – 2019
I was selected to join the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation's Fellowship Programme in 2017. In addition to funding three years of my university fees, this was an exciting and eye-opening experience for me as I was mentored and guided towards life as a high-impact, responsible entrepreneur.
I attended many entrepreneurship workshops, master classes, mentorship sessions, and festivals organised by the Foundation. I have since graduated from the Fellowship Programme and am now an Allan Gray Fellow.
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Bachelor of Commerce specialising in Information Systems & Computer Science
University of Cape Town
2016 – 2018
I graduated with my Bachelor of Commerce degree specialising in Information Systems & Computer Science in April 2019. I enjoyed my time studying, and, as a result, found myself picking up several extra courses along the way.
Skills wise, I learned how to work under pressure, I gained a strong understanding of business, and I improved my verbal and written communication skills.
I was grateful to be placed on the Dean’s Merit List as well as being awarded a Commerce Faculty Scholarship.
My course results were:
First year:
Course Mark Financial Accounting 86 Financial Reporting I 83 Evidence-based Management 70 Computer Science 1015 95 Computer Science 1016 88 Microeconomics 81 Macroeconomics 57 Mathematics 1010 98 Mathematics 1012 95 Introductory Statistics 94 Second year:
Course Mark Management Accounting I 66 Business Law I 55 Computer Science 2001 80 Computer Science 2002 66 Systems Analysis 61 Systems Design & Development 69 Mathematics 2000 52 Business Ethics 57 Third year:
Course Mark Professional Communication 78 Computer Science 3002 67 Computer Science 3003 67 I.T. Project Management 68 BPM & Enterprise Systems 57 Electronic Commerce 67 -
National Senior Certificate
Rondebosch Boys’ High School
2010 – 2014
During my time at Rondebosch, I was amongst the top academics as well as being heavily involved in music and community service.
I held many positions of leadership, including being a school prefect, a member of the Representative Council of Learners, and the leader of several of the school’s music ensembles and bands.
Skills that I acquired at school were time management, creative leadership, and compassion.
I was grateful to attain the following achievements and awards whilst at school:
3rd in the Western Cape for Information Technology in Matric (2014)
The Mike Reeler “Altius et Latius” Award for allroundership (2014)
Distinction Awards for Academics, Music, and Service (2013, 2014)
The GH Broster Trophy for outstanding service (2013)
Subject prizes in Mathematics, AP Mathematics, and Information Technology (2013, 2014)
Selected for the Standard Bank National Schools’ Big Band (2011, 2013, 2014)
Finalist (top 17) in the South African Programming Olympiad (2014)
Gold certificate (top 10) in the UCT Mathematics Competition (2012, 2013)
2nd Place in the FIRST LEGO League South African National Championships (2010, 2012)
My final National Senior Certificate results were:
Course Mark English Home Language 88 Afrikaans First Additional Language 76 Mathematics 98 Advanced Programme Mathematics 91 Physical Sciences 90 Information Technology 96 Music 83 Life Orientation 91
Personal information
- Full name
- Matthew David Poulter
- Date of birth
- 28 Feb 1996 (age 27)
- Nationality
- South African
- Current location
- Valkenburg, Netherlands
- EU work permit
- Highly skilled migrant visa
- Languages
- English, Afrikaans, Dutch (basic)
Achievements
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280k+ open-source package downloads
My open-source packages have been downloaded more than 250k times, demonstrating the popularity and usefulness of my contributions to the developer community.
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25% annual consumer sales growth
Through my marketing and customer service initiatives, we achieved a 25% increase in consumer sales at Kiddiwinks in 2020, driving significant revenue growth for the company.
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Virtual recordings aired on national radio
Several virtual choir recordings that I edited were aired on Fine Music Radio, South Africa in 2020.
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Exponential Black Friday growth at Kiddiwinks
As project manager for Kiddiwinks' biggest sales day of the year, I oversaw an exponential growth in Black Friday sales from 2017 to 2021, driving significant revenue and profitability for the company.
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Introduction of a customer loyalty programme
Through my successful implementation of an omni-channel customer loyalty programme at Kiddiwinks, I helped significantly increase customer engagement and retention.
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Migrated legacy point-of-sale system
During my time at Kiddiwinks, I facilitated the migration of 4 shops to Vend POS systems, allowing for real-time stock management across the company.
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Coached and chaperoned teams to FLL Nationals
I coached and chaperoned teams of kids aged 9-16 to the FIRST LEGO League Nationals every year from 2015 to 2020, fostering a love of STEM education and robotics.
Interesting (and fun) facts about me
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I am a parkrun enthusiast (and tourist), and I’m part of the Tapjin parkrun core volunteering team.
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I’m an avid fan of Doctor Who, the Lord of the Rings, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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I love to listen to podcasts on my commutes.
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I play the trombone and used to sing in two Cape Town choirs.
References
Please feel free to request contact details for any of my references.
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Bryony Poulter
Owner of Kiddiwinks
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Lilavan Gangen
Founder of Vidhya Productions
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Tracy Starke
Teacher at Rondebosch Boys' High School
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Patrick Cordery
Choirmaster of True Voices, Cape Town