API design & integration
done properly the first time
Whether you need to build a clean REST API from scratch or wire up half a dozen third-party services without losing your sanity, I help teams design APIs that are pleasant to use and integrate ones that don't fall over at the worst possible moment.
Teams whose business runs through APIs
APIs aren't a side dish any more — they're how modern software talks to itself. Here's who I usually help.
SaaS teams exposing an API
You've got a product, customers are asking for an API. Let's design one they'll actually want to use.
Businesses integrating services
Payment gateways, CRMs, ERPs, data feeds — wire them together cleanly with proper error handling and retry logic.
Mobile / frontend teams
You need a backend API to feed your iOS/Android/SPA app. I'll design it around your actual UI needs.
Webhook-heavy products
If your product sends or receives a lot of webhooks, you know how easy it is to make them brittle. I do this properly.
APIs that are nice to integrate with
If your API makes developers swear, they'll find an alternative. I build the kind that earns five-star reviews on a Hacker News thread.
API design
RESTful or GraphQL — versioned, consistent, discoverable, with thoughtful resource modelling.
Auth & OAuth
Token auth, API keys, OAuth 2.0 flows, scoped permissions — done so your customers can sleep at night.
Webhooks
Sending or receiving — proper signing, idempotency, retries, observability, replay capability.
Payment integrations
Stripe, GoCardless, PayPal, Square, Direct Debit — built once, maintained quietly forever.
Data integrations
CRMs (HubSpot, Salesforce), accounting (Xero, QuickBooks), helpdesks, marketing tools.
Documentation
OpenAPI specs, interactive docs (Scalar / Redoc), runnable examples, changelogs that don't lie.
Testing
Contract tests, integration tests, recorded fixtures so external services don't flake your CI.
Rate limiting & metering
Per-customer rate limits, usage tracking, billing-grade metering for paid API tiers.
Monitoring & alerting
Failed webhooks, expired tokens, schema drift — surfaced before customers notice.
Design first,
code second
A few hours spent on design saves weeks of refactoring later. Here's the rhythm.
Design the contract
We agree the resources, endpoints, payloads and error shapes — usually as an OpenAPI spec — before writing any code.
Build & test against it
Implementation in Laravel, contract tests that prove the API matches the spec, fixtures so CI is reliable.
Document & ship
Live docs, examples, monitoring dashboards, alerting. Then ongoing iteration as real consumers use it.
Kind words from people I've worked with
Jamie has been instrumental in building My Trust List from the ground up. As our senior full-stack developer, he combines genuine technical depth across Laravel and modern web architecture with the kind of pragmatic problem-solving you only get from someone who truly owns what they build. He communicates clearly, ships reliably, and consistently makes the right call on the trade-offs that matter. I'd recommend him without hesitation to any team serious about quality.
CEO & co-founder
We have worked with Jamie since 2024 after approaching him to support and maintain our vehicle recycling platform built by a previous developer. Since then we have fixed numerous bugs, upgraded to the latest library releases and built new functionality including a brand new mobile phone app for our drivers. Knowing we pay the same amount each month and can bank any unused time helps with our cash-flow and we know he'll be on-hand whenever we need support.
Operations Manager
Jamie is a safe pair of hands when you need someone. I have worked on a number of projects with Jamie. (Custom APIs mainly, but server and security related items as well). He responds quickly, follows up without needing to chase and completes tasks in a methodical way. He finds the last bugs with thorough testing; so we are confident at launch that everyone will be pleased.
Owner
The things people usually ask
Let's talk about your API project
Tell me about what you're trying to build or integrate. A few lines is plenty — I'll ask the right follow-up questions.
No hard sell. No obligation. Just a friendly chat about whether we're a good fit.
