Orderly
Tech Lead
2025 - Present
Nairobi, Kenya
Orderly is a restaurant operating system covering customer ordering, point-of-sale, kitchen display, tableside service, back-office management and delivery dispatch, with an AI copilot built in.
Tech lead, full stack engineer and electronics technician. I build production systems in PHP and JavaScript, ship AI into real businesses, and still know my way around a soldering iron.
Production systems I have led, built and shipped, from restaurant platforms to AI agents.
A complete restaurant operating system. I lead the engineering of Orderly, a platform that runs a restaurant end to end: a customer ordering app, point-of-sale, kitchen display screens, tableside ordering, a merchant back-office, and delivery dispatch with a dedicated rider app and a desktop client. I designed the update-safe module architecture and built the Kenyan payments and compliance layer on top of it: M-Pesa, Paystack, KRA eTIMS tax integration, OTP authentication and inventory. It runs on PHP 8.3, MariaDB and Redis behind nginx and Cloudflare, with Firebase for push notifications and a shared design system across all five apps.
An AI copilot that works inside a live restaurant. I built the AI layer for Orderly from scratch: a provider-agnostic engine (Anthropic Claude and OpenRouter) with an encrypted key ring, model policies, guardrails, usage metering and a full audit trail. Agents call real tools: customers can search the menu and fill their cart by chat, the kitchen can check the queue, mark items sold out, advance orders and log waste, and platform admins get merchant and feedback summaries. Background watchers flag stuck orders, payment-gateway failures, status drift and quiet merchants before anyone has to ask.
A complete e-commerce system for Crosstech I developed a full-featured e-commerce system for Crosstech that streamlines both online and retail operations in Kenya. The platform integrates affiliate management, a robust POS system, inventory and order management, user management with role-based access, and seamless M-Pesa payment processing. It also supports real-time notifications, SMS updates, and is designed to scale with a mobile app planned. Built using Laravel, React, MySQL, and RESTful APIs, with integrations for M-Pesa Daraja API and SMS gateways, the system is engineered for performance, scalability, and reliability. Designed to compete with established platforms like Jumia, this solution positions Crosstech as a reliable and innovative marketplace for businesses and customers in Kenya.
AI-assisted device troubleshooting. Where my hardware and software work meet. A guided diagnostic wizard for electronics repair that asks adaptive questions about a faulty device, then uses Google Gemini through Genkit to suggest likely causes and fixes and summarise past diagnoses. It includes an admin dashboard for managing devices, questions, findings and AI settings, and logs every diagnosis.
Free tools for Kenyan online stores. I publish plugins for the Botble CMS and e-commerce platform that anyone can use: an M-Pesa payment gateway, plus floating TikTok, Instagram and Facebook feed widgets that link shoppers straight from social video to products. Each one is configurable from the admin panel, with options for placement, size, target pages and mobile visibility.
An e-commerce marketplace for ByteDeals Kenya I developed ByteDeals.co.ke as a modern e-commerce marketplace focused on electronics and lifestyle products. The platform features product catalog management, secure M-Pesa integration, order tracking, and a responsive design optimized for both web and mobile. Built with Next.js, Laravel, and REST APIs, ByteDeals is engineered for performance, scalability, and a smooth customer experience.
An online pharmacy platform for Hinata Pharmacy I developed HinataPharmacy.co.ke as a specialized e-commerce platform for pharmaceuticals. It includes prescription uploads, secure M-Pesa integration, inventory tracking, and SMS notifications for order updates. Built with Laravel, Vue.js, and MySQL, the platform ensures compliance, security, and reliability while making healthcare products easily accessible online.
A real estate listing website platform for Invexia Ltd Built with Laravel on PHP 8.2: a complete real estate listing platform with agent profiles and property listings.
A lifestyle e-commerce platform for Ukiyo LifeShop I created UkiyoLifeShop.com as a lifestyle and wellness e-commerce platform with multi-currency support, categorized product listings, inventory management, and order tracking. Built with React, Node.js, and MongoDB, the system is designed for scalability and a global audience, ensuring smooth checkout and secure payments.
An e-commerce platform for Celebrat Kenya Built with Laravel, the e-commerce website is used by the company to generate sales and manage its online store efficiently.
A website for DST Fiber LTD The DST Internet website is a dynamic and user-friendly platform designed to highlight the services and offerings of the internet service provider.
A corporate website for Kenire Business Solutions Built with Wordpress, the Kenire Business Solutions Ltd website is a professional platform designed to showcase the company’s services.
I started at the repair bench, fixing phones, consoles and computers down to the component. That taught me how systems really work. I took that into software, then into leading teams and building with AI. Hardware, software, AI: I work across all three.

I'm a tech lead based in Nairobi. Today I lead engineering on Orderly, a full restaurant operating system with an AI copilot built in, and I run the e-commerce platform at Crosstech. PHP and JavaScript are my home ground. I think in both circuits and code, so I can take a product from the device on the counter to the server it talks to and the AI model behind it. Outside of work I enjoy swimming and cycling.
The part I enjoy most is planning a system's architecture: how the modules fit, how it survives updates, how it scales, and where AI can do useful work. I also mentor, review code, and give clients a straight answer on what will work.
Hardware, software and AI, all under one roof.
I work across the whole stack, from the circuit board up. I can diagnose a dead motherboard, stand up and harden a Linux server, write the PHP and JavaScript that runs on it, and connect a large language model that does real work for a business. Few engineers cover all of it. I do, and it lets me solve problems other people would pass along to someone else.
I build AI into production products, not demos: tool-calling agents, multi-provider LLM engines with guardrails and audit logs, background watchers that catch problems early, and AI-assisted diagnostics. I also use AI coding tools every day to ship faster.
Years at the repair bench, where I diagnosed and repaired computers, gaming consoles and mobile phones down to component level. That grounding in how hardware fails is why I debug software the way I do.
With 5+ years building digital products, I use a wide set of tools to design, build and ship efficient, scalable solutions.
As a creative professional, I thrive by using a wide range of tools languages and frameworks to bring ideas to life.
A timeline of my professional and technical journey.
Orderly is a restaurant operating system covering customer ordering, point-of-sale, kitchen display, tableside service, back-office management and delivery dispatch, with an AI copilot built in.
I lead the technical direction of the platform across its web, mobile and desktop apps: architecture, infrastructure, payments, compliance and AI.
Crosstech is a leading destination for cutting-edge electronics and tech essentials in Kenya, committed to innovation and customer satisfaction through a diverse range of products and expert guidance.
As the lead developer, I oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of the company's e-commerce platform. My role involves managing all online operations, ensuring a seamless and efficient digital experience for our customers.
Delivered high-quality software solutions for a diverse range of clients on the Guru.com platform. I was responsible for the full project lifecycle, from initial client consultation and requirements gathering to development, testing, and deployment. Projects included custom website development, e-commerce integrations, and feature enhancements for existing applications.
Diagnosed, troubleshot and repaired a wide range of electronic devices, including computers, gaming consoles and mobile phones, down to board and component level. This is where my engineering started: a deep, practical understanding of hardware, system diagnostics and methodical problem-solving that I still bring to every software project.