Richard Harding

I have extensive experience working on complex platforms where scalability, resilience, security and integration are critical. I work comfortably across architecture and hands-on engineering — from defining technical strategy and system architecture through to building production services, implementing cloud infrastructure and establishing automated delivery pipelines. My recent work has focused on Identity and Access Management and high-throughput integration platforms. I have architected and delivered identity platforms supporting SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, including custom identity providers, proprietary data integrations and self-service experiences built with React and TypeScript. I have also designed and built event-driven systems using Akka.NET and Akka.NET Streams, including an integration platform capable of ingesting, transforming and routing hundreds of events per second across Azure Service Bus, Event Grid and Event Hubs using both point-to-point and publish-subscribe patterns. My wider experience includes Azure cloud architecture, Kubernetes, Infrastructure as Code with Bicep and ARM, Azure DevOps CI/CD, Docker, .NET Aspire, Redis, DevSecOps and automated testing with Playwright and TypeScript. I have worked across consultancy, defence, energy, government and enterprise environments, regularly bridging the gap between architecture, development teams and wider stakeholders. I enjoy technically challenging projects where I can quickly understand complex systems, make pragmatic architectural decisions and contribute hands-on to delivering robust production software. Core expertise: .NET | C# | Azure | Software Architecture | Distributed Systems | Event-Driven Architecture | Integration | Microservices | Akka.NET | Akka.NET Streams | Azure Ser