IT Contractors UK Profile
Ryan Jarrett
Senior Platform / Technical Lead | Stabilising high-traffic CMS and web platforms | PHP, WordPress, Node, AWS, Cloudflare
Verified email
Founding Contractor · 2026
Contractor snapshot
Primary specialism
Architecture
Location / working location
Sittingbourne
Current availability
Available now
Confirmed 13 Aug 2026
Profile status
Active contractor profile
Professional profile
Senior platform architect and technical leader with 20+ years scaling high-traffic CMS and web platforms across media, government and education. Led an eight-site publishing estate migration to AWS serverless infrastructure at JOE Media, growing traffic 50% while cutting operational costs 15%. Deep WordPress, PHP and Cloudflare expertise, with strong AWS and Node.js platform experience. Comfortable owning solution design from discovery through delivery, and equally at home with senior stakeholders and hands-on engineering teams. Available for contract and permanent roles, Inside or Outside IR35
Core skills
PHP
WordPress
Node.js
AWS
Cloudflare
JavaScript
TypeScript
Solution Architecture
Technical Leadership
MySQL
What I’m looking for next
Target roles: Head of Technology · Solution Architect · Technical Lead · Platform Architect · VP Engineering
A senior contract or permanent role - Head of Technology, Solution Architect or Platform Lead - where I can own technical direction on a CMS-led or high-traffic platform. Open to Inside or Outside IR35 contracts, or permanent roles at Head of Technology/VP Engineering level. Remote-first, happy to travel to London for on-site days. Genuinely interested in media, publishing, EdTech and public sector work, and open to fractional or multi-client arrangements alongside a primary role.
Contract preferences
Working preferenceRemote · Hybrid
Will workRemote (UK-wide), London (hybrid/on-site), Kent / South East England
IR35 preferenceOutside IR35 · Inside IR35
Expected rate
£500–£750/day
SeniorityHead / Director
Contract lengthAny contract length
IT experience27 years
Contracting experience12 years
Available from14 Aug 2026
Relevant work experience
Here's a version that stays outcome-led and fits the range: Head of Technology, JOE Media (2021-2025): Led the migration of an 8-site publishing estate from an external agency to in-house AWS serverless infrastructure with zero downtime. Grew the estate by 50%, supported traffic spikes of 2,300+ concurrent users, and cut operational costs 15% through a multi-layer caching strategy. Built and led a distributed engineering team across the UK and Kosovo. Technical Lead, Kaplan International (2019-2021): Led modernisation of global higher-education web properties, transitioning legacy sites to a React-based architecture and coordinating multiple offshore development teams. Lead Developer, News UK (The Times) & Ministry of Justice (2012-2018): Architected a government-wide intranet to strict GDS compliance and security standards. Rewrote a legacy Times codebase and managed global caching strategies for high-priority news cycles. Currently freelance: platform and solution design work across SME clients, including WordPress migrations, performance remediation and AI/LLM integration.
Experience & credentials
Certifications, sector experience and security clearance are self-declared unless specifically marked as independently verified by IT Contractors UK.
Sector experience
Media & Publishing · Government / Public Sector · Higher Education · EdTech · SaaS
Professional links
Contact details are controlled by the contractor and are not displayed automatically. Profile information is self-declared unless explicitly marked as verified.