jef@avaloq: ~

$ whoami

John Erwin Fabre

Expert Software Engineer · Frontend Tech Lead

Avaloq · Swiss core banking · Philippines

I build and lead frontend for banking software that has to work on the first try. In four years at Avaloq I have held technical direction for the crypto product line and brought three inherited products up to enterprise standard, without interrupting the two that were already live.

Angular · TypeScript · Nx
Enterprise frontend modernization
Production-safe refactoring

Connect on LinkedIn See the work

~ — uptime

13Years building software for banks, since 2013

20+Banking projects across two software vendors

7Avaloq applications I have led, taken over, or shipped into

01

Thirteen years of writing software for banks

~/about.md

First at Sandstone Technology, delivering lending and origination systems for ANZ and other lenders across Australia and the Pacific. Since 2022 at Avaloq, where I lead frontend across three crypto applications and work on several other products.

Most of what I do now is frontend architecture with a deadline attached, across several products rather than one. Sometimes that means taking a product that already has users, working out what is holding it back, and rebuilding the parts that need rebuilding while it stays in production. Sometimes it means reaching something new before its first round of testing and settling what enterprise grade has to mean for it: the architecture, the code standards, the release gates, the UI decisions.

Lately that has meant holding several products at once. I review code, run releases, give estimates I can defend, and mentor engineers on architecture and standards. I am still in the codebase: AI tooling lets me drive direction in the background and keep shipping commits. What I am working on next is doing more of that through other people.

02

Where I hold responsibility

All of it on enterprise Angular, in regulated banking.

~/expertise — bash

$ cat expertise/01-enterprise-angular-archi.md

Enterprise Angular Architecture

I design Angular applications that stay maintainable past the first release, using metadata-driven structures and shared libraries instead of per-screen duplication.

Angular TypeScript Component libraries Metadata-driven design Scalability

$ cat expertise/02-production-safe-moderniz.md

Production-Safe Modernization

I restructure applications that are already live, preserving existing behavior while replacing non-standard code with patterns other engineers can extend.

Refactoring Technical debt Legacy systems Production support Enterprise standards

$ cat expertise/03-api-migration-andamp;-in.md

API Migration & Integration

I drive migrations across client and service boundaries, including the move from GraphQL to REST and the REST API v2 rollout, coordinated across the applications and teams they touch.

REST GraphQL API design Integration Backend coordination

$ cat expertise/04-frontend-technical-leade.md

Frontend Technical Leadership

I hold technical direction for a product: setting review standards, scoping and estimating, making the risk calls, and giving architecture guidance to other teams. I lead through technical decisions, not direct reports.

Code review Estimation Technical direction Cross-team guidance Mentoring

$ cat expertise/05-release-andamp;-delivery.md

Release & Delivery Engineering

I manage frontend release builds and deployments, and onboard applications to standard localization and build pipelines so delivery stops depending on one person.

Release management CI/CD Build pipelines Localization Deployment

$ cat expertise/06-ai-assisted-development-.md

AI-Assisted Development Workflow

I use agentic development loops and AI tooling to shorten analysis, implementation, and review cycles. The output goes through the same quality gates as anything else I ship.

Agentic workflows GitHub Copilot Code review Prototyping Delivery speed

03

Some of the problems I have solved

~/work/01-crypto:-three-frontends-one-.log

$ head -n2 context.txt

Avaloq · Crypto Desk, Crypto for Web Banking, Crypto mobile · 2022 – Present

Crypto: three frontends, one domain

$ cat problem.txt

Three codebases, two of them Nx Angular workspaces and one an Angular and Ionic hybrid for mobile. An API layer moving to the company REST standard, and a backend that was not always ready when the frontend was.

$ git log --oneline outcomes/

➤Drove the move from GraphQL to REST, then the REST API v2 migration across core Crypto Desk and Web Banking functionality, coordinated across the affected applications and the backend teams.
➤Built and still maintain a dynamic mock server that lets frontend work continue in parallel when backend APIs are incomplete.
➤Held frontend technical direction for all three, including the dependency and framework upgrade planning and the security, localization, and accessibility checks each release has to clear. Shaped backend API design toward a standard, maintainable shape, which cut repeated work on the frontend side.

Angular Nx Ionic TypeScript REST GraphQL Mock server Release management

~/work/02-web-workplace-v1.0.log

$ head -n2 context.txt

Avaloq · Web Workplace · roughly seven months, through the v1.0 release in March 2026

Web Workplace v1.0

$ cat problem.txt

A high-priority product needed its v1.0 features on a fixed date, in a domain I had not worked in before.

$ git log --oneline outcomes/

➤Generalized object search and lookup across object fields, replacing field-specific implementations with one extensible pattern.
➤Refactored desk forms from custom per-desk code into a metadata-driven architecture covering change management, synchronization, and side effects, which made new desks faster to build.
➤Owned the Orderbook feature through several sprints, including task template integration and end-to-end coverage, and shipped it with v1.0 on schedule. Then 16+ further tickets: drag-and-drop, focus management, error handling, SDK updates, and a service-layer refactor.

Angular TypeScript Metadata-driven architecture E2E testing

~/work/03-three-successive-frontend-ta.log

$ head -n2 context.txt

Avaloq · Instant Payments Processor UI, Cash Transaction Check UI, BLink Consent UI · successive assignments

Three successive frontend takeovers

$ cat problem.txt

One application at scaffolding, two already live, none of them on the standard localization process when I took them on. I took them on one after another, holding the earlier ones while starting the next.

$ git log --oneline outcomes/

➤Instant Payments Processor UI: took it over at scaffolding stage, before its first round of testing. Reviewed the frontend end to end: architecture, code standards, practices, release gates, and UI decisions. Built the dashboard and brought it to enterprise standard before it shipped.
➤Cash Transaction Check UI: a live application I assessed, restructured to enterprise standard, and kept its production behavior intact throughout.
➤BLink Adapter / Consent UI: also live. Combined new feature delivery with the broader refactor rather than stacking features on a weak foundation.
➤Put all of them on the standard localization process and build pipeline.

Angular TypeScript Localization Jenkins Build pipelines Production refactoring

~/work/04-pre-qualification-and-statem.log

$ head -n2 context.txt

Sandstone Technology · ANZ · Sep 2019 – Feb 2022

Pre-Qualification and Statement of Position

$ cat problem.txt

Three related origination tools, one of them carrying serious technical debt, and an AI service to integrate from outside the codebase.

$ git log --oneline outcomes/

➤Key developer on Pre-Qualification Tool 2: built the project architecture and framework, plus Angular libraries of reusable components and utilities, then coordinated the integration and migration scripts.
➤Ran the technical analysis for integrating an external AI service into the Document Generated Statement of Position, provided technical leadership across the frontend projects, coordinated system design, and built the proofs of concept.
➤Handled the retrofit integration and refactored code carrying major technical debt, while shipping features on the Simple Statement of Position and Pre-Qualification tools.

Angular TypeScript Full stack SQL Component libraries

~/work/05-lendfast-and-lending-platfor.log

$ head -n2 context.txt

Sandstone Technology · ANZ and other lenders across Australia and the Pacific · Jun 2013 – Sep 2019

LendFast and lending platform work

$ cat problem.txt

A lending platform running legacy and current technology at the same time, and clients who needed both kept working.

$ git log --oneline outcomes/

➤Key backend developer on LendFast Dashboard: designed, built, and demoed the proof of concept, the new APIs, and the SQL migration scripts. On Part 2 I was, for stretches, the only developer on either side of the stack.
➤Lead backend developer on Renewals Setup and on Non Credit Critical Renewals.
➤Reverse-engineered an enterprise system to produce the design and proof-of-concept database that became the basis for an initiative started two years later.

Java SQL REST APIs Full stack Database design

04

The full record

~/experience — git log

$ cd Avaloq/ Mar 2022 – Present · Philippines

Jul 2026 – Present [running]

Expert Software Engineer

Continue to set the frontend direction for the crypto applications, now alongside the products I took over.
Drive shared frontend engineering standards for integration consistency, localization, and release quality.
Diagnose and fix accessibility findings against the EU accessibility requirements a regulated release has to meet.
Stay hands-on in complex implementation while mentoring engineers on architecture and review practice.

Angular TypeScript Frontend architecture Accessibility remediation Technical leadership

Jun 2022 – Jun 2026

Senior Software Engineer (Frontend Technical Lead)

Held frontend technical direction across the three crypto applications: review standards, release builds, estimation, and cross-team coordination.
Drove the GraphQL to REST move, then the REST API v2 migration, across core Crypto Desk and Web Banking functionality.
Shipped the Orderbook feature and two application-wide refactors into Web Workplace v1.0, on schedule in March 2026.
Took Instant Payments Processor UI, Cash Transaction Check UI, and BLink Adapter / Consent UI one after another.

Angular TypeScript REST GraphQL Localization Release management Code review

Mar 2022 – Jun 2022

Senior Software Engineer

Delivered frontend work on the crypto product line before taking on the technical lead role.

Angular TypeScript

$ cd Sandstone-Technology/ Jun 2013 – Feb 2022 · Makati, Philippines

Sep 2019 – Feb 2022

Senior Software Developer (Full Stack / Technical Lead)

Key developer on Pre-Qualification Tool 2: built the project architecture and framework, plus Angular libraries of reusable components and utilities, and coordinated integration and migration scripts.
Key developer on Document Generated Statement of Position: analyzed the external AI service integration, provided technical leadership across the frontend projects, coordinated system design, and built the proofs of concept.
Refactored code carrying major technical debt while continuing feature delivery, and shipped on the Simple Statement of Position and Pre-Qualification tools.

Angular TypeScript Full stack SQL Technical design

Sep 2017 – Sep 2019

Software Developer (Full Stack)

Key backend developer on LendFast Dashboard: designed, implemented, and demoed the backend proof of concept, new APIs, and SQL migration scripts.
Sole developer at times on LendFast Dashboard Part 2, covering both frontend and backend.
Lead backend developer on Renewals Setup and on Non Credit Critical Renewals, plus backend work on the LendFast Portal.

Java Spring SQL Server REST APIs Backend Full stack

Sep 2015 – Sep 2017

Associate Software Developer

Developer on MSS (Multiple Simple Securities), linking and synchronizing customer assets and liabilities with existing applications.
Lead developer on Embedded Wealth and on HLPIR (Home Loan Pricing Index), including technical designs and SQL migration scripts.
Reverse-engineered an enterprise system to produce a design and proof-of-concept database. Also shipped Overtime and Commissions, plus BAU production support.

Java SQL Technical design Production support

Jun 2013 – Sep 2015

Graduate Software Developer

Delivered production support and new functionality for Credit Union Australia, HomeStart Finance, IMB Bank, and Bank South Pacific.
On IMB Bank's LendFast Apply Retrofit, designed a solution for retrofitting multiple systems mixing legacy and current technology, then built the framework the team used as its integration pattern.
Key developer on the credit decision rule base updates for Bank South Pacific.

Java SQL Legacy integration Banking domain

$ cd Earlier/

Trainee, NovaED IT Training Services, Inc. · Sep 2012 – May 2013 · Makati City. Nine-month Java program: core Java, Spring, Struts, JSP and Servlets, JavaScript, jQuery, and SQL Server.
Assistant Network Administrator, Autohub Group of Companies · Apr 2012 – May 2012 · Quezon City. Network management and troubleshooting, with Priority 1 incident tracking and escalation.

05

The stack

~/skills — ls -R

$ ls languages/

TypeScriptJavaScriptJavaSQLHTMLCSS

$ ls frontend/

Angular
NgRx
Nx monorepos
Ionic hybrid mobile
Angular component and utility libraries
Angular Material
Bootstrap
jQuery
Charting libraries
Big.js
Metadata-driven architecture
Localization

$ ls backend-&-data/

REST API design and integration
GraphQL
Swagger / OpenAPI
Spring
Struts
JSP and Servlets
SQL Server
SQL migration scripts
Database design
Mock server development

$ ls engineering-practice/

Frontend architecture
Accessibility issue remediation
Performance optimization
Stakeholder communication
Production-safe refactoring
Technical debt reduction
Code review
Scoping and estimation
Release and deployment management
Build pipeline integration
Unit and end-to-end testing
Technical design documentation
Cross-team technical guidance

$ ls tooling-&-ai/

Agentic development loopsGitHub CopilotAI-assisted analysis and reviewJenkinsJestJasmineJiraPhrase Strings