Software Engineer, currently also managing a 30+ person team.
I work full-time as a Restaurant Manager while delivering client software contracts and completing a BSc in Computer Science. Here's how those two tracks connect.
I'm Kingsley Marfo, a Software Engineer based in Dunstable, United Kingdom. I specialise in full-stack and backend development, with a particular focus on systems where correctness matters: payments, identity and access.
I didn't come into engineering the standard way. I've spent a decade in restaurant management, starting as a Shift Manager at Burger King UK in 2016, progressing to Restaurant Manager by 2022, a spell as Department Manager at Moto Hospitality Ltd, and back to Burger King UK as Restaurant Manager since 2023, where I currently lead a team of more than 30. That's not a closed chapter before software. It's a demanding job I still hold today, alongside client development work and finishing my degree.
During my BSc Computer Science at Arden University, I didn't want to just pass modules. I wanted to build real things. That drive led to client work on Flayona, a FinTech e-commerce platform with BNPL lending and secure authentication, and to OpFix, my final-year project, an enterprise maintenance management platform now being prepared for future commercialisation.
What excites me most is turning a messy business problem into software that's reliable, secure and genuinely usable. I care about the schema as much as the screen, and the operational discipline of managing a team under pressure carries directly into how I build.
Leadership and engineering aren't separate tracks
Specific ways a decade of operational management shapes how I approach software.
Ownership
Running daily operations for a 30+ person team means outcomes are mine regardless of who's on shift. I bring that same standard to code I ship: I own it in production, not just at merge.
Decision making under pressure
Quick-service management is constant triage: limited time, incomplete information, real consequences. That's close to debugging a production incident: stay calm, gather signal fast, decide.
Communication across audiences
Managing stakeholders across Operations, HR, IT and Engineering means translating technical constraints for non-technical people daily. That's the same skill a good engineer uses writing a case study or a PR description.
Engineering and leadership, side by side
Software engineering is listed first; leadership experience is concurrent, not historical.
Freelance Software Developer, Flayona (Client Project)
2025 – PresentFlayona
Designed and deployed a production multi-vendor e-commerce and FinTech platform for a commercial client: distributor-specific pricing, variant-level inventory, region-based fulfilment, and a configurable Buy-Now-Pay-Later lending system, in vanilla PHP and MySQL.
- Delivered a configurable BNPL lending system with KYC onboarding, 1–24 month repayment terms, tiered flat-interest pricing (0–22%), automated instalment scheduling and capped, non-compounding late fees.
- Integrated Paystack card and Mobile Money payments using HMAC-SHA512 webhook verification, idempotent processing and race-safe transaction reconciliation.
- Engineered four secure authentication domains (customers, distributors, administrators and Credit Officers) with TOTP two-factor authentication, account lockout, passwordless OTP and role-based access control.
- Implemented secure handling of Ghana Cards, payslips, selfies and KYC information using private storage and ownership-checked, authenticated access.
PHPMySQLPaystack APIWhatsApp Cloud APIPWAFull-Stack Developer, OpFix (Final Year Project)
2026OpFix
Designed and deployed a secure, enterprise-style cloud-based maintenance management platform as my BSc final-year project: six organisational roles, end-to-end maintenance workflows, and a FastAPI + PostgreSQL backend behind a React SPA. Now being prepared for future commercialisation.
- Modelled relational data structures for organisations, users, maintenance jobs, quotes, approvals, attachments and audit history.
- Implemented role-based access control, access-level administration, audit logging, and soft deletion with restoration.
- Built workflows for immediate (three-hour), 48-hour and one-week approval-based maintenance categories, with responsive dashboards and reporting.
- Evaluated the platform across role-specific accounts and improved accessibility to a self-assessed ~97–99 Lighthouse score through iterative testing and remediation.
FastAPIPostgreSQLReactViteSupabaseFreelance Web Developer, Julli Jets (Client Project)
Client engagementJulli Jets
Worked directly with the client to gather requirements and translate business needs into a responsive commercial website for an aviation charter business, on WordPress and Elementor.
- Designed, developed and deployed a professional customer-facing website with responsive layouts, structured content and enquiry functionality.
- Built a custom PHP page-generation layer that composes Elementor sections from reusable widget and design-token helpers, keeping the site's design system consistent across pages.
- Supported deployment, content updates, usability improvements and ongoing client requirements.
WordPressElementorPHPJavaScriptRestaurant Manager
2023 – PresentBurger King UK
Lead a team of more than 30 employees in a high-volume quick-service restaurant, alongside freelance software development and completing a BSc in Computer Science.
- Manage recruitment, onboarding, training, performance and workforce planning for a 30+ person team.
- Own business-critical operational systems and digital reporting, using data to support continuous improvement.
- Partner with internal IT teams, engineers and technical suppliers to prioritise and resolve operational incidents.
- Maintain Health & Safety and operational compliance while managing stakeholders across Operations, HR, IT and Engineering.
Department Manager
2022 – 2023Moto Hospitality Ltd
Led and trained front-line teams in a busy motorway service environment, managing daily operational performance, digital systems and reporting.
- Maintained compliance standards across a high-throughput service environment.
- Supported improvements in customer service, training and operational delivery.
Shift Manager → Assistant Manager → Restaurant Manager
2016 – 2022Burger King UK
Progressed through increasingly senior management roles over six years, from Shift Manager to Restaurant Manager.
- Supervised restaurant operations, employee development, customer service, workforce scheduling and compliance.
- Supported recruitment, onboarding, training and performance management.
- Worked with regional management and technical support teams to deliver operational targets and resolve business-critical issues.
Computer Science
BSc (Hons) Computer Science
Arden University, UK
A Computer Science degree grounded in software engineering, databases, security and systems design, applied throughout in real, deployed projects rather than throwaway exercises.
Final Year Project: Design and Implementation of a Secure Cloud-Based Maintenance Management System
Designed and built OpFix, a secure enterprise-style maintenance management platform with six organisational roles, role-based access control and end-to-end approval workflows. The dissertation covered requirements analysis, system design, implementation, testing and a critical evaluation against the original objectives, later reworked into a public case study now being prepared for future commercialisation.
Relevant modules