01. User Design
Interfaces people actually enjoy
- UI / UX engineering
- Design systems & component libraries
- Heavy-duty CSS & motion design
- Accessibility (WCAG)
- Rapid prototyping
open to contract work
// hello, world — transmission from
Nic Defaux TheImitation
// Defaux is French for 'of false' — the handle is just my surname, translated
I fuse creativity and precision at the cutting edge — building AI platforms, architecting clouds, and occasionally hiding pixel creatures behind my own photograph.
psst… something hides behind this photo.
use the ←↑↓→ arrow keys
01 / the human behind the handle
#About TheImitation
Defaux is French — faux, as in false. And what is faux, if not an imitation? The code, however, is all true.
❯ whoami
Nic Defaux — Senior Software Engineer & Technical Strategist
❯ cat origin_story.txt
No degree pipeline, no bootcamp script. Self-taught from first principles — engineer, then consultant, then architect.
❯ history | grep IBM
Five years building and rebuilding AI platforms; delivered the first successful AI platform for public sector clients, a Generative AI centre of excellence.
❯ echo $PERSONALITY
Laid-back, nerdy, heart firmly on sleeve. Will absolutely talk your ear off about elegant architectures.
5 years
engineering at IBM
1st of its kind
successful AI platform for public sector clients
100% self-taught
engineer, consultant & architect
02 / what i bring to the table
#Skills, drawn from memory
Each illustration sketches itself in a single unbroken line — pencil down, no lifting.
02. Architecture & Technology
Systems sketched on napkins, shipped to clouds
- Cloud architecture (AWS)
- TypeScript / Next.js / Python
- Distributed systems & APIs
- Technical strategy & consulting
- DevOps & infrastructure as code
03. Artificial Intelligence
Built & rebuilt AI platforms — incl. the public sector's first
- Generative AI platform engineering
- LLM integration, RAG & agents
- AI strategy for the public sector
- MLOps & evaluation pipelines
- Responsible & explainable AI
03 / selected works
#Projects, battle-tested
Multi-million-pound public sector transformations — plus a couple of freelance and side-quest builds.
01. Generative AI Lighthouse — Centre of ExcellenceNDA · ask me about it
Propositions and proof-of-concept solutions showing public sector clients what Generative AI can actually do: bespoke AWS cloud architectures, foundational software, and GPT-4-powered showcases that modernised technical and customer-support capabilities for genuine service excellence.
- 8 PoCs delivered
- 2 MVPs shipped
- AI ethics framework
- Strategic AI pipeline
- AI Platform
- Cloud Architecture
- Technical Strategy
- Business Analysis
02. The First Successful Public-Sector AI PlatformNDA · ask me about it
Built, stress-tested, torn down and rebuilt. The platform survived full architectural reincarnations on its way to becoming the first successful AI platform delivered for public sector clients — and the blueprint I still measure every platform against.
- £4m programme
- +77% process throughput
- 10/10 NPS
- AWS
- Meta
- TypeScript
- Kubernetes
- Terraform
03. World Cup 2026 Sweepstakes Trackerlive ↗
A production sweepstakes platform for the 2026 World Cup: live brackets, draw management and leaderboards that update as the tournament unfolds. Built end-to-end as a personal challenge and shipped for real players to use all summer.
- Next.js
- TypeScript
- Render
- Neon
- Cloudflare R2
- Vibes
04. MAK99 Interiors — Studio Site Rebuildlive ↗
A full Next.js rebuild of a Washington D.C. interior design studio's marketing site: filterable project galleries with lightbox carousels, client testimonials, an Instagram feed and SEO groundwork (JSON-LD, OG cards, sitemap). Delivered end-to-end as billed freelance client work, from redesign to production launch.
- Next.js
- TypeScript
- Tailwind CSS
- Vercel
04 / peer review
#Colleagues, on the record
Pulled straight from recommendations — merged without edits, zero conflicts.
His technical expertise, energy, and leadership have been central to the success… He has driven discussions about future opportunities and has been crucial to helping us design a realistic, yet comprehensive solution.
The pace at which you delivered features in the run-up to production was truly impressive — your contribution was critical to our success. Nic deep-dives into complex technical issues, not only resolving them but taking the time to coach and mentor.
His leadership as a dev is his standout quality… has not only developed the frontend but also mentored another dev along the way, allowing her to flourish and contribute strongly to the team.
You have solid technical skills, and you take a lot of responsibility… the team clearly trusts and relies on you… you bring a bit of fun and energy to the day-to-day. It's a great mix that really adds to the team.
05 / open a channel
#Contact /dev/nic
Currently open to contract work — taking contracts for AI platform builds, GenAI strategy sprints, and rescue-and-rebuild missions on systems that matter.
No address harvesting here: both channels decode client-side, only when you knock. Geek out, propose an engagement, or just say hi.
// heart on sleeve, inbox always open