Varnan Kanjhinghat

Full stack developer · AI-augmented · Web & brand

Varnan Kanjhinghat Fast, modern websites that win clients.

I'm a Python/Django Full Stack Developer at Tesco Mobile with 16 years in IT. I build scalable backends and APIs, using AI tools like Claude Code, GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT to ship faster, and I design websites, web apps and brands for businesses across the UK and beyond.

See my work Hire me / Start a project

Selected work

Platforms and websites built for the real world.

tescomobile.com
Tesco Mobile website, where Varnan works as a Full Stack Developer
01 · Project · Current role

Tesco Mobile

Full Stack Developer (SDE II) · Permanent · Oct 2023 to present

I build and maintain Python/Django backend services and REST APIs for business-critical telecom platforms, and I lead a large-scale platform migration. Day to day that means containerised delivery with Docker and Kubernetes, backed by linting, unit testing and code review.

Lead
Large-scale migration
Build
Backend services & APIs
Ship
Docker & Kubernetes
  • Python
  • Django
  • REST APIs
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • Unit testing
  • Linting
Visit tescomobile.com
z2biopharma.com
Z2 Biopharma website designed and built by Varnan Kanjhinghat
02 · Freelance · Featured client website

Z2 Biopharma

Design · Build · SEO · Hosting

A complete web presence for a UK biologics consultancy specialising in cell line development and upstream CMC. It covers brand-aligned design, service and expertise pages, training and insights content, SEO foundations and production deployment.

  • Web design
  • Responsive build
  • SEO
  • Hosting & domain
  • Business email
Visit z2biopharma.com
marcreading.co.uk
MARC Reading community website with Tickettailor event ticketing
03 · Freelance · Client website

MARC Reading

The community website for the Malayalee Association of Reading Community, with an events programme and an integrated Tickettailor ticketing system so members can book and pay online.

  • Community site
  • Event ticketing
  • Tickettailor
Visit marcreading.co.uk
aishwaryahomestay.in
Aishwarya Homestay hospitality website in Palakkad, Kerala
04 · Freelance · Client website

Aishwarya Homestay

A hospitality website for a homestay in Palakkad, Kerala, with an immersive photo-led hero, gallery, reservations contact and a mobile-first layout for travellers.

  • Hospitality
  • Gallery
  • Mobile-first
Visit aishwaryahomestay.in
utimf.com
UTI Mutual Fund website, a BFSI backend project
05 · Project · BFSI · Kuliza

UTI Mutual Fund

As a backend developer, I built Python/Django services for one of India's largest mutual fund houses. The work covered secure handling of financial data, streamlined transaction processing, and APIs that power the investor experience.

  • Backend
  • Django REST
  • FinTech
  • Azure
Visit utimf.com
bhartiaxa.com
Bharti AXA Life Insurance website, a BFSI backend project
06 · Project · BFSI · Kuliza

Bharti AXA Life Insurance

As a backend developer, I built insurance software for Bharti AXA Life, including policy management features and integrations with external systems. These gave the business seamless data exchange and improved its customer service.

  • Backend
  • InsurTech
  • Integrations
  • REST APIs
Visit bhartiaxa.com
raybaby.us
Raybaby non-contact sleep and breathing tracker
07 · Project · IoT · RiOT Solutions

Raybaby

The world's first non-contact sleep and breathing tracker. I led the backend from scratch, covering the architecture, AWS load balancing, Celery, Redis, MQTT and Wowza streaming, and over-the-air firmware updates. I also handled big data from the devices, prepared training data with DataFrames, and integrated AI predictions with the DSP engineers.

  • AI / ML
  • Big data
  • IoT
  • Django
  • AWS
  • MQTT
Visit raybaby.us
shadowfax.in
Shadowfax logistics platform
08 · Project · Logistics

Shadowfax

Backend APIs and database architecture for one of India's largest last-mile logistics networks, covering order routing, real-time tracking and logistics optimisation on Django, uWSGI, Nginx and AWS.

  • Logistics
  • REST APIs
  • PostgreSQL
  • AWS
Visit shadowfax.in
cognalys.com · archived
Cognalys two-factor authentication product
09 · Project · Security

Cognalys

Two-factor authentication through missed calls instead of SMS OTPs, used by app developers in 195+ countries. I built the backend dashboards, the RESTful and real-time reporting APIs, and the developer product APIs.

  • 2FA
  • Reporting APIs
  • Dashboards
Product since retired

Earlier projects

Products from my early years as a Python/Django developer.

Realty Mod real-estate portal

Realty Mod

A complete real-estate portal where agents list properties for rent or sale and buyers search and enquire.

Web portal · Property
E Comix digital promotion platform

E Comix

"Promotion through your finger": a digital promotion and shopping platform that puts offers in customers' hands.

E-commerce · Promotions
Chainer Pro distribution management software

Chainer Pro

Distribution management software that connects orders, stock and delivery for service businesses.

Supply chain · SaaS
PyCrew Python learning programme

PyCrew

A collaborative Python learning programme that teaches newcomers through hands-on, team-based projects.

Education · Python
News Port digital news platform

News Port

"Truthful information in your hand": a multi-device news platform for publishing and reading stories.

Media · Web & mobile
Hassle Pro gymnastics club software

Hassle Pro

Complete management software for a gymnastics club, covering members, classes and day-to-day operations.

Sports · Management

Freelance services

From first idea to a live, working business.

One person, end to end. I handle design, the build and the deployment, then support the site after launch. You won't need to coordinate several vendors.

Static websites

Fast, secure, low-maintenance sites for businesses, clinics, consultants and communities. They're responsive, accessible and quick to load.

Dynamic web apps

Python/Django applications with admin dashboards, user accounts, bookings, payments and custom workflows, all built to scale.

Deployment & hosting

Domains, DNS, SSL, business email, cloud hosting (AWS, Azure, GitHub Pages), Docker and CI/CD, set up properly from day one.

SEO & performance

Technical SEO, structured data, Core Web Vitals and analytics, so the right customers can find you and stay.

APIs & integrations

REST APIs, payment gateways, event ticketing (Tickettailor), contact forms, CRMs and third-party services, connected cleanly.

Branding & print

Logos, visiting cards, letterheads and full brand identity kits that match your website and give your business a professional look.

  1. 01

    Discover

    Your goals, audience and what success looks like.

  2. 02

    Design

    Brand, layout and content shaped around your customers.

  3. 03

    Build

    Clean, tested code, reviewed with you at every milestone.

  4. 04

    Launch & care

    Domain, hosting, email and SEO set up, with ongoing support.

Skills

The periodic table of my toolkit.

Pick a category, or hover over an element to see where I've used it in production.

Keyword index

A plain list of my skills for recruiters and applicant tracking systems.

Languages & frameworks
PythonDjangoDjango REST FrameworkREST APIsJavaScriptHTML5CSS3jQueryCelery
Cloud & DevOps
DockerKubernetesAWSAzureCI/CDJenkinsAnsibleNginxuWSGILinux / RHELGitHub Pages
Data & messaging
PostgreSQLMySQLSQL ServerMongoDBRedisRabbitMQMQTTPandas / DataFramesBig data
AI & productivity
AI-assisted developmentGenerative AIGitHub CopilotClaude CodeChatGPTOpenAI CodexTabnineMicrosoft CopilotPrompt engineeringML training dataAI predictions
Quality & delivery
Unit testingLintingCode reviewSentryAgile / ScrumJiraGitTechnical leadershipMentoring
Domains
TelecomBFSI / FinTechInsurTechIoTLogisticsWeb & e-commerce
Design & web
Web designResponsive designSEOCanvaLogo designVisiting cardsLetterheadsBrand identity

AI proficiency

AI-augmented engineering, from IoT predictions to everyday copilots.

I use generative AI tools every day to write, test and review code faster, and I've worked hands-on with big data and AI predictions in a production IoT product.

AI tools in my daily workflow

Cc

Claude Code

Agentic coding in the terminal: multi-file refactors, test generation and codebase exploration.

Gh

GitHub Copilot

In-editor AI pair programming for Python/Django, APIs and boilerplate.

Gp

ChatGPT & Codex

Problem solving, debugging, code generation, documentation and design reviews.

Tn

Tabnine

AI code completion that speeds up day-to-day development.

Mc

Microsoft Copilot

Summaries, documentation, analysis and productivity across Microsoft 365.

Cv

Canva

AI-assisted design for brand assets, social graphics, visiting cards and letterheads.

  • Code generation
  • Refactoring
  • Unit test writing
  • Code review
  • Debugging
  • Documentation
  • Prompt engineering
Applied AI · Raybaby

AI-powered IoT sleep & breathing monitoring

Raybaby is a non-contact baby monitor that uses AI to track sleep and breathing. As backend lead I built the data side that fed and served its models:

  • Big data handling: continuous sensor streams from devices over MQTT, processed with Celery and Redis on AWS.
  • Training data: cleaning, shaping and preparing device data with DataFrames for model training.
  • AI predictions: integrated the prediction algorithms with the DSP engineers and served the results through Django REST APIs.
  • Production at scale: load balancing, monitoring with Sentry, and over-the-air firmware updates.
  • Machine learning
  • AI predictions
  • Big data
  • Pandas
  • IoT
  • MQTT
  • AWS

Experience

16 years in IT, across products and industries.

  1. Full Stack Developer · SDE II

    Tesco Mobile · United Kingdom

    • Building and maintaining backend services and REST APIs for business-critical telecom platforms.
    • Leading a large-scale platform migration, from planning through to delivery.
    • Python/Django backend and API development, Docker and Kubernetes, linting and unit testing.

  2. Senior Software Developer (Backend)

    Kuliza Technologies · Bangalore

    • Backend developer for UTI Mutual Fund and Bharti AXA Life Insurance (BFSI).
    • High-performance REST APIs, deployed on Apache and Azure.

  3. Senior Backend Developer (Backend Lead)

    RiOT Solutions, Inc. · Raybaby

    • Built the backend from scratch and coordinated the hardware, firmware and app teams.
    • AWS ELB, Celery, Redis, uWSGI, MQTT, Sentry and Wowza streaming, plus over-the-air firmware updates.
    • Big data handling for IoT sensor streams, DataFrame-based training data preparation, and AI prediction integration with the DSP engineers.

  4. Senior Backend Developer

    Shadowfax Technologies · Bangalore

    • Backend APIs and database schemas for last-mile logistics across India.

  5. Senior Software Engineer

    Cognalys Inc.

    • Dashboards, reporting APIs and developer APIs for missed-call 2FA.

  6. Backend Developer

    Inzane Technology Pvt. Ltd · Kerala

    • Django web apps, REST APIs, payment gateways, deployment automation and mentoring junior developers. Also worked on ishout.js and the Poison Android app.

  7. Smartclass Coordinator

    Educomp Solutions Pvt. Ltd · Kerala

    • Hardware, networking, onsite support and teacher training. This is where my IT career began.
Portrait of Varnan Kanjhinghat, full stack developer in Reading, UK
Reading, United Kingdom

About

Engineer by trade, designer at heart.

I'm Varnan, a full stack developer based in Reading, UK, and I've worked in IT since 2010. For more than a decade I've built Python/Django systems that have to work at scale: IoT sleep monitors, logistics networks, mutual fund and insurance platforms, and now business-critical telecom platforms at Tesco Mobile.

I also enjoy the visual side. I design and build websites and brand identities for small businesses, communities and consultancies, and I bring the same engineering care to them: clean code, proper hosting, good SEO and a design that fits the brand.

Education

Diploma in Computer Engineering
Govt. Polytechnic College, Chelakkara, Kerala · 2007 to 2010

Off the keyboard

Travelling, photography, art & drawing, and volunteering with the MARC community in Reading

Beyond the code

Varnan relaxing in a pine forest while travelling
Travel & the outdoors
Varnan on a red bridge in a UK park
Exploring the UK
Varnan volunteering at the MARC Open event in Reading
Volunteering at MARC Open, Reading
Earlier portrait of Varnan Kanjhinghat
Photography & art

Get in touch

Have something worth building?

Whether you're hiring or you need a website or brand, I'd love to hear from you. I usually reply within one working day.

For hiring teams

Senior Python / Django & full-stack roles

16 years in IT and 13+ in Python and Django, with experience leading large-scale platform migrations in telecom, BFSI platforms and AI-powered IoT backends. I use AI tools every day, including Claude Code, GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT. UK-based in Reading, and open to hybrid or remote.

View LinkedIn profile
For businesses

Websites, web apps & branding

Static and dynamic websites, hosting, domains and business email, SEO, and brand kits with logos, visiting cards and letterheads. Tell me about your project and I'll suggest the simplest way to get it live.

Email a project brief

Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom