## Profile
Frontend developer with a focus on performance, UX, and modern web architecture. I build React and Next.js apps that scale and stand the test of time, but I’m quick to learn new tools when the project calls for it.
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## Contact
🏠 Groningen, the Netherlands
✉️ [mail@grombouts.nl](mailto:mail@grombouts.nl)
🔗 [linkedin.com/in/gaauwe](https://linkedin.com/in/gaauwe)
💻 [github.com/gaauwe](https://github.com/gaauwe)
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## Experience
### Senior Frontend Developer
**Alserda** · 2023 – Present
As a key member of the frontend team, I work on building complex web applications using React and Next.js, with occasional backend tasks in Go. I collaborate closely with clients and colleagues to deliver fast, interactive, and maintainable software.
Projects I've contributed to include:
- A real-time game platform for indoor playgrounds, integrating IoT hardware to track player scores
- An AutoCAD-style configurator for a gutter manufacturer, generating technical drawings and invoices
- A 3D zombie shooter built with Three.js / R3F for a football-based interactive gaming system
- A dynamic form engine for a government agency, generating complex, condition-based forms from JSON
I’m also involved in mentoring junior developers, contributing to architectural decisions, interviewing candidates, and helping ensure long-term code quality.
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### Frontend Developer
**Belsimpel** · 2020 – 2023
I joined Belsimpel as a graduation intern, researching the impact of refactoring a large-scale e-commerce platform into a modern React single-page application. Following a successful thesis project, I was hired to help implement this transition in practice. My work included building unit-tested, reusable React components, improving frontend performance, and running A/B tests to validate feature improvements. In my final year, I joined a small team focused on developing the frontend of a new SaaS solution: a customizable white-label e-commerce platform built with Next.js and powered by Sanity for content management.
Alongside hands-on development, I mentored junior developers, conducted technical interviews, and contributed to companywide architectural decisions as a member of the architecture team.
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### Freelance Developer
**Self-Employed** · 2019 – 2021
As a freelance developer, I designed and built a React Native application for BSlim, a sports initiative in Groningen. The app allowed users to view upcoming events and earn rewards for participating. I translated user requirements into functional features and handled the entire development process—from design to deployment—on both iOS and Android platforms.
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### Junior Frontend Developer
**Wild Sea** · 2019 – 2020
At Wild Sea, I worked on INA, a collaborative app designed for educational innovation projects. My role involved creating functional designs based on user feedback, validating UX decisions through interviews, and developing the app using React Native paired with a Python backend. I regularly presented progress through stakeholder demos, ensuring alignment with project goals.
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## Skills
**Technical**
React, Next.js, React Native, Tailwind, Go, Rust (learning), Sanity, WebSockets, REST APIs
**Professional**
Frontend architecture, performance optimization, clean code, mentoring, cross-team collaboration, attention to detail
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## Education
**Hanzehogeschool Groningen**
*HBO-ICT, Software Engineering*
2016 – 2020
**Hondsrugcollege Emmen**
*HAVO Technasium, Nature & Technology*
2010 – 2016
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## Interests
Longboarding · Home automation · Concerts · New tech · Full-time cat dad