What I do
I design and build fullstack product experiences, with a strong frontend bias and enough backend fluency to move from idea to working product.
Shuaib Abdulgafar
AI-native software engineer, fullstack with a frontend bias.
I build software products from early idea to shipped product, using Claude, Codex, and modern AI workflows where they help the work move faster.
How I work
I use Claude, Codex, and AI-assisted workflows to explore, prototype, refactor, test, and ship faster without losing engineering judgment.
Outside software
I write personal essays, play table tennis, follow modern finance, watch podcasts, and try to stay curious about ordinary life.
How I build
Fast, careful, and product-aware.
AI-native execution
I use Claude, Codex, and other AI tools as part of the engineering loop: shaping requirements, exploring approaches, generating scaffolds, reviewing diffs, and tightening tests.
Product from zero
I can move from unclear idea to usable product: define the first version, build the interface, wire the backend, ship, and keep learning from usage.
Frontend-led fullstack
My base is React, Next.js, TypeScript, and product UI, with practical backend work across APIs, databases, auth, payments, and integrations.
Case studies
Products I am building from the ground up.
Current products that show how I think about product direction, frontend quality, fullstack delivery, and AI-assisted execution.
01
A WhatsApp-first prayer reminder companion for Muslims, with location-aware reminders, natural pause/resume flows, and optional Sunnah fasting and Jumu'ah preparation reminders.
- Role
- Founder and fullstack builder
- Stage
- Live product
- Product focus
- Messaging, reminders, onboarding, retention
AI workflow: Used AI-assisted workflows to shape flows, reason through WhatsApp integration edge cases, scaffold implementation paths, and tighten product copy.
Next.jsTypeScriptTailwind CSSSupabaseOpenAI APIMeta WhatsApp API
02
A blood donation platform designed to make donation needs easier to discover, coordinate, and act on for donors, hospitals, and donation centres.
- Role
- Product engineer
- Stage
- In development
- Product focus
- Healthcare coordination and donor engagement
AI workflow: Use Claude and Codex to break down ambiguous product requirements, explore data flows, and iterate quickly across web and mobile surfaces.
Next.jsReact RouterTypeScriptTailwind CSSReact NativeSupabasePostgres
03
A tournament management product for table tennis teams, covering players, competitions, event categories, audience-facing draws, and results.
- Role
- Solo product builder
- Stage
- Active build
- Product focus
- Tournament operations and live clarity
AI workflow: Use Codex heavily for implementation loops, component refactors, state modeling, and turning rough tournament workflows into shippable UI.
Next.jsTypeScriptTailwind CSSSupabase
Experience
A strong frontend base, with fullstack product range.
Volomn
2022 - Present
Senior Frontend Engineer
Building custom software products with a focus on modern frontend architecture, product UI, and reliable delivery.
ReactSquad
2024 - 2025
Senior Software Engineer
Worked with React-focused teams that needed senior engineering capacity, fast onboarding, and practical shipping momentum.
AFEX
2021 - 2022
Frontend Engineer
Built product interfaces in a pan-African commodities business working across trade, market access, and food-system operations.
HealthStation
2020 - 2021
Frontend Engineer
Worked on healthtech products for hospitals, governments, and healthcare providers in Nigeria.
Writings
Essays, notes, and personal reflections.
I keep the human bits visible too: life reviews, random thoughts, travel notes, and the occasional lesson from Sapa.
20267 min read
2025: Minutes of my meeting with SAPA
Severe Absence of Purchasing Ability, or simply put — Sapa is a great financial tutor, as I've come to learn over the past few weeks.
20247 min read
2024
I went into 2024 without having huge expectations, I hoped to get my finances up, get married, and hopefully stay alive till the year ends. A little bit macabre, yes I know, I just try to remain conscious about my mortality as much as I can.
September 19, 20237 min read
My first travel by air
Early this year was the first time I would travel by air, the tech team of AFEX were going on a retreat to Akwa Ibom State, sweet. The flight was slated for 12 o' clock and we must have checked-in one hour before
September 18, 20234 min read
Human beans.
I'll start with an "interesting" story told to me a former co-worker. The event happened in Jos, Nigeria, while the region was rife with religious and ethnic clashes.