Simon Ugorji

aka The Octagon

I turn ideas into shipped products. Web apps, backend APIs, and cross-platform mobile apps. Based in Nigeria, open to remote.

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About Me

Who I am and what drives me

Simon Ugorji

I'm Simon Ugorji, known online as The Octagon, a software engineer from Nigeria who builds across the full stack: web, backend services, and cross-platform mobile apps.

I work with React, Node.js, TypeScript, PHP on the web side and React Native / Expo for mobile. I've shipped npm libraries, fintech apps, SaaS products, and agentic developer tools.

I'm a HNG11 Finalist. One of 523 engineers who graduated out of 24,123 interns. That programme shaped my discipline around speed, quality, and delivering under real pressure.

I also write technical articles on Medium and Dev.to, and I consistently build side projects that solve real problems.

5+ Years building
10+ Projects shipped
3 Live mobile apps
 Standout Achievement

HNG11 Finalist

HNG Internship is one of Africa's most competitive tech programmes. Fast-paced, high-stakes, and unforgiving. I went through the full gauntlet and finished among the top 2.2%.

24,123
Interns who started
523
Graduates (top 2.2%)
HNG11
Finalist cohort
View Certificate

Skills

Technologies I use across web, backend, and mobile

Frontend
HTML5 CSS3 JavaScript TypeScript React.js
Backend
Node.js Express.js PHP TypeScript MySQL MongoDB REST APIs
Mobile
React Native Expo TypeScript JavaScript
Desktop
Electron React.js TypeScript
Tools & Other
Git & GitHub WordPress npm / Yarn Technical Writing

Projects

Things I've shipped across web, backend, and mobile

Pulpit AI congregation screen, showing a clock and weather

Pulpit AI

A voice-driven, offline-first presentation app for churches. Speak a scripture reference and it appears on the projector instantly. Built with Electron and React, with on-device speech recognition and a plugin system for hymns, timers, and weather.

Electron React.js TypeScript
Visit Github
Lacuna generating tests

Lacuna

An AI agent that finds your uncovered code, writes real tests, runs them, and retries until they pass. Ships as a CLI and a VS Code extension (also on Cursor, Windsurf & VSCodium via Open VSX).

TypeScript Node.js VS Code AI
VS Code Open VSX npm GitHub
Berry by Rivabit

Berry by Rivabit

A customer survey app that rewards users with points for completing surveys, turning feedback into real value.

React Native Expo TypeScript
Visit App Store Play Store
SchoolMug

SchoolMug

A cloud-based school management system built for Nigerian schools. Covers student enrollment, attendance, grading, fee collection, automated report cards, and role-based portals for admins, teachers, and students.

React.js Node.js TypeScript
Visit
CheflyMenu

CheflyMenu

A SaaS platform for restaurants to replace physical menus with interactive digital ones. QR codes, WhatsApp ordering, AI-powered branding, and time-based menu scheduling.

React.js Node.js TypeScript
Visit
Polishly

Polishly

A Chrome and Brave extension that uses AI to instantly rewrite selected text on freshdesk. Built out of a real need: I used it daily in my customer support role at Afriex to handle queries from customers across multiple languages and ensure every response was professional and error-free.

JavaScript Chrome Extension AI
GitHub
Rivabit

Rivabit

A consumer product verification app that helps users confirm the authenticity of products before purchase.

React Native Expo TypeScript
Visit
KaboCash

KaboCash

A mobile fintech app that simplifies financial transactions for everyday users.

React Native Expo TypeScript
Visit
Earlier work & learning projects

Projects from when I was actively learning to code. No longer actively maintained.

TailorsKit

TailorsKit Unmaintained

A SaaS platform for tailors across Nigeria to save, manage, and access client data anywhere.

React.js PHP MySQL
Github
Octavalidate

Octavalidate Unmaintained

A form validation library (4+ releases) for client-side JS and server-side PHP, using sophisticated regex and custom rules.

JavaScript PHP
Visit Github
Oshare

Oshare Unmaintained

A web app for uploading and sharing links to files. Clean, fast, and easy to use.

React.js PHP MySQL
Github
Sanblog

Sanblog Unmaintained

A fully functional MERN-stack blogging platform. Built in a 30-day coding challenge. My first full-stack app.

MongoDB Express.js React.js Node.js
Github
Coding Blocks

Coding Blocks Unmaintained

A WordPress plugin for embedding syntax-highlighted code snippets directly into blog posts.

PHP JavaScript WordPress
Visit Github
Posts API WP

Posts API WP Unmaintained

A WordPress plugin that creates a virtual REST API to share your posts to any external website.

PHP WordPress REST API
Visit Docs
Word Unscrambler

Word Unscrambler Unmaintained

A minimal browser tool that unscrambles any word using a clean JavaScript implementation.

JavaScript HTML CSS
Visit Github
NEFTA NFT

NEFTA NFT Unmaintained

A frontend web app simulating NFT purchases, built during a 30-day coding challenge.

HTML CSS JavaScript
Visit Github

Experience

Selected professional contributions

Software Engineer
Afriex
2023 - Present
  • Built Lacuna, an agentic AI tool that autonomously writes, runs, and fixes tests, raising the admin dashboard's coverage from near-zero to 92%. Now shipped publicly as a CLI (npm) and a VS Code extension (VS Marketplace & Open VSX)
  • Built and maintained the admin dashboard and business web dashboard with React and Tailwind CSS, improving operational visibility and usability for internal teams
  • Implemented responsive, mobile-first layouts with Tailwind CSS utilities across all device sizes
  • Diagnosed and resolved critical UI/UX bugs including input formatting, search functionality, and state synchronisation
  • Contributed to backend development with Node.js and MongoDB, delivering secure APIs for transaction processing and automated payouts
  • Documented B2B APIs and SDK (hackathon project) on Mintlify, accelerating developer onboarding
  • Reviewed pull requests across the codebase and consistently delivered own PRs ahead of deadline
  • Collaborated with backend, design, and ops teams on tooling for secure transactions and operational efficiency
Lacuna in action
Lacuna fixing tests
Lacuna fixing 90 failing tests
92.96% coverage
92.96% statement coverage
Team feedback on Slack
Team lead feedback on Slack
React Tailwind CSS Node.js MongoDB TypeScript Mintlify Testing
Work GitHub

Full work history on LinkedIn

All roles, timelines, and endorsements are kept up to date on my LinkedIn profile.

Open LinkedIn Profile

Technical Writing

I document what I learn and share it with the community

Medium

In-depth articles on web development, backend architecture, and lessons from building real products.

Read articles
Dev.to

Tutorials, tips, and guides for developers, from form validation to full-stack project walkthroughs.

Read articles

Contact Me

Have a project in mind? Let's talk.