The engineer behind JVC

John Ugonabo.

I build mobile products.

Senior iOS engineer operating through JVC. I take on mobile builds end to end, from concept and architecture to App Store, for startups, teams, and founders who need it done right.

Open to projects and collaborations

About Me

John Ugonabo
The engineer behindJVC

I'm an iOS engineer who's fascinated by turning complex ideas into polished apps that people actually enjoy using. Over the past six-plus years, I've built and shipped production mobile applications across enterprise platforms and startup products, working with teams at Microsoft, HSBC, and several high-growth companies.

I think about engineering the way I think about everything else, from both a technical and strategic lens. I care about whether code is structured well, and I care just as much about whether the product communicates clearly and creates the right experience for the people using it.

Recently, I've been deep in AI-native development workflows, building custom agents and tools that multiply engineering velocity without sacrificing quality. Mobile product development powered by intelligent tooling is the intersection I'm most excited about right now.

Off the laptop, you'll catch me trail-walking, on the court, or digging into something I'm reading. I bring that same energy to my work by iterating fast, learning continuously, and leaving every codebase better than I found it.

Beyond the code

My Work

Apps I've architected and shipped to the App Store. Tap any icon to learn more.

BarkOS

BarkOS

Sole iOS Developer

Daily dog diary app that helps pet owners track their dog's activities, health, and milestones through an intuitive, beautifully designed interface.

Sole iOS Developer: built the entire app from the ground up.

SwiftUICloudKitMVVMCI/CD
View on App Store

Tap the app icon on the phone to open its native-style preview.

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Where I've Worked

From first lines of Swift to leading projects solo. The journey so far.

Senior

DB8 Labs

Senior iOS Developer

Canada (Remote)

Aug 2024 - Present

SwiftUIAuth0MixpanelCI/CDClaude Code
Senior

Sprig Learning

Senior iOS Developer

Canada (Remote)

Jan 2024 - Jul 2025

SwiftUISwiftDataCombineAuth0XCTest
Lead

Empowered Futures

Lead iOS Engineer

Canada (Remote)

Aug 2023 - Jan 2024

SwiftMVVMAuth0FirebaseXCTest
Mid-Level

HSBC

iOS Engineer

Vancouver, BC

May 2022 - May 2023

SwiftUIKitVIPERSPMXCTestSonarQube
Mid-Level

Microsoft

iOS Engineer (LEAP)

Vancouver, BC

Aug 2021 - Mar 2022

SwiftUIUIKitC#ReduxAzure
Junior

VIS Technology

iOS Developer

Coquitlam, BC

Jan 2021 - Jun 2021

SwiftUIKitARKitFirebaseCoreData

Tech Stack

Daily driverProficientFamiliar

Languages

Swift
Objective-C
Kotlin
Java
Dart
C#

iOS & Mobile

SwiftUI
UIKit
Combine
async/await
SPM
Xcode
Flutter

Architecture

Clean Architecture
MVVM
VIPER
MVC
Modular Architecture

Data & APIs

SwiftData
CoreData
REST APIs
Firebase
SQLite
MongoDB

AI & ML

CoreML
ARKit
Vision
LLM APIs
Claude Code
Cursor AI
GitHub Copilot

Testing & QA

XCTest
XCUITest
TDD
Snapshot Testing
TestFlight

DevOps & CI/CD

GitHub Actions
Bitrise
Jenkins
Fastlane
Xcode Cloud

Analytics & Auth

Mixpanel
Auth0
Superwall
Sentry
Crashlytics
A/B Testing

Start a Project

Have a mobile app you need built? A team that needs an extra senior hand? JVC takes on focused engagements where the deliverable is clear and the standard is high. Reach out and let's scope it.

Get in Touch

Already built the app and just need it through App Store review? There's a fixed-price path for that