Frontend Architect · Engineering Lead · UI/UX Engineer
Available for new projects

Frontend architecture that scales — and teams that ship.

I design and scale high-performance web platforms for enterprises, scale-ups and startups. 20+ years in the field, 90+ projects shipped. Hands-on, end to end.

20+
years in the field
90+
projects delivered
45+
clients served
curiosity
01

What I do

Frontend architecture as the core — leadership, UX and AI as force multipliers.
01

Frontend Architecture

Scalable, long-lived architectures for complex web platforms — built for delivery speed and maintainability.

02

Microfrontends & Design Systems

Modular frontends and multi-brand component libraries that let large teams ship in parallel.

03

Performance Engineering

Measurable gains in load time, runtime performance and Core Web Vitals across web and e-commerce.

04

Developer Experience

Monorepos, tooling and CI/CD that make engineering teams faster, calmer and happier.

05

AI-Assisted Engineering

LLM integration and AI-driven workflows that accelerate prototyping and raise code quality.

06

Engineering Leadership

Team building, mentoring, technical strategy and stakeholder alignment — as a lead or hands-on.

02

Selected work

A few engagements that shaped products used by millions.
BSH Home Appliances 4+ years
Lead Frontend Architect
A new multi-brand frontend architecture for 14 brands across 40 countries. Major gains in DX, scalability and performance for website and e-commerce shop.
Next.jsGraphQLMulti-brandE-commerce
Telefónica / o2 2 years
Lead Frontend Architect
Greenfield SPA for a data-lake governance platform — architecture, UX and development from the ground up.
ReactReduxGovernanceSPA
Shore GmbH 3 years
Lead Frontend Architect
Migrated a monolithic Ruby on Rails application into modular, scalable microfrontends and services.
MicrofrontendsElmTypeScript
gutefrage.net 6 months
Frontend Architect
New frontend architecture for one of Germany's biggest online communities. Atomic-Design workshops and team mentoring. Heavy Web Components.
Web ComponentsAtomic DesignMentoring
CGPA Europe 1 year
Lead UI/UX Engineer
Mobile-first insurance tariff calculator and digital application flow — designed and delivered end to end.
ElmFirebaseMobile-firstUI/UX
03

About

I started in the dot-com era around 1999 — building websites, web apps, online games and interactive media as a freelance interactive designer.

After a computer-science degree and years across agencies, consultancies, enterprises and start-ups — as game designer, interactive consultant, team lead and VP of Engineering — I founded Belza Digital.

Today I work as a hands-on Frontend Architect and Engineering Lead: helping teams design frontend systems that stay fast and maintainable as they grow — and shipping right alongside them.

Tech focus
Frontend
React · TypeScript · Elm · Next.js · Web Components
Architecture
Microfrontends · Design Systems · Performance · Accessibility
Backend & Data
Node.js · Express · GraphQL · PostgreSQL
Cloud & DevOps
AWS · Docker · Vercel · CI/CD · Monorepo (Lerna)
AI
LLM-based engineering · Agentic workflows (Claude Code, Pencil, Linear, Obsidian)
Track record
2015 — now
Belza Digital GmbH
Founder & Lead Frontend Architect
2020 — 2024
ThankU (Non-Profit)
Co-Founder & CTO
2013 — 2014
Gini GmbH
VP Engineering
2010 — 2013
FriendScout24
Team Lead Software Development
2007 — 2010
Sapient
Senior Interactive Consultant
1999 — 2007
Freelance
Interactive / Web Developer
Testimonial
His impressive knowledge in frontend technologies and design techniques left the whole team in excitement. The fundament of our current FE tech stack is just right — not too complex, not too simple — GREAT.
Michael Maretzke · CEO, gutefrage.net
04

Side projects

Things I build on my own time.
Frontend Architect & Engineering Lead

Let's make your project a success.

Available for frontend-architecture and engineering-lead engagements. Remote or Munich-based.

martin@belza.digital