About Me
Hi, I'm Roger Pettett, a dedicated web application developer and systems architect with over 25 years of experience in building scalable, high-performance web solutions, high-throughput bioinformatics solutions including several LIMS and tera-/peta-scale next-gen sequencing data management systems.
By day, until recently I served as Vice President of Informatics at Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC, building and leading a talented team of developers, bioinformaticians, and IT professionals in creating cutting-edge genomic analysis solutions.
By night, I run PsyPhi Network, providing bespoke computing and software development services to a select group of clients who appreciate quality and attention to detail.
My technical expertise spans modern and retro - Linux, Perl, JavaScript, MySQL, and modern web frameworks, with a particular focus on creating elegant, maintainable code that stands the test of time. My current longevity records for commercial software I've written personally stand at 8 years of service for a LIMS product, and 10 years of service for a SaaS bioinformatics analysis platform product, both still with releases every fortnight by the time they were decommissioned.
Featured Projects
Hatfield Forest District Scouts
A promotional website for Scouting in Hatfield Forest District, Essex UK, showcasing groups, contact information, activities and events. Management of district IT and office/collaboration services.
Dunmow Rifle Club
A refreshed website with integrated event fixtures, news, and Google Apps for a local rifle and pistol club.
Our Lady & St. Anne Line
A basic promotional website with some automation for an Essex parish.
Our Lady & The Holy Spirit
A basic promotional website with some automation for an Essex parish.
Centurion Explorer Scout Unit
A promotional website for the Hatfield Forest District 14-18yrs Explorer Scout Unit, showcasing activities and information about the unit.
Legacy Projects
DECIPHER
A groundbreaking clinical database for chromosomal imbalance and phenotype using Ensembl Resources.
Oxshott Sports
Website refresh and optimization with Google Apps integration for a local sports retailer.
Wrens Preschool
A communication-focused website for a preschool that significantly increased parent enquiries.
St. Margaret Mary Church
IT, networking, backup and office collaboration services, plus a comprehensive website with CMS, document search, and integrated Google Apps services for a Hampshire parish.
IOTA Marathon
A web application developed for the RSGB for managing and scoring IOTA Maration ham radio competition entries with ADIF log file parsing and automated scoring.
Professional Journey
2009 - 2025
Vice President of Informatics
Oxford Nanopore Technologies
Building, leading and nurturing a department of software developers, bioinformaticians, and IT professionals in designing, developing and supporting cutting-edge, high-throughput genomic analysis solutions. Co-developing product and business functions supporting novel, groundbreaking science.
2007 - 2009
Team Leader, Next-Gen Pipelines
Wellcome Sanger Institute
Built and managed the institute's LIMS, pipelines, data management and HPC support for 42 Illumina GA2s generating ~1TByte/machine/week. Both technical deliverables and building, mentoring and running a team.
1999 - 2007
Team Leader, Web Team
Wellcome Sanger Institute
Managed the institute's public service architecture, software development and web operations function/team, supporting 15M+ weekly requests. Significant, founding contributions to projects like Ensembl, COSMIC, and DECIPHER.
1998 - 1999
C++ Developer, Electronic Publishing
Chadwyck-Healey Ltd.
C++ and Perl development for multimedia CDROM and web-based full-text literature tools (NewLION, now O'Reilly Safari).
1995 - Present
Founder & Technical Director
PsyPhi Network
Providing bespoke computing, support, web hosting and software development services to a growing client base since 1995.