30-second load times
The application was noticeably slow on initial load, creating friction for frontline workers who needed fast access during operational hours.
Xenia
- Role
- Full-Stack Engineer
- Stack
- React · Node.js · RabbitMQ
- Duration
- 2+ Years
Helping build a frontlineops platform from seedto Series A.
- Seed to Series A during tenure
- $1M → $12M
- Load time improvement
- 30s → 7s
- Checklist items without crashing
- 100+
app.xenia.team
The Project
A frontline operations platformfor multi-location businesses.
Xenia is an AI-powered operations execution platform used by restaurants, retail chains, and hospitality businesses to manage tasks, checklists, audits, work orders, and team communication across multiple locations.
I joined as a Full-Stack Engineer when the company had raised approximately $1M in seed funding. Over two years, I contributed to core features across the platform — from performance infrastructure to billing architecture to user-facing product features that helped unlock new customer segments.
The platform has since raised a $12M Series A.
The Constraints
A platform running atthe edge of its limits.
Crashing checklist builder
The template builder crashed the browser at 20+ checklist items due to unnecessary re-renders — severely limiting the complexity of templates customers could build.
No external sharing
Users had no way to share checklists or tasks with people outside Xenia — blocking use cases like guest experience surveys in hospitality.
No monetisation infrastructure
Premium features and free features were undifferentiated. There was no billing system, no plan gating, and no way to charge for advanced capabilities.
What I Built
Core infrastructure,shipped across two years.
app.xenia.team
Load Time & Rendering Performance
Added response compression across the API layer, reducing initial load times from 30 seconds to 7 seconds — a 77% improvement. Resolved systematic unnecessary re-renders in the checklist builder, increasing its item limit from a browser-crashing 20 items to a stable 100+ without performance degradation.
app.xenia.team
Checklist & Template System
Built and improved the core template builder — the feature used by operations managers to create checklists, inspection forms, and SOPs. The builder supports multiple question types, section grouping, conditional logic, and a live mobile preview so managers see exactly what frontline workers will see before publishing.
app.xenia.team
External Sharing
Built the public checklist feature — allowing templates to be shared with people outside the Xenia platform via a public link. This unblocked a significant use case: hospitality businesses collecting guest experience feedback directly through Xenia without requiring guests to create an account. This feature helped convert previously reluctant customers who needed to collect data from external parties.
app.xenia.team
Stripe Billing & Monetisation
Built the complete billing infrastructure — Stripe integration, recurring subscription plans, and feature gating. Before this, premium and free features were undifferentiated. After implementation, every add-on feature was properly gated behind the appropriate plan, creating a sustainable freemium-to-paid conversion path for the business.
app.xenia.team
Recurring task creation with frequency, day, and time configuration.
app.xenia.team
Kanban board view — tasks organised by status across the pipeline.
app.xenia.team
Reporting & Exports
Contributed to the reporting layer — template submission tracking, task compliance reports, and scheduled work summaries. Reports are filterable by location, date range, status, and employee, giving operations managers visibility across all sites.
app.xenia.team
AI-Assisted Documents
Contributed to the documents module with AI assistant integration — allowing managers to generate SOPs, employee regulations, and operational documents directly within Xenia using an inline AI prompt interface.
Outcomes
Two years.Measurable results.
77%
Load time reduction
30s → 7s
5×
Checklist capacity
20 → 100+ items
$1M → $12M
Seed to Series A
during tenure
Unlocked
External use cases
via public links