KoalaDigitalKoalaDigital
Bach Ly in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

About

Hi, I’m Bach.

I’m a software engineer with more than 17 years of commercial experience, and KoalaDigital is my company. I help businesses improve, build and rescue web applications and online integrations — from small-business websites to software used by teams around the world.

When you work with KoalaDigital, you work with me: the engineer who looks at the problem is the engineer who fixes it.

Experience

Where the Experience Comes From

Finance, healthcare, telecommunications, retail and higher education — websites, portals and applications used by real teams every day.

  1. Cochlear · Senior Frontend Engineer & Technical Lead

    From 2018

    Built, extended and scaled a global telehealth platform used by clinicians around the world. Refactored a legacy codebase onto a modern React stack, led performance work and mentored back-end developers in React.

  2. CommSec · Senior Software Engineer

    2016 – 2018

    Built the new customer onboarding application and the refreshed investment portfolio dashboards, to CommBank's accessibility and style-guide standards.

  3. Pepper Money · Senior Frontend Developer

    2015 – 2016

    Consolidated the broker portal, customer website and corporate site into one, and retrofitted the internet banking portal for mobile.

  4. acidgreen · Web Developer

    2012 – 2015

    Agency work across systems for UTS, UNSW and Griffith University, a refresh of ResMed's AirView patient-management system, amaysim's responsive checkout, and Magento stores for Paddy Pallin and Bing Lee.

  5. Small businesses · Websites, online stores and custom apps

    Since 2015

    Shopify, WordPress and Next.js work for small businesses — which grew into KoalaDigital.

Bachelor of Science, Computer Technologies — Macquarie University.

Teams I’ve worked with

  • Cochlear
  • CommSec
  • ResMed
  • Pepper Money
  • McDonald's
  • Bing Lee
  • amaysim
  • Paddy Pallin
  • UTS
  • UNSW
  • Griffith University
  • ANMF SA
  • Rowmark Australia
  • acidgreen
  • We Fix Sliding Doors

How I work

Four Things That Decide How the Work Goes

  • Systems, not pages

    I focus on the systems that actually drive customer enquiries — not just how things look.

  • Ownership, not tasks

    I take responsibility for outcomes and make decisions on your behalf, rather than only executing instructions.

  • The real problem first

    Often the stated problem is a symptom of a different one, and building the stated one is the expensive mistake.

  • Practical over clever

    The smallest thing that genuinely solves it. Not the most interesting thing, and not a rebuild where a change would do.

Testimonials

What People I've Worked With Say

  • Five out of five stars

    “Bach worked extremely well with the external vendor and UX designer to retrofit our Online Banking Portal. Many thought it was impossible due to the outdated technology it was built on, but Bach used his frontend expertise to bring our portal to a modern state in a very short time. He helped us quickly deliver more value to our customers while saving cost and time.”
    Karl Esber

    Karl Esber

    GM Asset Finance · Pepper Money

  • Five out of five stars

    “Bach was well-versed in designing & developing streamlined solutions for our Clinician Portal at Cochlear. Thanks to his work, we were able to scale up quickly and resolve many issues for hospitals and clinics around the world.”
    Abid M

    Abid M

    Digital Transformation · Cochlear

  • Five out of five stars

    “At CommSec, Bach demonstrated his expertise as our most experienced front-end engineer by tackling complex projects with proficiency. He collaborated closely with engineers and the UX/VD team, bringing ideas to life. Bach consistently offered valuable improvements and delivered challenging UI designs. When the UX team started working on a Design System, Bach eagerly volunteered and delivered a great component library. His calm, measured approach made him a pleasure to work with, and he always prioritized delivering the best results for our customers. I would have no hesitation in working with him again.”
    Justin Goldberg

    Justin Goldberg

    Head of Engineering · worked together at CommSec

  • Five out of five stars

    “Bach transformed our cloud application into a cutting-edge React application, significantly reducing unexpected bugs. The robust frontend foundation he established enabled our team to expand rapidly and deliver new features quickly. I highly recommend Bach for any team looking to develop a modern, state-of-the-art SaaS application.”

    Aaron Kwan

    Product Manager

  • Five out of five stars

    “In my experience working with Bach at CommSec, his contributions to the frontend and UX were outstanding. He consistently communicated effectively and delivered UI features promptly, which was key to our team meeting deadlines at very high quality.”

    Kon Stormozhev

    CTO · worked together at CommSec

  • Five out of five stars

    “Bach is a fantastic developer to work with. He’s consistent, adaptable, and truly cares about the code he writes. On a rebranding project for a large medical web application, Bach dug into implementation details, experimented with CSS techniques for complex design elements, and kept the project on track and on time. When designs were too complicated or expensive to implement, he negotiated workable compromises with stakeholders. Bach is self-sufficient, diligent, and dependable. If I ever have the opportunity to work with him again, I will go out of my way to make it happen.”

    Cody Jenkins

    Senior UI Developer · ResMed

  • Five out of five stars

    “I had the great pleasure of working with Bach at CommSec. He is enthusiastic, passionate, and detail-oriented, never shying away from complicated problems. He excels in front-end development and has extensive knowledge of frameworks and web standards. As a great team player, he became the go-to person for anything related to JavaScript. I would not hesitate to recommend him.”

    Robert Shi

    Senior Engineer · worked together at CommSec

  • Five out of five stars

    “Bach is a very experienced UI/UX Developer. He quickly understands business intentions and requirements, efficiently converts designs into functional frontend solutions, and communicates constructively with team members to foster a positive team spirit.”

    Tim Wang

    Engineering Manager · ING Australia

  • Five out of five stars

    “Bach also demonstrated his creativity and technical competence by collaborating and sometimes mentoring fellow Java back-end developers when implementing AirView functionality and issue fixes. Bach often demonstrated great effort and commitment beyond the expectation of his role by working overtime to meet the challenging deadlines on the project.”

    Kiet Nguyen

    Senior System Engineer · ResMed

  • Five out of five stars

    “Top developer. Unlike many others, Bach analyses requirements and performs impact analysis before writing code. He follows Agile principles well and is a strong fit for any team.”

    Kaifi Hasibul

    Senior Project Manager · Pepper Money

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