Software developer · Durban, South Africa

I build the systems a sales team runs on, and I keep them running.

I'm Dillon Wernich, sole developer at the Argent Industrial Group. I took Xpanda Security's quoting and ordering from a manual process to a platform that is live in 28 branches, and I'm now building the same pipeline for American Shutters as a web app. The code is under NDA, so this site walks through the problems, the decisions and the results instead.

Open to opportunities, willing to relocate BSc Application Development Google AI Professional Certificate
Dillon Wernich

What I work in

every one of these is in production code I wrote
MOBILE
Kt
Kotlin
Xpanda Android app
MOBILE
Jv
Java
Android interop
MOBILE
<>
XML
Android layouts
MOBILE
An
Android SDK
4-role tablet app
TOOLING
AS
Android Studio
daily driver
TOOLING
Gr
Gradle
builds & releases
MOBILE
Md
Material Design
app UI
MOBILE
ML
ML Kit
on-device AI
CLOUD
Fb
Firebase
RTDB · Auth · Storage
CLOUD
Fs
Firestore
American Shutters
CLOUD
Fn
Cloud Functions
email & workflow
CLOUD
Nd
Node.js
backend logic
WEB
H5
HTML5
portals & this site
WEB
C3
CSS3
responsive UI
WEB
JS
JavaScript
dashboards & forms
TOOLING
Gt
Git
version control
Work

Two companies, one platform pattern, built end to end.

Each case follows the same shape: the problem the business had, what I built to fix it, and what happened after it shipped.

● In production Internal system, code under NDA
Xpanda Security logo

Xpanda Security sales platform

Sole developer · Xpanda Security (Argent Industrial Group) · Jan 2025 to 2026 · Delivered

The problem

Xpanda manufactures and distributes security products nationally. Quoting, sales and ordering ran on paper and spreadsheets across dozens of branches. It was slow, prices drifted from the accounting system, and head office had no view of the pipeline. I was hired straight out of my degree to digitise the whole thing, on my own.

What I built

  • Kotlin Android tablet app covering the full quote, order and approval lifecycle for four user roles, with accounting-accurate pricing and role-gated status control.
  • Background PDF engine that generates retail, wholesale and order-summary documents silently, using chained rendering to avoid WebView contention.
  • Operations web portals for tracking, dispatch, invoicing, payments and KPIs, role-scoped with Firebase Auth, plus a customer-facing quote viewer with signature capture.
  • Cloud Functions backend that routes order emails by role, sends confirmations with conditional pricing panels, handles bulk email and rate-limited PIN recovery.

The result

The platform is complete and in daily use across the national branch network. I onboarded every branch myself, I handle after-hours incidents, and the architecture became the blueprint for the group's next rollout.

KotlinAndroid SDKFirebase RTDBFirebase Auth Cloud StorageCloud FunctionsNode.jsML Kit Apache POIHTML/CSS/JS
Android tablet app Kotlin · 4 roles · PDF engine Ops web portals dispatch · invoicing · KPIs Firebase core Realtime DB · Auth · Cloud Storage Cloud Functions · Node.js role-aware email routing · bulk mail · PIN recovery O365 SMTP → branches
The system architecture, since the code itself is under NDA.
28
branches live
59
consultants onboarded
1,833+
quotes processed
685+
orders confirmed
Platform figures at time of writing, still growing.
◐ In development Internal system, code under NDA
American Shutters logo

American Shutters sales platform

Sole developer · American Shutters (Argent Industrial Group) · 2026 to present

The problem

With Xpanda delivered, the group wants the same digital pipeline at American Shutters, a manufacturer of shutters and security barriers. Their products are configured rather than picked from a catalogue: measurements, finishes and options all change the price. And this time the brief is browser-only. No app store, nothing to install.

What I'm building

  • The proven platform pattern as a web app: the Firebase backend, Cloud Functions layer and operations portals that ran Xpanda, rebuilt browser-first.
  • A product and pricing engine reworked for configured products, where dimensions and finishes drive the quote instead of a fixed price list.
  • Role-based workflow across consultants, branch management and head office, with the same accounting-accurate pricing the group now expects.
  • Silent PDF generation for quotes and orders, built on the rendering approach proven in production on Xpanda.

Where it stands

In active development. The goal is a hardened, reusable foundation the group can roll out to further companies after this one.

HTML/CSS/JSResponsive web appFirestoreFirebase Auth Cloud StorageCloud FunctionsNode.jsPDF generation
Argent Industrial Group one developer · one platform pattern Xpanda Security ✓ complete · live nationally quote → order → approval American Shutters ◐ in development web app · new product logic Shared platform pattern Firebase · Cloud Functions · Android + web front-ends Reusable across the group
One platform pattern, delivered per company.
How I work

The parts of the job that aren't code.

I talk to the people using it

Half of building useful software is working out what someone actually needs versus what they asked for. I've held that conversation with branch consultants, directors and everyone in between, and I onboarded all 28 Xpanda branches myself. If you want proof I can communicate, that rollout is it.

I own what I ship

When a production issue lands after hours, I'm at my machine within minutes. If it's critical I fix it there. If the system can keep running, I brief the people affected, give them a workable interim, and ship the proper fix in the morning. There's nobody to hand anything to, so I don't.

I use AI, and I answer for the output

I decide the architecture, data model and security boundaries, then use AI to move faster inside that plan. Every AI-assisted change gets read, understood and tested before it ships, because in production "the AI wrote it" is never an answer. I also ship AI in the product itself: ML Kit runs on-device in the Xpanda app.

About

Sole developer from day one, which is a fast way to learn everything.

I'm 23, born and raised in Durban. I went straight from a BSc in Application Development at IIE Varsity College into industry as the only developer on a production system, from the first commit. There was no senior to lean on, so I learned to own the whole thing: architecture, code, deploys, data integrity, and the 10pm phone call when something breaks.

I'll say it plainly: the degree got me in the door, but it's not why the platform works. What matters is that I can take a messy business process, turn it into a system real people use every day, and explain my decisions to anyone from a consultant on the floor to a director. That's what this site is built to show.

Outside of work I'm outdoors as much as I can be. New food, new places, conversations with people who don't share my background. Long term I want to build with a serious team at scale and keep shipping systems that whole companies run on.

  • RoleSoftware Developer
  • BaseDurban, KwaZulu-Natal
  • MobilityWilling to relocate
  • NationalitySouth African
  • LanguagesEnglish · Afrikaans
  • DegreeBSc Application Development
  • CertificationGoogle AI Professional
Experience

Track record

Jan 2025 — present

Software Developer

Argent Industrial Group

Sole developer for the group's digital sales platforms. Designed, built and delivered the Xpanda Security quote-to-order system from first commit to national rollout, and now building the American Shutters platform as a web application.

Education

BSc — Application Development

IIE Varsity College · Computer & Information Sciences

Bachelor of Computer and Information Sciences in Application Development, covering web and mobile software engineering.

Certification

Google AI Professional Certificate

Google

Applied AI and data-driven problem solving alongside full-stack development work.

Contact

Get in touch

Open to full-stack, Android and platform roles, including relocation. If the work above looks like what your team needs, I'd like to hear from you.

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