Stephen Hawkes

Passionate about serving charities through digital architecture

Steve Hawkes is our co-founder and lead architect. With an impressive 24 years of experience in architecting web-based solutions, Steve is a master at translating technical requirements into robust digital strategies and distilling complex concepts into clear implementation plans.

Born with a passion for technology, Steve sold his first website at the tender age of 16. Since then, he has dedicated his career to supporting digital delivery, starting as a freelance designer/developer, directing the digital agency Blanc and eventually founding The Developer Society. His 13 years of experience as a director have honed his skills in problem-solving, facilitation, analytical thinking, critical thinking, and systems analysis.

Steve's educational background includes a BSc in Computing Science and the intensive altMBA program. These experiences have equipped him with the knowledge and skills necessary to oversee the development of hundreds of projects throughout his career.

Steve’s collaboration with the Samaritans charity to create a self-help tool for those struggling with mental health issues stands out as one of his most notable achievements. This innovative project drew significant attention, including from the Alan Turing Institute. As a result, Steve was invited to participate in research focused on developing an “ethical assurance framework” for digital mental healthcare technologies. During this project, Steve delivered a thought-provoking talk titled “Ethics by Default.” In his talk, he explored how current development practices could be adapted to serve as a design pattern for embedding ethical assurance into digital mental health solutions from the outset.

When he's not pushing the boundaries of technology to serve the charity sector, Steve can be found at home with family and his cat, adopted from a DEV teammate (un-affectionately known as "Olly's cat.")