Kabui Charles

Profile

Ten years building software. Currently building AI-powered, agentic experiences in M365 Copilot at Microsoft. Before that I founded Oark Library. I grew it from nothing to 130,000 users and 400,000 resources, hired the team, and kept it running through repeated attacks. I hold an MSc in Data Science from Strathmore. I write at ToKnow.ai and build tools at Blober.io.

Work Experience

Founder, Oark

2017 - Present

Currently shipping ToKnow.ai and Blober.io
Previously built Oark Library from nothing to 130,000 users; archived in 2024

Technologies: TypeScript, React, Python, Node.js, Azure, AWS

Software Engineer, Microsoft

Apr 2021 - Present

Building AI-powered, agentic experiences in M365 Copilot: Researcher, Copilot Chat, and the shared infrastructure underneath
Own architectural decisions for shared components that multiple product teams depend on
Design and ship streaming UI: token-by-token rendering, agent step inspection, partial state recovery, and cancellation at conversational scale
Mentor engineers through complex production problems

Technologies: ASP.NET, C#, TypeScript, React, Azure, KustoQL

Android Software Engineer, Hava Cab

Oct 2020 - Apr 2021

Improved accuracy and reliability of the driver app under real-world constraints
Refined core trip logic, which cut cost estimation errors
Supported backend and frontend integration across mobile and web

Technologies: Android, Java, Kotlin, JavaScript, ReactJS

Full-stack Software Engineer, Maramoja Transport

May 2018 - Nov 2020

Architected a corporate trip audit tool (marker-checker) used by enterprise clients
Maintained the Node.js services behind the taxi platform
Maintained the React web app and Android apps for clients and drivers

Technologies: JavaScript, ReactJS, NodeJS, Android, Java, MySQL

Full-stack Software Engineer, Pageone

Mar 2016 - Apr 2018

Led development of Daktari.net, a healthcare portal that connected patients and doctors across Kenya
Pushed early into serverless on Azure Functions and WebJobs before it was the obvious choice
Integrated MPESA, Stripe, and PayPal into a production platform; payment APIs fail in ways their documentation does not cover

Technologies: ASP.NET MVC, C#, JavaScript, KnockoutJS, Azure

Freelance Software Engineer

Jan 2015 - May 2016

Built bespoke tooling for SMEs: insurance report systems and web portals
Delivered WordPress sites and custom themes

Technologies: C#, WPF, Windows Forms, JavaScript, WordPress, PHP

Projects & Initiatives

Blober.io

Dec 2025 - Present

A local-first workflow engine for cloud storage transfers with metadata-aware path organisation. Users wire up source and destination providers (S3, Azure Blob, Google Drive, Dropbox), define how files should be reorganised on arrival, and run the transfer locally. Credentials never leave their machine. Visit Site

ToKnow.ai

May 2024 - Present

Where I write about AI, security, finance, and technology. Visit Site

@mckabue/react-validate

2025 - Present

A lightweight, flexible, and type-safe React form validation hook with zero dependencies. View on npm

@mckabue/react-use-async

2026 - Present

A React hook for managing async operations with loading states, error handling, and data merging. View on npm

@mckabue/no-same-type-params

2026 - Present

An ESLint rule that disallows consecutive function parameters sharing the same type annotation. View on npm

Oark Library (Founder)

2017 - 2024

A digital education hub I built from nothing. It grew to 130,000 users, 400,000 resources, and a peak of 1,500 new signups a day, with almost no marketing budget. Archived Site

Engineered the platform end-to-end: web, mobile, and backend
Hired and led the engineering team
Kept the platform and user data secure through repeated attacks

Education

MSc Data Science and Analytics, Strathmore University
BSc Software Engineering, Kisii University

Technical Proficiencies

Languages: JavaScript, C#, Python, Kotlin, Java
Frontend: HTML5, CSS3, SASS, ReactJS, VueJS
Backend: ASP.NET MVC, NodeJS, Flask
Databases: MSSQL, MySQL, ElasticSearch, MongoDB, KustoQL, Azure Table
Cloud: Azure, AWS
Mobile: Native Android Development
Architectures: Monolithic, Serverless, GraphQL, RestAPI

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