Meet Jaycee
Chief Information Officer
At FruitCast, our technology is constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of growers. Behind much of this development is Dr Jacabus Lock, known to the team as Jaycee, our chief information officer.
Jaycee joined FruitCast in November 2024 and plays a key role in overseeing the infrastructure and deployment of the FruitCast platform. His responsibilities also extend across system administration, management, team planning and supporting the wider direction of the business.
As FruitCast continues to grow, Jaycee will be heavily involved in several exciting areas of development. These include closer integration with robotics and drones to support forecasting, the use of AI tools within the FruitCast platform and further improvements to the way customers interact with the app.
He is also helping FruitCast prepare for its next stage of growth by strengthening the technical infrastructure behind the product. This includes supporting expansion across the UK and Europe, scaling the platform for a growing customer base and helping customers manage more complex supply chains.
Although much of Jaycee’s role is highly technical, he also regularly visits farms and works directly with growers. This gives him a clear understanding of how the technology is being used day to day and where further improvements can make the greatest difference.
Jaycee holds a PhD in computer science, specialising in active vision and the use of artificial intelligence within guidance systems. His background spans robotics, mechatronics and software engineering, giving him a broad understanding of both physical technology and the systems that support it.
Agriculture has been a consistent part of Jaycee’s research and professional career. He completed his PhD at the University of Lincoln, where he worked within its centre of excellence for agri-technology and developed experience applying robotics, AI and computer vision to agricultural challenges. His roles since then have remained closely connected to the sector, allowing him to build a strong understanding of how advanced technology can be adapted for practical use on farms.
As he moved further into software engineering, Jaycee developed his knowledge of software architecture and design principles while gaining valuable experience alongside senior technical colleagues. This combination of academic research, agricultural knowledge and practical software development is closely connected to his role at FruitCast.
His experience allows him to look at the FruitCast platform from both a research and engineering perspective. Whether he is improving infrastructure, redesigning parts of the existing system or preparing the platform to support more customers, Jaycee focuses on creating technology that is reliable, scalable and practical.
One of the things Jaycee enjoys most about his role is the variety of challenges it brings. He enjoys programming, exploring unfamiliar problems and using research to find practical solutions.
Since joining FruitCast, he has continued to expand his technical skills and has significantly developed his knowledge of Python. He has also gained a wider understanding of how different parts of the FruitCast system connect and how each technical decision ultimately affects the product growers use.
Jaycee works closely with FruitCast founder Dr Raymond Martin to develop the platform, improve forecasts and support growers on a daily basis. Their working days often involve tackling complex technical problems, planning future developments and responding to the needs of customers.
Originally from South Africa, Jaycee enjoys watching rugby and going to the gym in his free time. He has also recently taken on an exciting new role outside FruitCast as a new dad.
With his background in AI, robotics and software engineering, Jaycee brings a valuable mix of research knowledge, technical experience and practical problem-solving to FruitCast. His work will continue to play an important role as the platform develops, reaches more growers and expands into new markets.
