Goals
- To reduce information costs every chance I get.
- To create applications and interfaces that tell new stories about old ideas,
& to inspire others to do the same.
- To be surrounded by people who both nurture & challenge me. To do right by them.
Overview
- Over 12 years experience developing websites and applications on a range of scales and budgets.
- Emphasis on lightweight, extensible architecture. Strong believer in progressive best practices, rich semantics and clean design.
- Passionate generalist. Curious about everything. Experience in a range of areas including copywriting, editing, UX, visual design, radio & public speaking.
- Creative problem solver comfortable in self-directed, team & leadership roles.
Technical Skills
Languages : Frameworks
- Javascript : ES6/ES2016, Coffeescript, React, Flux, npm, gulp, Backbone, PhantomJS, jQuery, Mocha, Sinon
- HTML/CSS : HTML5, CSS3, responsive design, web typography, Sass, Bourbon, HAML
- Ruby : Rails 3, Rails 2, Minitest, RSpec
- SQL: MySQL, Postgres, Sqlite, Redis
- Python : web2py
Servers, Platforms, Tools, Applications, Methodologies
Apache, nginx
Linux (Red Hat, CentOS), OS X, Windows
Git, Github, JIRA, Selenium, Redmine, Pivotal Tracker
Sketch, Photoshop, Fireworks, Illustrator
Agile, SCRUM, TDD, OO
Employment History
Senior Front End Engineer | ClearStory Data — March 2013 - present
- One of the first engineers at this Spark-driven data intelligence & collaboration app for enterprise business.
- Led early development of ClearStory's primary web layer using Ruby on Rails. Inculcated Ruby design patterns & best practices across the engineering team.
- Worked closely with product & UX teams to establish intuitive, reusable user interface patterns.
- Helped architect & build ClearStory's flagship Storyboards feature, allowing dynamic assembly of multiple data visualizations into broader narratives.
- Introduced localization/internationalization of the application using I18n.
- Designed & implemented numerous internal tools to manage customer accounts & analytics.
- Designed & implemented a Ruby acceptance test framework for the QA team, using Capybara & page object patterns.
- Oversaw a major refactor of app-wide CSS, increasing reusability while removing thousands of lines of code & cutting compiled file size in half.
- Daily engineering operations using a breadth of technologies, frameworks, & languages, including React, Flux, Backbone, npm, Sass, Bourbon, PhantomJS, PostgreSQL, Scala, Chef, & more.
- Mentored junior developers.
Senior Developer | Belly — May 2012 - Jan 2013
- Built complete front and back ends for the public-facing website.
- Created object-oriented Ruby and Javascript clients for Belly's RESTful API
- Worked with other departments and fellow developers to determine product design and user experience.
- Modernized internal systems to automate HTML email creation and delivery.
- Helped structure and internationalize all Belly content using I18n.
- Spearheaded adoption of a Javascript test suite.
Senior Developer | Trunk Club — Aug 2011 - May 2012
- Built complete front and back ends for trunkclub.com, powered by a platform API.
- Collaborated with product and design to specify & implement new member onboarding flows.
- Helped define and implement email marketing and analytics strategies.
- Mentored junior team members in common design patterns and methodologies.
- Built a Ruby wrapper for the Mailchimp API
Developer | Viewpoints Network — Jan 2010 - Aug 2011
- Rails development with UI emphasis at this Chicago tech leader with over 3m monthly visits.
- Advanced troubleshooting and refactoring in a massive codebase, with code shared between 5 production sites.
- Performed as part of a collaborative, agile workflow. Participated in pair programming, code reviews & general shared geekery.
- With community managers, specified, designed and coded a complete overhaul of the site’s review moderation admin tool.
- Oversaw completion and incorporation of a comprehensive acceptance testing suite using Selenium.
- Worked with product, business & architects to see through development of Craftsman.com from inception to launch.
- Developed widgets and cross-site communications solutions to power review applications on Sears.com.
Lead Developer | ContentNext Media — Nov 2007 - Aug 2009
- Oversaw all daily technical operations for this pioneer in independent financial journalism.
- Constructed numerous modules & site features, including administration tools to oversee ad scheduling and editorial flow.
- Helped plan and enact a large-scale redesign incorporating numerous web services and advanced membership options, inluding coordinated registration across four sites.
- Led an ad server transition to Atlas Ad Manager. Created custom targeting and delivery options across all four sites and newsletters.
- Built individualized syndication feeds for partners such as the New York Times, Reuters and Huffington Post, based on a wide array of custom criteria.
- Created a PHP5 application to let editors assemble, test and schedule daily HTML newsletters using the MailChimp API.
Development Consultant | Trident Communications — Summer 2006
- Helped conceive and construct a public-facing data application for Nexant Chemsystems—a world leader in energy forecasting.
- Led information architecture for the Chemsystems Online project. After a crash course in the energy industry, mapped key data structures and relationships to inform CMS and database design.
- Aided in user interface development, including mockups of the Flash data visualization app.
Technical Lead | Blueeyes Magazine — Jan 2006 - Sep 2008
- Architected & built complete front and back ends for this world-class online photo magazine.
- Developed an XML-driven Flash photo essay/gallery application with dynamic display of multiple layouts, including panoramic images.
Developer | Homefront Productions — Dec 2005 - Dec 2007
- Designed, built & maintained online presence of this nationally-syndicated radio and television media company.
- Selected and deployed audio streaming solutions for weekly satellite broadcasts.
- Frequently designed visual content for promotional campaigns, as well as coding specialized back end functionality (quizzes, contests, etc).
- Devised custom solutions to automate or integrate common office tasks with the site.
Developer | "We Always Swing" Jazz Series — Sep 2005 - Dec 2007
- Designed and built complete front and back ends for this world-class non-profit jazz series.
Freelance & Pro Bono
Education
B.A. English & Political Science | University of Missouri—Columbia | 2004
References
- Cory Wilkerson | Director of Software Development, TuneIn | coryjwilkerson@gmail.com
- Ashley Phillips | Product Manager, Braintree | ashleydphillips@gmail.com
- Stephen Celis | Lead Mobile Engineer, KickStarter | stephen.celis@gmail.com
- Chris Vivion | Executive Producer, Spacestation | chris@chrisvivion.com