Hello: I'm a front-end developer and web-geek that loves technology, building cool stuff, and working with other passionate, intelligent people. Do drop by the blog.
I'm passionate about technology. I like working within high-energy teams that care about elegant interface, best practices, and the importance of good strategy. I work best with people who are also interested in web trends, the state of the Internet, and our importance in this space as designers and developers. I like being involved in the entire project life cycle. In addition to the actual front-end programming, I intensely enjoy crafting the user experience and designing or having solid input in to the design of a web experience.
I pride myself on my tireless work ethic, speed of development, excellent communication, and dedication to quality and good user experience.
Oh and enjoy the scenery here! The clouds, flowers, mountains, etc were all built with HTML, CSS, and Javascript.
Go ahead and pick a flower.
Education:
Graduated in 2001 magna cum laude with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science.
Currently:
My main area of expertise is front-end development, so expert-level CSS/Javascript/HTML, using the latest technologies and libraries. I am also proficient in actual UI design (not just implementation), but love to code. I usually integrate in to Ruby on Rails frameworks -- that framework is where I'm most comfortable, but can work within pretty much anything.
Currently, I work out of my home, and am involved in a number of projects, most of them based out of Chicago, which is where I lived for around 5 years before moving here to Asheville in 2009.
I've recently started my own web-driven business called Pecknology. Drop by to see a portfolio as well as a description of the services I offer. Thanks for coming.
Previous Employment:
2009 - 2011: Viewpoints Network
My latest endeavor was with the Viewpoints Network, based out of Chicago. Viewpoints is a consumer reviews platform. Viewpoints develops and maintains a community and reviews platform that they then white label and integrate in to existing websites for businesses. I was involved with the development and maintenance of community solutions for websites like Sears, Craftsman, Inc, and Overstock. My primary responsibilities were front-end development of new projects, HTML/CSS implementation, Javascript development, large-scale platform refactoring, A/B optimization testing via Rails/Vanity, extensive Ruby, mostly within the helper layer, and a need to communicate closely with backend developers, designers, and business people. When I started work with Viewpoints, I was located in Chicago, but a few months in, I made a move to Asheville and continued to work remotely. I am very well adapted to working remotely and still keeping close contact with peers.
2010 - 2011: twoawesomedudes.com
In 2010, a friend and I combined talents to develop a new type of social networking site. It was a site that would allow people to leave completely anonymous feedback to anyone in their social circle. We called the site failin.gs and we launched the site to the public in early 2011. When the site went in to a private beta in late 2010, it went viral immediately, and our site ended up on the pages of ABC News, Huffington Post, Gawker, and I was even interviewed on MSNBC. I handled the design, UX, and front-end development, and my backend partner developed the bulk of the ruby, set up the database, and configured the server and deployment. It was a truly rewarding experience, and we learned a ton about Facebook/Twitter integration single sign on, etc.
2009: Peak6
I worked closely with traders to develop internally-facing web-based trading applications for the High Frequency Stock group. My primary role was to own user experience and interaction models, graphic design, and front-end development, integrating tightly with the back-end Ruby on Rails framework. Primary languages and libraries utilized during this time were HTML/CSS, Javascript, Prototype and Scriptaculous. There were a high amount of user interface elements that incorporated the asynchronous exchange of information between the back-end and front-end. Another responsibility was to determine the appropriate situation in which this practice made sense, in addition to persistent checks to ensure validation against the W3C. This group subscribed to agile development methodologies to a meaningful but casual degree, and embraced graceful degradation for elegant cross-browser support.
2009 - 2011: Eight Bit Studios, LLC. Partner
Eight Bit Studios is a collection of passionate individuals in the field of technology. We act as a sort of "incubator" and develop next generation websites, iPhone applications, Facebook applications, and viral marketing initiatives. Recent success was surrounding the Eight Bit Project joebidensteeth.com, a website that was initially built for fun, but we then ended up partnering with Ketchum Media and Trident to relaunch the site to tie in with a Trident marketing strategy to give away a free pack of gum to anyone who would send in a photograph of themselves smiling to the website. Several technologies were utilized to accomplish this. 50,000 packages of gum were given away. I continue front-end development for these guys as a contractor.
2007 - 2009: Designkitchen
I held the position as a Senior Front-end Developer at Designkitchen for two years. My responsibilities were many, as I was involved in the entire project life cycle. In addition to web development and managing one of the front-end development teams, I was also involved in the user interface development and design review processes, scheduling, estimating, and strategy. Being an agency, deadlines and high pressure were a consistent variable in the multiple projects I was involved in at any given time. Technical details include working tightly with and integrating front-end code against multiple back-end technologies (.NET, Ruby on Rails, and PHP). Most of our sites also tied in to external APIs and included the use of Javascript user interface libraries such as jQuery, DOJO, YUI, Scriptaculous, Prototype, and Moo-tools.
2005 - 2007: OptionsHouse.com
OptionsHouse.com is an online, retail-facing stock and option trading platform similar to E-Trade, OptionsHouse, or ThinkOrSwim. I worked on a two-man front-end team within a larger 10-person team including back-end developers and designers. The front-end was built using XSLT and was coupled with the heavy usage of asynchronous calls to the back-end. OptionsHouse presented us with many challenges in coming up with "meaningful ways" of displaying large amounts of data. There were also many design and development challenges in dealing with horizontal space as we were limited to a certain pixel-width to allow support for smaller monitors.
2001 - 2005: Wachovia
At Wachovia I was a one-man web application developer for an internal-facing Technology group within the corporation. My job was to put together a series of web-based applications to assist and optimize certain processes within the group. My crowning achievement at Wachovia was designing and developing a project tracking system that is still being used today. Originally, it was built for a group of 7 people and a hand-full of projects, quickly scaled to a user-base of 74, before being adopted by many other groups within the bank, spreading soon to thousands of users and hundreds of projects.