| Nationality | British |
|---|---|
| Driver | Full, clean, UK licence |
| Technologies | Ajax; CMS; CSS; DNS; HTML; JSON; MVC; OOP; REST; SEO; SSL; WebDAV; XHTML; HTML5; XML |
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| Operating Systems | Linux - RHEL / CentOS, Ubuntu; Unix; VMS; Windows - Server and Workstation up to XP / 2003 |
| Software | Apache; Google App Engine; MySQL; JavaScript; Perl; PHP; Python; Git; Perforce; SVN; Bugzilla; Trac; Nagios; Django; jQuery; MooTools; Symfony; OpenOffice/Microsoft Office; Photoshop/GIMP; Illustrator/Inkscape; |
Edinburgh based Mercurytide are a web development agency that specialise in bespoke websites for an established customer base built primarily in Python, using the Django framework. As one of a team of six developers I am involved in all aspects of the development cycle including writing technical specification documentation, front end development using HTML, CSS and JavaScript (MooTools) and server side development using Django, Python and MySQL. Mercurytide are ISO 9001 certified and this covers the complete formal internal software development processes. Projects I have worked on include a reporting system for the Scottish Government which met the W3C AA standard for accessibility, an online training platform for the hospitality industry, sites for property sale and rental and several e-commerce websites. I have conducted a review of the way the core HTML, CSS and JavaScript project templates are designed which included setting up a system that captures and analyses client side page load times and have made improvements that amount to a halving of the load time for the standard site blueprint used for projects.
Bidbroo is a lowest unique bid and price drop auction website. As lead web developer I was responsible for all aspects of the user experience which included technical design and build of the website including user interface design and search engine optimisation. In addition to the consumer site I built a back office administration and content management system, management and reporting interface, and interactions with social networks, SMS, external payment systems and other 3rd parties.
The website is built with XHTML and CSS3 using the Symfony (PHP) and jQuery (JavaScript) frameworks making extensive use of Ajax and progressive enhancement to provide a rich user experience. Speed and scalability is increased with the use of a Python asset server that generates optimised images and serves minified CSS and JavaScript assets. The site is built with a layout switcher to provide an optimised view to mobile and other small screen/lightweight browsers such as iPhones and BlackBerries. I spent time at all stages of the project incorporating best practices for optimising the front end HTML, CSS and JavaScript and server side caching to provide a fast and responsive experience for the end user for both mobile and desktop clients. Bidbroo uses HTTPS throughout to ensure customer's information and transactions are secure whilst using the site.
As well as the site development I was responsible for the system administration tasks including the application layer of the hosted servers (RHEL) and the internal office systems such as the file/print/mail server (Linux), remote monitoring (Nagios), version control (Perforce) and desktop machines (Mac and Ubuntu).
After mform went into administration I set up a new website for the Dover Detainee Visitor Group, a charity that provides support for detainees in the Dover Immigration Removal Centre. Using Wordpress as a CMS allows volunteers to update content with a minimum amount of training and I provided a clean HTML/ CSS template that has allowed the site to grow with minimal additional maintenance.
mform were the market leading mortgage comparison website, offering consumers the ability to compare the entire market and apply direct to lenders. The site itself was built using a mix of technologies including Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Python, (LAMP), Jboss, Java and Ajax(JavaScript).
I joined the company just before launch and worked closely with suppliers to coordinate technical details and ensure the various elements of the site were integrated. As the site matured and the company developed I worked with business users to provide advice, direction, clear and understandable businesses requirements documentation, technical documentation and implementation of their requirements. This covered a range of areas including web pages (HTML/ CSS/ JavaScript), accessibility, graphics, calculators, customer surveys and mailings, and performance and availability monitoring . I also worked with and wrote specifications for XML data feeds – both in relation to providing them for, and consuming them from, external sources.
As the primary in-house developer I designed and implemented a key internal web application that was used to track customers post sale and assist communication with the mortgage lenders using the Symfony framework. To support this I put in place a formal internal development structure including source control, coding standards, technical documentation, issue tracking, unit testing, automated deployment and ongoing monitoring.
I maintained our enterprise level CMS system (Hippo) including build, configuration, management and support. I was also responsible for recording, analysis and production of the company's management information and ensuring this was presented in an accurate, timely and understandable manner. Part of this were several web analytics systems including Google Analytics and advert/ partner tracking systems.
As a member of the seven strong IT department supporting a 150 user, 3 site network, my main role was managing the server infrastructure including Exchange 2003 with Active Directory and desktop user support. My key responsibilities were for the virus defence and patch management system, the phone system (including mobile phones and BlackBerries), spam filtration, and backups/disaster recovery. Whilst working there I was able to move several of these systems onto a centrally managed architecture which made them easier to operate and support.
VMS were the largest Sage dealer in the north of England, and one of a small number nationwide who could offer solutions for the full range of Sage accounts packages. In addition to proving the accounting system they also provided networks, and associated support.
I began working with the SQL based Line 200/500 when VMS started offering it as a solution in 2001. Initially my involvement was exclusively with Version One's document management suite (DbForm, DbFax and DbMail) which is able to be programmed to extract required data directly from the accounting system’s underlying SQL databases. With my knowledge of operating systems and networking I created a role for myself dealing with implementation issues that were operating system or network related. I also worked closely with the customer's IT staff to help integrate the Sage system into their infrastructure.
In addition I was a key member of the systems team and my main role within this team covered design and implementation of new systems, migrating and upgrading existing systems and support, maintenance and administration post install. Systems were based around Windows 2000 Server, Active Directory & Exchange 2000 with clients running Windows 9X, NT, 2000 and XP, often on the same site. As I was dealing with a large number of different businesses on a daily basis, working with customers to match the systems to their needs was a vital part of this role.
I was working with the departmental computing officer on a project to transfer old research data from a redundant VAX server to an NT 3.51 server, including their extensive ½" tape archive. This project required liaising with the researchers who worked on the original analysis, and a good knowledge of scripting to automate many tasks as well as the use of SPSS for VMS and Windows to check the data. In addition to this I was assisting with general network maintenance. The previous summer I worked on fieldwork with local authorities in England and Wales gathering data for a Department of Health funded research project undertaken by the same unit.
| Degree | University of York, 1994 - 1998: Chemistry, Life Systems and Pharmaceuticals with a year in Europe |
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| 'A' Levels | Maths, Physics, Chemistry and French AS |
| I am a fluent French speaker |
In 2007, with a group of friends all wanting to play, we founded a cricket club and I have taken on the role of treasurer. We are very much a social club who accept players of any skill level and gender who have a desire to play.
A fencer since the age of 14, I captained the York University team in 1996-7 when we finished 3rd in the BUSA plate competition. I had a national ranking of 196 at the end of the 2003 season, which was the last year I attended several opens.
Being a fluent French speaker and a reader of comics since being introduced to Tintin and Asterix books in both languages at an early age, I am currently working on a hobby project to translate the best selling French language series XIII that has been running for over 20 years. To display this I have built a progressively enhanced dynamic website that makes use of some of the latest web technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3 and is built using Django running on Google's Appengine cloud service which employs their BigTable non-relational database and a memcached store to reduce datastore queries.
Available on request.