Knowledge

Languages: Ruby, PHP, Javascript, Perl, Java.
Frameworks: Rails, Sinatra, jQuery, Prototype.
Display languages: XHTML, CSS, XML, JSON, HAML, YAML.
Testing: Test-driven development using RSpec, Shoulda, Test::Unit, Mocha, Faker, Cucumber.
Databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL. ORMs used to abstract DB-specific details.
- Techniques: normalized table design, query analysis, indexing, materialized views, data integrity via triggers and constraints.
Deployment: Apache, Linux, Mongrel, Passenger, Amazon Web Services.
- Automation via capistrano, vlad, custom scripts.
Experience with webapp performance and scalability.
- Strategies: database optimization, reverse proxy caching, data caching, asynchronous processing, messaging queues.
Experience with REST-ful web architecture and web-based backends for mobile applications.
Alumni of Thoughtbot Advanced Rails Training (http://thoughtbot.com/services/training)

Experience

Freelance Web Developer (2/09 - Current)
- Developed a REST-ful backend for an iPhone application.
- Built systems for automated scraping and storage of web data based on admin inputs.
- Automated deployment of a webapp to dynamically created Amazon EC2 instances.
- Revamped and deployed a legacy Rails webapp for the client's new platform and business model.

Independent Projects
- Author of sanitize_attributes (http://github.com/devp/sanitize_attributes), an ActiveRecord plugin for data sanitization, particularly against cross-site scripting attacks
- Course Assistant for CS 50: Introduction to Computer Science (http://www.cs50.net) at Harvard College (Fall 2009)
- Teaching Assistant for Ruby on Rails Workshop for Women at the Berkman Center (October 2009)

Auburn Quad, Web Developer (7/08 - 2/09)
Developed software for online political fundraising. The primary client was ActBlue (http://www.actblue.com); through the 2008 election cycle, ActBlue raised over $40 million in grassroots contributions. I joined to bolster development in preparation for the 2008 election.
- Developed an asynchronous cache layer for contribution summaries, removing one of the largest performance bottlenecks.
- Revamped the candidate directory for better faceted search via Solr.
- Led the transition to automated deployment via Capistrano. This required custom deployment recipes due to the app's architecture and security policies.

Sugarloot, Director of Technology (9/06 - 7/08)
Led the development and launch of Sugarloot (http://www.sugarloot.com), a social networking site centered around contests and user-generated content. We operated as a subsidiary of a larger entity, but with the autonomy and aggressive pace of a startup.
- Implemented asynchronous video upload and encoding through a third-party vendor, providing users with feedback throughout the process.
- Designed a responsive and scalable web backend through proper database design, memcache-based data caching, and reverse-proxy image caching.
- Recruited the feature development team and implemented better development practices.

Sconex, Web Developer (2/06 - 9/06)
Developed for Sconex, a social networking startup focused on high-school students. The site was booming in popularity, and needed more developers for feature development and scaling work. Sconex was acquired by Alloy Media and Marketing; members of the team would form the core of Sugarloot.
- Built a feature enabling user-created quizzes and polls. Javascript was used to provide an intuitive user interface. Quizzes were one of the site's most popular features.

BzzAgent, Web Developer (9/04 - 2/06)
BzzAgent is a word-of-mouth marketing firm. Its webapp was vital for communication between the business and its membership.
- Designed a new workflow management system. This allowed more efficient management of remote customer service agents. Within a week, the backlog was drastically reduced.