Akisma

I was the first technical hire at this Bay Area-based startup. Over my time here I took business requirements and turned them into development plans, recruited and hired the rest of my team (4 other developers), and performed all client-side engineering for the web-facing portion of our product. I coordinated a team of 5 developers, including myself, across many different time zones, all members being distributed. I learned invaluable lessons in terms of organization, providing strong feedback to help the business side make important decisions, and motivating a great team of developers to achieve the (nearly) impossible. Our team successfully launched our iOS product on schedule.

We used Node.JS server side, which was fantastic. Client side, I utilized Backbone, jQuery, RequireJS (and modular architecture), and a slew of micro libraries and utilities.

Javascript, HTML5, CSS3, Python, Django, Mobile, Desktop... you name it. RequireJS, Backbone, a million jQuery plugins. API integration, API building. Much more.

At Digitas, I was a lead developer and architect, specializing in front end, for a Fortune 500 client's portfolio of web sites.

Things I did while at Digitas:

- led first smartphone targeted mobile web project for this client
- led mobile research and development throughout the company
- was lead architect for 2 major portals
- engineered complex UI features, the likes of which had never been attempted at this company before, in a browser environment
- was a leader in the research and sharing of cutting-edge technology, company-wide
- was an advisor, teacher, and mentor for both internal and partner company developers of all ranks
- was, as usual, a relentless documenter
- was also, as usual, an intrepid bug squasher
- was the creator and maintainer of highly advanced javascript system
- as a performance enthusiast, I helped reduce page weight of major portals by more than 50% and implemented js optimization in the form of function (and otherwise) caching
- was a process shaper/optimizer, always helping to create a better workflow, and better accountability

Achievements:
- the development and technology methodologies I developed for the 2 portals has become the new standard at Digitas for client interaction
- smallbusinesssaturday.com social ad campaign, for which I was the sole client side engineer, was nominated for a 2011 Webby, and ultimately won the Chairman’s Award from American Express.

I was the sole engineering lead on a silicon valley startup geared towards video communication and social aggregation/indexing over regular telecoms and the internet. Initially the only technical member of the group. Highest level design and advisory to CEO and other members (3). Lead design discussions as they pertain to front end development and user experience. Lead product discussions as they pertain to available technology, capability, and working within a tiny budget. Recruited and interviewed resources to work as engineers, back end and front end. Performed all front end coding, server admin, architecture/planning and technology exploration. Funding interests from major Silicon Valley capital groups.

Some of what I learned: Learned an incredible amount about the industry and the state of technology. Gained experience in tough decision­making, architecture, and technology considerations. Increased my capacity to research in a lightning­fast manner, while still remaining thorough.

My freelance business. My partner is a designer and I did all of the development, start to finish. Also work together on Information Architecture, design, interactivity design.

Desined and built custom tiny CMSs where frameworks would have been overkill.

Some of what I learned: I learned how to run a business, how to gauge client needs and wants, and how to be a technology evangelist when the necessity of a particular feature wasn't immediately clear to a client.

I was sole designer/developer for the IOP's web site. This included but is not limited to designing and developing pages, building interactive web forms for various program applications, managing databases (internships, forum media archive, news, etc), design logos and graphics as needed, act as a liaison for IOP to the Kennedy School's IT department, develop new ideas to attract more attention to the site and the organization, search engine optimization, Google AdWords campaigns, etc; Report on web statistics, utilizing various log reading tools and other dynamic statistic sources.

Served as lead contact and advisor during large, comprehensive redesign process.

Also provided help for staff in the general realm of computing; this includes all major business and desktop publishing applications, computer navigation in general, space management, and general computer performance issues.

Effectively served as a "technical translator", or one who provides a non­technical explanation of technical matters so that management and teams can make more informed decisions.

Design all print materials for the IOP, including newsletters, brochures, ads for newspapers, ads for magazines, and other correspondence/recruiting materials.

Built PHP applications as needed to help with content management and inter­office communications. Built PHP/MySQL ad hoc pages with CMS interfaces to enable better productivity of other program directors.

Accomplishments: I helped increase overall web traffic by 300% since beginning job; Initiated Forum Archive, a collection of over 1200 videos, 1970s - ­present, garnering over 1,000,000 visitors and 1,300,000 video views since January 2006 launch (until the point that I left). Designed, developed, and maintained Campaign 2008 and Campus Voices web sites. Pushed the boundaries for what the Kennedy School was willing to do with their servers and multimedia capabilities.

Production, Songwriting, Music Theory

music technology

Portfolio

Various music and creativity awards

music, technology, animation, creating more efficient processes, photography, video production, information architecture, camping, hiking, biking, traveling, driving, video games