Bio
I'm an experienced software engineer with over 20 years experience in full life cycle software development and systems integration. I've developed software for large enterprise companies, start ups and small businesses.
I'm capable of working in multi-disciplined teams, both large and small while completing customer facing roles, on site, worldwide. Motivated, autonomous and adaptable with strong problem solving skills I am continuously looking to learn & improve.
Flight Simulation
After gaining an honours degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering I started my career in at Thales Training & Simulation working with Level D Full FLight Simulators. These simulators can produce movement in all six degrees of freedom (6-DoF) and have realistic visuals and sound. They are so realistic that a pilot training for a new aircraft type does not need to spend any time in real flight!
I was responsible for developing the Avionics software models and integrating them with real aircraft hardware. (Avionics comprising the electronics systems, screens & controls responsible for communication, navigation and performance monitoring.) A really interesting role where I also learnt to tune the simulators sound system to replicate cockpit sound accurately. I had the opportunity to travel worldwide installing the simulators and presenting the systems I was responsible for to the certificating authorities.
Desktop Software
As fun as that was, the technology used was standing still (C , FORTRAN) so I joined Notifier Fire Systems and moved into desktop development using C# and WPF. Here I developed a software suite of applications that were used to calculate the optimum loop layout for fire alarm systems and minimum safe battery requirements. This role also involved some hardware integration, communicating with the fire panels and attached devices using RS232.
During this time I became interested in software design principles and adopted a test driven development methodology.
Web Development
Emigration to New Zealand in 2011 saw me move into Web Development and join Spendvision (now Fraedom, part of Visa) where I started as a Full Stack .NET developer. I learnt a lot in this role and started migrating towards the front end, AngularJS in particular. My strong desire to learn and improve made me a sought out team member and I contributed to key areas of Spendvision's product, including their original mobile offering, new branding and first micro-services.
I now prefer to work in TypeScript, for both front end and back end. I've built large complex applications in both Angular and React, but React is my favourite (most of the time).
Freelance
In early 2016 I left Fraedom to start freelancing full time; snd immediately started a full time contract with a small Auckland start-up called Flowingly . This was another huge learning experience. My main responsibilities where converting their existing web applications to use AngularJS whilst also implementing some much needed FrontEnd DevOps. I was also involved in improving the existing agile processes.
I left Flowingly in April 2017 to spend some time traveling New Zealand's South Island and ended up house sitting full time for almost two years. I continued to freelance part time during this period.
Cloudscape Labs
In 2019 I started a full time remote position for a small Christchurch based company . We develop software that helps construction sites improve their safety and efficiency.
Volunteering
Early in 2015 I joined a weekend charity hackathon hosted by ImpactNPO . I was on a small team that developed some new website design concepts for a small Auckland based Arts Trust. Following this I joined ImpactNPO as an organiser and helped to organise two more events. Through ImpactNPO I met another Not for Profit Organisation called Take My Hands . Over the next couple of years I led a small team of part time volunteers in building a donation tracking web application.
Always Busy, Always Learning
In amongst all the exploring I still find time to continue learning and take on Remote Freelance work and the odd pro bono project.
Interests
Tramping, Mountain Biking, Climbing, Surfing, SUP, WingFoiling
Travel, Food, Coffee, Beer, Books