Resume

A short & sweet summary of who I am and what sort of organization I’m interested in working for. You can get a more traditional resume here if you like that sort of thing.

Me

I am software cultivator with over ten years of professional experience, and a focus on sustainable software development. I specialize in germinating, growing and adapting systems and teams at a steady, dependable pace – reliably delivering value while avoiding burnout. I am also a craftsman who takes pride in my work and constantly strives to improve my skill.

I draw upon a wide range of experience when tackling problems. From realtime embedded signal processors in assembly language, to IP networking middleware in C++, to test automation systems in C# and TCL, to enterprise web apps in Ruby on Rails, to cloud-based developer tools, and dozens more along the way – I bring a broad perspective to the projects I work on.

I’m particularly good with Ruby and Rails. I’ve been developing with Ruby for nearly ten years (yes, it really has been around that long!), and with Rails for three. I’ve also been working with distributed systems in one form or another for most of my career.

I have led and participated in geographically distributed teams since 2007, and I know what it takes to make a dispersed agile team succeed. If you are thinking of tapping into the rich talent pool available to a distributed organization, I can help.

I live and work at home with my beautiful and growing family in South-Central PA. I’m a strong believer in building up the local community. I organize the York Coworking group and am an active member in the Baltimore and Central PA Ruby/Rails community. I’ve also been a presenter at the B’More on Rails and Harrisburg Ruby groups. If you’re not a Baltimore or Central PA-based company, don’t despair: I have been successfully teleworking for years, and I am good at it.

I try hard to give back to the wider developer community as well. I have launched and contributed to numerous Open Source projects, including NullDB, Hammertime, Gemcutter, the DataMapper/SimpleDB adapter, and many more. My projects have been featured on Ruby Inside, the Rails Envy, RubyFive, and RubyPulse podcasts, and in The RSpec Book from Pragmatic Press (currently in Beta).

Oh, and I like kittens, sunsets, and long walks in the mountains.

You

• Are working on projects which you can be proud of at the end of the day.
• Are on board the Cluetrain. You believe in engaging in an open and honest conversation both with your customers and your employees.
• Want to instill a culture of quality in your team members.
• Employ people I could learn something new from, and people who might learn something new from me.
• Understand that a happy family means a productive developer, and that having a family means needing flexibility. Ideally, you already have a few people with families and children of their own on your team.
• Have embraced telework and distributed teams, or are ready to try.
• Have a healthcare benefits package which works well for growing families.
• Believe in the value of giving back to your community, both locally and globally.

Interested?

If you think I might be a match for your organization, please fill out my employer screen and drop me a line!