about
Barclay with his dog Chester
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Objective
As a developer with a background in design and usability, I have a passion
for building things that are both functional and fashionable. An ideal
position for me is one with a highly collaborative team where I can get
my hands dirty in implementation, help mentor junior developers and still
have some involvement with visual design and interaction.
Skills
- Expert knowledge in building web-application front-ends (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX)
- Strong knowledge of various server-side languages (PHP/Zend Framework, C#/.NET,
Ruby) with a strong preference for OOP and MVC
- Comfortable working with databases (MS SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL)
- Strong background in design, and expert level skills with all industry
standard applications
Experience
May 2009–April 2010 : Senior Software Engineer : Crushpad
Crushpad, an urban winery in San Francisco, brought me on to lead the
development effort for a number of new web-based initiatives. My role
was to lead the team of engineers to design and build these new applications.
- Lead a team to develop brixr.com: an
interactive video-based wine tasting and e-commerce site using PHP
(Zend framework), MySQL and the Magento platform for the storefront
- Integrated Brixr with a number of external systems including:
Microsoft Dynamics for accounting, Vimeo and Watershed for video
delivery and custom built tools for order sourcing and fulfillment services
- Build a SOAP-based API for two way communications between the main
Brixr site and the Magento cart
- Redesigned and managed the implementation of Crushpad’s
client extranet, a Drupal driven,
data rich site where barrel making customers can watch, interact and
manage their wine as it’s being made
- Lead a team in developing a separate web-application for affiliate
wine sales and management
- Setup and managed SCM and deployment processes for the engineering team
- As the team lead, worked closely with junior developers to improve
their skill sets: set up 1:1 code reviews, lead group discussions
and encouraged better engineering practices
November 2007–January 2009 : Software Engineer : Renkoo, Inc.
Working within the social network applications arena, Renkoo’s philosophy
was that each engineer should completely own his or her application.
This meant acting as the product person and deciding features and
requirements, acting as the designer and producing all the visual design
assets, as well as being the sole developer of the application and building
it from front-to-back.
- Designed, prototyped, and developed the Myspace Car Show application
from the ground up. Car Show is currently one of the top 50 most
installed applications
- Implemented the image compositing backend for car show using PHP and
ImageMagick which could, “on the fly”, generate the custom
user car images in various colors, with various accessories
- Did a major overhaul to “Booze Mail”, an existing Renkoo Facebook
application serving millions of installed users, both on the visual
and UX side, as well as on the back end (PHP and MySQL)
- Designed an implemented “Booze Trivia” in an effort to raise page views
and application interaction
September 2005–November 2007 : Software Engineer : Presto Services Inc.
At Presto I was able to sharpen my skills as an engineer, doing much less
visual design work, and focusing instead on UI, usability, and (most importantly)
code. My role was to build the front end for most of the web applications.
- Implemented the account management web application from the front-end,
all the way back to the DB using C#/ASP.NET, and then later migrated
the application to ASP.NET 2.0 using VisualStudio 2005
- Designed a very simple, clean, and friendly interface for someone who
may (or may not) be computer savvy to set up and manage their Presto
device and account
- Participated in numerous rounds of usability testing for the account
setup process. Since this was the first touch point for many of the
users, the experience for the setup process had to be spot on
- Built a variety of sub-applications for the presto service: the
customer service account management site, and the online Presto store
July 2004–September 2005 : Lead UI Designer : America Online
As part of a new initiative to move products to the web, my role was to
work as both a UI designer, and developer for webmail. A secondary goal
was to help existing UI designers develop a successful web-based user
interface model.
- Designed a highly dynamic user experience for AOL webmail and AIM
webmail, which serviced millions of users
- After launching the new webmail, there was an impressive increase in
general traffic, click through revenue, user session times, and user
recirculation
- Designed sophisticated CSS documents for the webmail UI that took
advantage of “sprite” techniques, giving the ability to completely
skin the UI for the various brands (AOL, AIM and Netscape)
- Worked as UI Lead for additional projects: My AOL, AOL Calendar,
and AOL Favorites
July 2003–July 2004 : Lead Designer / Web Developer : Mailblocks
Working closely with engineering and marketing teams, my primary function
at Mailblocks was to be involved with the entire look of both the company
and the product. In July of 2004, Mailblocks, Inc. was acquired by
America Online.
- Worked on the award-winning Mailblocks 2.0, and 3.0 user interface
(2004 DEMO “DEMOGOD” award, PC Computing “Best Webmail”)
- Successfully designed and re-launched the mailblocks.com website
which helped lead to a dramatic increase in customer acquisition
- Designed online and print ad campaigns for the service and other
promotional materials
August 2001–October 2002 : Art Director / Web Manager : Agile Software
My role at Agile was two-fold. I was responsible for designing the
corporate website, intranets and extranets, while also designing
and art directing all branding and collateral.
- Worked directly with marketing executives, design contractors and
copywriters to successfully launch a complete new corporate visual
style (including whitepapers, datasheets, business systems) and new
corporate website in 90 days
- Agile.com awarded Forbes “Best of the Web 2002”
- Managed a team of in-house web developers and designers
- Designed a number of HTML email campaigns
- Directed and designed creative for all advertising (print and online),
corporate collateral, and event branding
Prior Experience
April 2000 – June 2001: Lead Designer / Webmaster : eConvergent
January 1999 – April 2000: Lead Designer : PaigeWarner Communications
November 1997 – January 1999: Graphic Designer : InnoGenex
August 1996 – September 1997: Graphic Designer : Label Technology, Inc.