Core Competencies
Experienced web developer that has always synthesized experiences with popular web technologies (HTML/CSS/JS/PHP) and project management responsibilities for small businesses. A results-oriented and dedicated team player with the ability to adapt quickly. Excels when working with groups and is responsible for determining the direction of a project.
Work Experience
Brighton/Everett/Somerville, MA - Grand Poobah (August 2006 - Present)
Virtual Position (home) - Front & Back End Web Developer (September 2007 - June 2011)
- Design and development of Costumzee.com, Shoehunting.com and the Shareist.com platform.
- Development of PHP platform & abstraction that currently powers Shoehunting community portal.
- Created the Shoehunting bookmarklet which allows shoes to be saved & cataloged by the user from anywhere on the Internet.
- Added SVN versioned development practices into company procedures
- Introduced jQuery Javascript Framework into MechMedia's customized PHP platform in 2007.
- Led initiatives to incorporate modern development practices and workflows for the company.
- Gathered feature requirements and ensured quality control of development and deployment.
- Responsible for interfacing with MechMedia's outsourced team in Pune, India for project features and direction.
- Utilized Basecamp Project Management to meet scope, timeline & feature deliverables.
Watertown, MA - Front End Web Developer (April 2007 - September 2007)
Worcester, MA - Director of Technology (May 2002 - April 2007)
- Led the company by achieving over 500% sales growth since taking over all technological aspects of the business in 2003.
- Key coordinator in transitioning company from a predominantly catalog retailer to a reputable e-commerce authority in the Halloween industry.
- Managed a team of consultants, 3 in-house web programmers and a graphic designer to coordinate design phases and site-wide functional updates of Frightcatalog.com.
- Analyzed website analytics and user testing to measure and evaluate feature impact to effect shopping conversion ratios and revenue.
- Managed all hosting contracts and technology budgets for the company.
- Initiated use of Base Camp project management software to facilitate communication for web projects while also maintaining schedules, goals, and deliverables for consultants and team members.
- Researched system wide upgrades of order-fulfillment applications.
- Oversaw complete restructuring of warehouse and workflow processes for new order management software implementation.
- Implemented Ecometry Order Management System in use by some of the largest retail companies today.
- Engineered interoperability between SQL Based Ecometry OMS and the company's e-commerce site Frightcatalog.com.
- Redesigned Frightcatalog.com using standards based web practices.
- Integrated DOM scripting features as well as AJAX based behavior to enhance e-commerce experience focusing on customer-centric design practices.
- Brought search engine optimization responsibilities in-house, saving upwards of $1000 per month.
- Constructed in-house procedures that launched Fright Catalog into the forefront of rankings for natural Halloween based search results.
Ex. FrightCatalog.com currently has high placement on google search engine for the keywords "Halloween Props" and "Halloween Decorations". The company's most valued terms.
- Purchased, built, and maintained the business computer network comprising of over 30 computers.
- Designed and maintained the last three four iterations of Frightcatalog.com, the largest Halloween Decor e-commerce website on the World Wide Web.
- Created and designed Ghostdroppings.com, a community portal for Halloween enthusiasts.
- Produced and designed ad campaigns for Yahoo, Google, Overture and Ebay e-commerce portals.
- Developed workflow for computer administration and operational tasks.
- Provided support and foresight for all day to day technical operations of the company.
- Administered development of Icarus, a modular e-commerce foundation created using C# .Net technologies for Frightcatalog.com.
- Excelled at doing more with less, in both time management and feature set deliverables.
- Ensured 24/7 service uptime of Frightcatalog.com during peak season (August-October).
- Transitioned The Fright Catalog from a predominantly phone order company to one of the most successful Halloween retail sites on the World Wide Web. Currently, Internet revenue exceeds 70% of all sales.
Worcester, MA - Project Manager & Web Developer (June 2006 - April 2007)
- Helped create brand and launch strategy for YumDrop.com.
- Responsible for artistic direction and design of YumDrop.com based on technological framework created for FrightCatalog.com.
- Built and maintained blog.yumdrop.com, which is was being used for Yum Drop viral marketing initiatives.
- Essentially a reskin of FrightCatalog.com, within months the company was able to diversify the business by adding year round Lingerie sales to the core seasonal business of Halloween.
- Based on the Icarus e-commerce core.
- Responsible for planning, administering, and analyzing both usability and marketing tests.
- Usability and marketing analysis guided future development as well as company branding, purchasing and sales strategies.
Gray Door Solutions, Inc.
Worcester, MA - Co-Owner & Project Manager (February 2004 - July 2006)
- Started a full service web development company after a string of successful freelance projects.
- Developed the skills necessary for freelance web development and project management as owner of Gray Door Solutions, Inc.
- Created a standard to consistently exceed expectations and met project deadlines.
- Worked with clients to create a collaborative environment. Stakeholders were invested in the success of their projects.
- Provided successful project management duties resulting in long-term client relationships.
- Vastly improved development practices and project management skills by taking on extra work.
- Responsible for hiring and managing freelance developers, client support, price negotiations, and drafting of contracts for quoted projects.
- Clients include Dress By Design, Morbid Industries, Pangea Media, Bradshaw Photography, and Camp Haiastan out of Franklin, MA.
Education
Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA
Bachelor of Science, Chemical Engineering
Honors and Awards
- George R. Marble Scholarship (2001-2003)
- Douglas B. Martin Scholarship (2001-2003)
- Order of Omega Greek Honor Society (2002-2003)
Field Work
"Heat Treating of Aluminum Alloy 2024 in an Aqua-Quench 251 Polymer Quenchant" (January - February 2003)
- Selected to study the process of quenching aluminum alloys in a polymer solution for the Center of Heat Treating Excellence in conjunction with the Materials Engineering Department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
- Developed a comprehensive quenching database to be used by members of the heat treating industry.
"Cogeneration: A Feasibility Study for the Artistic Glass Companies of Murano, Italy" (June & July 2001)
- Selected from a competitive applicant pool to travel abroad and complete an engineering project in Venice, Italy for a prestigious artistic glass company, Archimede Seguso.
- Group leader of four students sent to evaluate the possibility of capturing and reusing heat lost in the artistic glassmaking process.
- Created a conceptual heat transfer model used to estimate the amount of heat lost to the environment.
- Conducted cost-savings analyses implementing our innovative heat transfer model for over 80 artistic glass companies on the island of Murano.
Publications
Shuhui Ma, Md. Maniruzzaman, K. Bradshaw, L. Costesso, B. Holmes and R. D. Sisson, Jr., "The Effects of Process Parameters on the Quenching Performance of 2024 Aluminum Alloy in Aqueous Solutions of PAG Polymers", submitted to 2003 ASM Materials Solutions Conference, 13 - 16 Oct. 2003, Pittsburg, PA
Technological Experience
Web Development
- JavaScript (DOM)
- XHTML
- CSS
- XML
- HTML 5
- Catalyst MVC Framework
- Template Toolkit
- JQuery Javascript Framework
- PHP
- Smarty Template Engine
- MySQL
- Usability Testing, Plannning & Administration
- Customer-Centric Design
- Standards Based Development Practices
- Search Engine Optimization
- IIS and Windows Server Administration
- Linux Server Administration
- Basecamp Project Management
Operating Systems
Expertise and over 10 years experience with the following operating systems:
- Windows
- Apple OS X
- Linux - Gentoo/Debian/Slackware/Ubuntu
Software
Experienced and proficient in various software tools including the following:
- Microsoft Office (Powerpoint/Excel/Word)
- Subversion
- Trac
- Basecamp Project Management
- TextMate
- Mozilla Firefox and extensions - Firebug/Web Developer
- xScope
- Microsoft VisualStudio.Net
- Macromedia Studio MX
- Adobe Creative Suite
Resume.doc