Background
Biography
I'm a front-end web developer specializing in React and pixel perfect CSS. I have extensive experience working in an Agile environment using HTML5, CSS3/Sass, ES5/ES6, React, Redux, Git, and Webpack. Additionally, I am familiar with Vue, Firebase, Node.js, Parcel, Express, AWS, and Jenkins.
Although I majored in Economics, I took many years of Japanese and moved to Japan to teach English for 4 years. Although I loved Japan and my schools, teaching was not my passion nor did Japan offer me many alternatives.
I returned to the US and began the difficult road of switching careers. I worked various part-time jobs while sitting in college lectures, taking online courses, and preparing to take the GRE.
After taking python course, I knew software development is my passion. I enrolled in Thinkful's 6 month Engineering Immersion program, where I worked an average of 60 hours per week learning and writing code.
I joined CARFAX as an apprentice after graduating from Thinkful. I joined the amazing 6 developer Consumer Experience team and learned a great deal.
My journey at CARFAX was unexpectedly cut short during the COVID-19 crisis. In a cost cutting measure, my position was terminated and I was laid off.
When I'm not coding, I'm a freelance nerd. I enjoy RPG video games, tabletop RPGs, novels, comics, and hiking.
Contact
Proficiencies
Exploits
Note for European visitors: Due to the GDPR, I'm afraid that CARFAX is forced to block European IPs. I am happy to walk you through these projects online.
Consumer Privace Application
- Tools: React (with hooks), CSS3, ES6, Node.js, Webpack, and AWS.
- Task: Build a flexible and maintainable form to comply with the fragmented rollout of Consumer Privacy legislation passed by California, Nevada, and other states.
- Challenges: The application was built in response to unprecedented consumer privacy protection laws. As such, many teams and upper management were involved, creating a "too many cooks in the kitchen" situation.
- Results: Delivered within the tight window, despite a request for a complete redesign one month prior to the deadline.
- Comments: This was largely a solo React build using React hooks. With so many unknown unknowns, the requirements for this project changed nearly every week. It is built with an emphasis on flexibility as each state considers their own consumer online privacy legislation with their own requirements on their own timetable.
- Team Member: Mike Holzbach
Not Yet Live
Receipt Page Rewrite
- Tools: PUG, SCSS, Typscript, Node.js, Webpack, and AWS.
- Task: As the first part of a rewrite of the purchase path, our team decided to write the receipt page as a standalone application.
- Challenges: The main challenge revolves fetching the sensitive financial information in a secure way. This was the first Typscript project for several team members. This project required a Parcel configuration file, which is not well documented.
- Results: Delivered the application with minimal delays during the difficult early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team seamlessly transitioned to 100% remote collaboration during an "all hands on deck" rewrite.
-
Comments: This prototype started out as a PDT project
to experiment with the features available in the React Tables
npm package.
My work revolved around configuring the custom Parcel build process and implementing extensive custom tracking, including Google Tag Manager, Optimizely, and New Relic.
Due to the nature of my tasks, I coordinated with the backend developers (shaping the receipt data), the frontend developers (tracking the errors and compiling the app), and business managment (configuring the custom tracking scripts). - Team Member: Monte Alawamleh, Sebastian Chacko, Mike Holzbach, Michael Dolan, and Tyler Kilburn
Internal Application
NADA Marketing Application
- Tools: Vue, Firebase, Redux, HTML5, CSS3, ES6, and Nodejs
- Task: Build an internal marketing application to be used at automobile dealership conventions to sign up CARFAX products and services by offering a custom engraved Yeti product.
- Challenges: This was the first Vue/Firebase project that Mike or I had ever built. Writing the logic and css for the custom text for the Yeti products proved quite difficult.
- Results: Delivered a feature complete application that proceeded to help generate over $1.5 million in revenue at the 4 day National Automobile Dealership Association 2020 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
-
Comments: This project started out as a feature
incomplete prototype built by another development team.
Much of my work revolved around the database (firebase) and custom engraving text. Many difficulties arose from non-alphanumeric symbols and overlaying the different products.
However, Mike and I delivered a polished final product that more than doubled revenue expectations during the NADA conference. - Team Member: Mike Holzbach, Johnathan Openshaw
Help Page
- Tools: React, SCSS, ES6, Express, Docker, Yarn, Redis, and Heroku.
- Task: Maintain and update older React/Express application.
- Challenges: This application was written by a different development team. It is a React application inside an Express application hosted on Heroku that pulls data and submits forms to Salesforce.
- Results: Implemented form redesign, add tracking (Optimizely and New Relic), and perform general maintenance.
-
Comments: This project utilizes several technologies my
consumer experience team did not support, making development
difficult.
My work on this project required frequent coordination with the Salesforce team and communication with the original developer, Daniel. - Team Member: Daniel Rhyne and Vivek Chilukuri
Automobile Recall Page
- Tools: React, Sass, ES6, Node.js, Babel, Gradle, Webpack, and Gatsby.
- Task: Maintain and update older React application.
- Challenges: The application was built in 1 month by a developer who left the company. Bumping the dependencies broke just about everything.
- Results: Maintained existing functionality of the previous version while adding requested new features and tracking.
- Comments: This project was rushed due to business requirements, but serves its purpose. I was able to coordinate with the previous developer, Erik Luetkehans, before he left. However I was left with the task of updating all of the severely outdated dependencies, updating the map data, and adding tracking.
- Team Member: Erik Luetkehans
Internal Application
WC Prototype
- Tools: React (with hooks), React Tables, PUG, SCSS, Typscript, Node.js, Webpack, and AWS.
- Task: Build a prototype replacement for a 10 year old internal tooling application. The software is used by management to view and manipulate business data.
- Challenges: The prototype was built to replace an 1.3.7 Grails application that hasn't been updated within 6 years. The original application represents the database as one table per page with a pop up form to edit/add data to said table creating a disjointed user experience.
- Results: Delivered a prototype that represented the data as a cohesive, single-page application.
-
Comments: This prototype started out as a PDT project
to experiment with the features available in the React Tables
npm package.
Once I was able to represent the data as a single table (using grouping to represent the database tables) and integrate the add/edit form as a dynamic subcomponent of each row. - Team Member: Mike Holzbach, Tyler Kilburn