Experience

1. Freelance Software Engineer

   since January 2011

   • Worked with clients like CouponTrade to build their core web application
   • Worked with One Design Company to help streamline internal deployment and development tools

2. Software Engineer at Zendesk

   July 2009 to June 2010

   • Developed Zendesk’s core product using Ruby on Rails, MySQL, Memcached, Redis
   • Introduced agile software development practices into the company
   • Designed and implemented backbone for linking Zendesk domain objects with third-party services
   • Implemented cross-application account signups and website functionality in JavaScript
   • Revised, refactored, and improved Zendesk’s API and its public documentation

3. Software Engineer at Centro

   April 2007 to June 2009

   • Developed Centro’s internal online advertising platform using Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, Memcached, ActiveMQ
   • Evaluated and improved Centro’s agile software development practices (Scrum and Extreme Programming)
   • Developed an external workflow system for online publishers working with Centro
   • Extracted and released Rails code to the open-source community as plugins (Tracktor, centro_tools)
   • Helped set technical direction for software development at Centro

4. Technology Intern at Centro

   February 2007 to April 2007

   • Handled day-to-day corporate IT support (Windows, Office, the works)
   • Worked on system administration of Linux servers (Ubuntu, LFS)
   • Learned Ruby on Rails while developing an online advertising platform as a part of an XP team

5. Student Mentor at IIT’s Academic Resource Center

   January 2006 to May 2006

   • Helped students with homework assignments in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics
   • Organized exam preparation sessions to help students practice problem-solving and master coursework

6. Teaching Assistant at IIT’s Computer Science Department

   August 2005 to December 2005

   • Mentored students on system programming projects in a weekly lab setting
   • Reviewed students’ submissions and provided direction and feedback on assignments
   • Helped test and improve an automated submission and grading system

7. Software Developer at Cleversafe

   Summer of 2005

   • Worked on a team to develop a custom network storage protocol using Cygwin and Win32 APIs
   • Did competitive analysis of other redundant network storage protocols or proposed algorithms

8. Computer Technician at IIT’s Office of Technology Services

   2002 to 2005

   • Diagnosed, troubleshot and solved hardware and software problems on a campus of 300+ computers
   • Provided point-of-contact customer support and prioritized requests with IIT’s RightNow support system
   • Designed and maintained small in-department networks to work as a part of IIT’s overall campus infrastructure