Resume

Main developer of a complex server-side system for processing work orders ("tickets"), that the customer receives from call centers. This included writing console applications in Python that:

• receive incoming tickets via modem, FTP or email;
• parse and extract information from the tickets (these are in plain text, but vary greatly in format), and store it in the database (MS SQL Server);
• assign them to employees, based on a set of complicated business logic rules, that differ per call center ("routing");
• respond to the call center that sent the tickets, via FTP, telnet, email and XMLHTTP;
• check the system regularly to see whether it's behind in processing of tickets, sending responses, etc;
• retrieve the latest code from our Subversion repository and deploy it on the customer's server in a safe manner.

Additionally, the Python code base is supported by a large set of automated tests. All of these programs and tests were (and still are) written and maintained by me, except for a 2-year interval when I worked for a different employer.

The system uses a MS SQL Server database, which we originally accessed via SQLXML, later switching to ADO for performance reasons, using a custom ORM. The server-side programs run on Windows. In the first few years, I also helped with maintaining and updating the client, admin and reporting applications, all of which are written in Delphi. Currently I am in the process of making the existing code run on both CPython and IronPython.

2-month contracting job, consisting of:

• translating an MS SQL Server database to Postgres (tables, views, stored procedures, functions);
• writing scripts to automate the creation of the new database, and populating it from CSV dumps;
• optimizing database performance.

Main developer of the back-end part of the iTrackr website. Tasks included:

• implementing and maintaining web crawlers in Python to fetch product and store availability data from retailer websites
• writing custom parsers to extract the desired information from the retrieved web pages
• implementing daemons and scripts to send notifications to users (email, SMS and web)
• maintaining and extending the XML-RPC server used to pass store/product data to the server
• database maintenance (first MySQL, later Postgres); this included adding/updating tables, triggers, indexes for performance tuning, etc
• implementing queries using SQLAlchemy
• updating the website (Pylons, Javascript, jQuery, CSS)

During my time here I developed four large desktop applications, and was also responsible for their maintenance and related customer service.

• Co-author of a management system for safety tools, for a large chemical company. Developed interfaces to specialized hardware like card printers, barcode scanners, and hand-held terminals. Written in Delphi, backed by an Oracle database.
• Main developer of a sophisticated system for registration and management of credit limits, written as a three-tier application in Delphi and SQL Server (using MIDAS). This included a "decision support" form that helped users when granting new credit limits; also included an interface to a large online documentation system, and a flexible report generator. Developed an intranet interface later, using ASP/VBScript.
  (letter of recommendation from this customer)
• Main developer of a system for the registration and statistical analysis of accidents, again for a large chemical company. Delphi/SQL Server.
• Main developer of a system for specialized allocation of costs, for a bus company. Delphi/Access, with some Python integrated.