Joshua D Buermann

TECHNICAL SUMMARY

Eight years of full stack rails development: various small start up projects; API interfaces to manage large distributed networks of foot traffic monitors in brick and mortar stores; a custom application for managing the workflows of a large regional staffing firm; and enterprise development on the content management system for the nation's third-largest newspaper publisher. Twenty years of industry experience, from online education software to dev-ops support applications to e-commerce.

    Platforms
    • Unixen (Solaris, GNU/Linux, NeXT/OSX): 20+ years.
    • MySQL/Oracle/Postgres: 15+ years.
    • CVS/SVN/Git: 15+ years.
    • AJAX, REST, etc.: 7+ years.
    • TCP/IP, NIS+, DNS, NFS, LDAP, Apache, Heroku.
    • VIM.
    		Development
    • Ruby/Rails: 8+ years.
    • Javascript/jQuery: 5+ years.
    • RSpec/Cucumber/Selenium: 5+ years.
    • Database design: 15+ years.
    • Perl: 15+ years.
    • HTML/CSS: 20+ years.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

    Tribune Chicago Senior Software Engineer 4/12-Present

    • Ruby on Rails; jQuery; Postgres/Oracle; RSpec/Cucumber/Selenium.
    • Full stack development on a world class content management system that powers some of the USA's busiest newspaper sites, including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.
    • Lead the retirement of numerous legacy technologies, systems, and libraries. Multiple framework upgrades.
    • Major overhauls of application components to support the LA Times' responsive site design.

    Freelance 4/11-3/12

    • Built a complex web application to migrate legacy paper-ware business processes into the modern world, handling client and applicant management, day-to-day workflow, and reporting requirements for Job Giraffe, a regional staffing firm. Ruby on Rails, jQuery, Postgres, Heroku.
    • Punched out the MVP in Ruby on Rails for Pawngo on a tight product launch deadline.
    • Helped Mata Traders, a fair trade retailer, adjust to the challenges of a growing business and prepare their retail website for a new Spring line.
    • Developed an animation library for demonstrating medieval astronomical models using the HTML5 canvas.

    Tribune Interactive Chicago Software Engineer 8/10-2/11

    • Ruby on Rails; Prototype, jQuery; Postgres/Oracle; RSpec/Cucumber/Selenium.
    • Various feature adds, test coverage, and bug fixes for the Tribune Company's content management system, supporting dozens of markets nationwide, on an agile team of eight developers.
    • Rails and prototype framework upgrades.
    • Re-implemented a slow, unstable browser test suite (SeleniumRC). Cut the integration build time in half by splitting tests across parallel instances. Made the suite deterministic against a problematic implementation of Prototype.

    Freelance 12/09-7/10

    • Routine maintenance for Mata Traders and StudentSpace.
    • Implemented a store locator integrating retailer data from a backend CRM with geokit, Cubecart, and Google Maps.
    • Integrated Wordpress and Google Analytics E-Commerce Tracking into Cubecart. PHP/CSS/Mysql.
    • Developed CRM and scheduling tool. Ruby on Rails 3.x.

    Shoppertrak/RTC Chicago Architecture developer 5/07-10/09

    • Developed a core web service for the management of a network of embedded video sensor devices deployed to a global client base using Ruby on Rails (Solaris/Oracle), XML, SSH, and FTP.
    • Re-engineered architecture of supplier-client network communications to meet PCI data security standards and mitigate our impact on client IPv4 exhaustion.
    • Rolled legacy connection protocols into a web service so communications could be centralized using a standard interface across all clients.
    • Developed a universal format for receiving client sales and labor data, encompassing the requirements for hundreds of extant legacy data feeds. Developed a Ruby library that allowed non-conforming feeds to be quickly automated with a simple configuration file. Designed and documented a standardized format for future client integrations.
    • Re-engineered multiple legacy systems written in procedural Perl to use DRY, object-oriented libraries shared across projects via subversion externals. Rolled legacy systems into source code control process. Reduced code replication, enhanced maintainability, and generally tried to make life more bearable for operations.

    Zzounds Chicago Software engineer 8/04-3/07

    • Major code overhaul of large retail website separating presentation and business logic with a custom MVC architecture. PHP5 OOP, Smarty templates, Javascript, CSS, Mysql.
    • Developed full back end e-commerce integrations between the existing website infrastructure and a dozen merchants, processing business transactions in Perl.
    • Migrated intranet account and infrastructure management into a centralized OpenLDAP system: CSR authentication; timecard management; htaccess; machine-level access; PAM configurations; and NIS+ tables.
    • Design and maintenance of affiliate portal architecture.
    • Integrated existing mailing lists into a third party API
    • Installation and integration of OpenX advertising service into existing e-commerce platform.
    • Various proof-of-concept projects and installations: forum software spider, search engine, Drupal CMS, a custom timecard system, a price comparison portal, etc.

EDUCATION

Northwestern University, Evanston. 1995-2000.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

  • Self-directed autodidact. Outside the occasional bout of esoteric mania I have excellent writing and interpersonal skills.
  • Background in volunteer work leveraging information technologies for research and the creative arts. Occasionally caught picking guitar or banjo in related performances.
  • Maintained Richard Stallman's website, demonstrating capacity to work with curmudgeons.
  • Pretty good gardener.

REFERENCES

  • Michelle Saltzer, product manager, Tribune Company.
  • Mark Hasse, chief architect, Shoppertrak.
  • Andrew Bakun, tech lead, Zzounds.
  • Contact information available on request.