Alex McHardy

An experienced LAMP developer wants to build great apps on Open Web technologies.

Experience

Experience in Brief

Ukraine U.S. Peace Corps
Mar. 2009–June 2011 Youth Development Volunteer

• Founded and chaired the Technology for Development Working Group, initiating several tech-related projects praised by Peace Corps directors.
• Completed a redesign and overhaul of the Ukraine volunteer website pcukraine.org.
• Refactored online volunteer collaboration tools in PHP to improve usability and security.
• Used jQuery and CSS sprites to create an HIV Infections Counter widget made to work offline across all browsers. Ukraine’s HIV/AIDS Program Manager distributed the application nationwide as an effective presentation tool to highlight the human cost of HIV at World AIDS Day events.

As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I obtained funding for and led projects such as HIV/AIDS trainings, leadership workshops, youth camps, and the construction of three community parks. Drawing on my experience as a technology professional, I founded and chaired the Technology for Development Working Group, initiating several tech-related projects praised by Peace Corps directors. I led a complete redesign and overhaul of the Peace Corps Ukraine volunteer website—pcukraine.org—and refactored online volunteer collaboration tools in PHP to improve usability and security. In another project, I used jQuery and CSS sprites to create an HIV Infections Counter widget made to work offline across all browsers. Ukraine’s HIV/AIDS Program Manager distributed the application nationwide as an effective presentation tool to highlight the human cost of HIV at World AIDS Day events.

• Overhauled and redesigned http://pcukraine.org
• Refactored online collaboration tools in PHP
• Built an application used nationwide in Ukraine to promote HIV awareness using jQuery and CSS sprites

Durham, NC iContact.com
Mar. 2008–Mar. 2009 Lead Front-end Developer

• Guided the design and development of a REST-like API on a LAMP stack.
• Developed a new front-end framework in PHP to handle all web and API requests together. The framework included Front Filters for bootstrapping; request recognition; input parsing for XML, JSON, and form data; input validation; error handling; output generation; and logging. Led the creation of a functional testing infrastructure to compliment unit testing of the new framework.
• Designed an authentication scheme for the API that relied on a SHA-1 keyed-hash message authentication code and a time-based nonce carried on HTTP headers to provide session-free verification.
• Coordinated all front-end development within cross-functional teams of designers, information architects, and developers—leading through scrum and using agile methods.

As we grew iContact.com into a web application earning $18 million per year in revenue, we grew the front-end team, as well. I won a promotion to be lead of the team, which I doubled through hiring to 4 talented developers. Under my guidance, the team designed and built a REST-like API from scratch on a LAMP stack. To handle all web and API requests together, we developed a new front-end framework in PHP which included Front Filters for bootstrapping; request recognition; input parsing for XML, JSON, and form data; input validation; error handling; output generation; and logging. I led the creation of a functional testing infrastructure to compliment unit testing of the new framework. I personally designed an authentication scheme for the API that relied on a SHA-1 keyed-hash message authentication code and a time-based nonce carried on HTTP headers to provide session-free verification. I coordinated all front-end development within cross-functional teams of designers, information architects, and developers—leading through scrum and using agile methods.

• Guided development of a REST-like API on a LAMP stack
• Developed a front-end framework in PHP to handle all web and API requests together
• Designed a stateless API authentication scheme carried on HTTP headers
• Led front-end development through scrum and using agile methods

Aug. 2005–Mar. 2008 Web Developer

• Worked across the LAMP stack on a small team using agile methods, to grow iContact’s permission-based email marketing platform by a factor of 15 to 42,000 paying customers.
• Built several AJAX-driven features using progressive enhancement techniques to ensure usability across browsers and devices.
• Designed and built—from backend PHP out to JavaScript and CSS—a context-sensitive help and walkthrough widget.
• Served as MySQL database administrator for a time and created a set of tools to synch schema changes across development, staging, and production databases.
• Used semantic XHTML and unobtrusive JavaScript to build highly usable and accessible user interfaces.

As the sixth on a team of developers that would grow to over 20, I had a key part in building iContact’s permission-based email marketing platform by a factor of 15 to 42,000 paying customers. On a small team doing such rapid development, I was able to work all over the LAMP stack. I built several AJAX-driven features using progressive enhancement techniques to ensure usability across browsers and devices. As a side project that was later adopted throughout the application, I designed and built—from backend PHP out to JavaScript and CSS—a context-sensitive help and walkthrough widget. I even served as MySQL database administrator for a time and created a set of tools to synch schema changes across development, staging, and production databases. My passion and focus, however, became the use of semantic XHTML and unobtrusive JavaScript to build highly usable and accessible user interfaces.

• Built AJAX-driven features using progressive enhancement techniques
• Designed and built a help and walkthrough widget using PHP, JavaScript, and CSS
• Served as MySQL database administrator
• Used semantic XHTML and unobtrusive JavaScript to build user interfaces

Fort Collins, CO Best Buy
Sept.–Dec. 2004 Computer Sales Specialist

• Answered customers’ hardware and software questions, and gave sales presentations.

In a transitional job at Best Buy, I answered customers’ hardware and software questions, and gave sales presentations.

Denver, CO Urban Peak
Aug. 2003–Sept. 2004 Outreach Counselor

• Coordinated daily outreach to homeless youth on the streets of Denver, facilitated events and health fairs, and managed updates to an outcomes-tracking database.

At the only shelter for homeless youth in Denver, I coordinated daily outreach to young people on the streets of the downtown area. I facilitated outreach events and health fairs which hundreds of youth attended, and managed upkeep of our results-tracking database. On evening shifts, one other staff member and I supervised up to 50 youth at a time in the shelter.

Quito, Ecuador El Centro de la Niña Trabajadora
Feb.–Mar. 2003 Outreach Volunteer

• Prepared and performed outreach activities for working children.

Volunteering at an organization that supports working children, I prepared and performed outreach activities in the streets and markets of the city.

Fort Collins, CO Idea Wild
Sept. 2002–June 2003 Volunteer Web Developer

• Put together a PHP/MySQL-driven webpage to display the organization’s projects.

For Idea Wild I put together a PHP/MySQL-driven webpage to display the organization’s projects.

• Put together a PHP/MySQL-driven webpage to display the organization’s projects

Fort Collins, CO Hewlett-Packard
Jan. 2000–Aug. 2002 Software Engineer

• Contributed to build tools needed to design some of the most complex CPUs in the world in HP’s PA-RISC processor engineering division.
• Built a web interface to an on-chip inductance estimator using Perl, improving chip designer productivity.
• Updated a C++ based capacitance calculation engine, and developed a set of UNIX command-line interfaces for it with Perl.

In HP’s PA-RISC processor engineering division, I contributed to build the tools needed to design some of the most complex CPUs in the world. Using Perl, I built a web interface to an on-chip inductance estimator, improving chip designer productivity. I updated a C++ based capacitance calculator tool, and developed a set of UNIX command-line interfaces for it with Perl. I added features to a chip design tool written in an in-house integrated circuit layer manipulation language.

• Built a Perl-based web interface for an inductance estimator that improved chip designer productivity
• Improved a C++ based capacitance calculation engine and developed a set of UNIX command-line interfaces for it with Perl

Castle Rock, CO FirstPass
May–Aug. 1999 Engineering Intern

• Worked on a small team devising a testing framework to verify integrated circuit designs.

As an intern, I worked on a small team devising a testing framework to verify integrated circuit designs.

• Worked on a small team devising a testing framework to verify integrated circuit designs

Fort Collins, CO Applied Microwave Nondestructive Testing Lab, CSU
May 1998–May 1999 Research Assistant

• Helped maintain computing infrastructure and run experiments testing a method to detect structural flaws with microwave radiation.

As an undergraduate, I helped maintain computing infrastructure and run experiments testing a method to detect structural flaws with microwave radiation.

Education

Fort Collins, CO Colorado State University
Dec. 1999 B.S. Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering Concentration