Work Experience
Java Team Lead
Phoebus Software 2020-current
At Phoebus Software (fintech provider of solutions to banks and lenders) I lead a team of developers responsible for primarily Java products which include APIs to the core system, web portals and various other tools and applications. This is a fairly hands-on role which is split between project management, team management and software design and coding:
Delivery Management
Resource planning and scheduling and arranging development resources to deliver projects according to client requirements.
Team Management
Line management for the Java team. Staff development (skills, knowledge, training, career plans etc.), mentoring and definition of and adherence to development processes and best practice
Software Design and Development
Delivering code across a range of technologies, conducting code reviews, guidance on architecture, definition of technology roadmap etc.
Development Director
Aptean/Avolin 2012-2019
As Development Director at Aptean, I fulfilled a number of roles at different times all the way from product design and development to line management, project planning and architecture. Aptean was a very agile environment and I learnt a lot about how to be adapatable, get up to speed with new concepts quickly and how to manage and lead both downwards and upwards.
Technical Leadership and Development
Product design and technical leadership for several Java based product lines, working with customers and product managers etc. I also had some coding responsibilities particularly on POCs and new technical directions, code reviews, mentoring etc.
Engineering and Delivery Management
Line management for developers, tracking and reporting progress against roadmaps, removing blockers and ensuring releases were delivered on time and with quality.
Architecture and Technology
Consultancy for various teams on architectural questions including BI, integration, compliance, technical debt, application security scanning etc. I designed several new BI platforms using SSIS, Qlikview, Qliksense and Power BI. I also implemented application monitoring solutions using Graylog and Logstash for production systems.
Programme Management
This role included release tracking and reporting across multiple product lines, defining development best practice and monitoring adherence, designing and adapting agile methodologies to work for multiple teams. I also organised and hosted the company-wide Stage Gate process for product delivery.
Technical Lead
CDC Software 2007-2012
At CDC Software, I was senior developer and technical lead for a number of products. CDC was a US based company with offices in various countries including India and China and I was lucky to get the opportunity to travel and to learn how distributed development can work effectively.
As well as leading development and implementing a number of new technologies (such as Spring, Hibernate, JQuery, Selenium and Mockito) I was also instrumental in bringing on an offshore development team of around 12 people in China and in successfully completing the acquisition and integration of 2 new products (one based in the US and another in Canada).
As well as building expertise in a number of new technologies, I developed a good understanding of agile methogologies and particuarly how to develop and adapt processes that work when developers are not necessarily colocated.
Software Developer
MVI Technology 1997-2007
At MVI, I worked first in technical support and then as a developer, contributing to MVI’s CMMS solutions and subsequently creating and developing a new MES system. This was a great place to learn about building and maintaining software systems as well as understanding customer requirements and business drivers.
As a developer, I learnt to write code in Powerbuilder using SQL Server and Oracle moving on to Java and web technologies to build out the new MES system.